The Best Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta Soup (No One Is Sharing!)

So you’re looking for the perfect creamy Italian sausage pasta soup—likely one that can be made easily and quickly, without causing too much of a mess. Is that right?

If so, welcome!

I’m Alessia, an Italian (Sicilian, to be specific) who usually shares a lot about Italian fashion and travel. But today, it’s all about this special Italian sausage soup. I’m sharing a secret recipe very few outside Italy know about.

You’ll see that this recipe doesn’t include some common ingredients you’ll find in other Italian sausage soup versions, like soffritto. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, it makes the soup more traditional, hearty, and flavorful—because it amplifies the taste of the few ingredients used. You’ll get it once you try it!

The Secret Italian Sausage Pasta Soup Few Know About (Minestra delle Favole)

When I say this recipe is secret, I truly mean it. In fact, I only discovered it a year ago while doing research for a client. 

I couldn’t believe my eyes how only a few people knew about it online. Of course, there might be thousands of Italian nonnas that have been making this for years, but we’ll never know!

Let me tell you what I know about it!

What is Minestra delle Favole? 

Its name translates to Soup of Fables, and it’s apparently been given that name because of how good it is. It’s so delicious, it’s likely something you would eat in a fairytale or dream.

Yet, the creators of this recipe were not fantasy characters but real Italian people living a normal life.

Minestra delle favole is probably a special variation of Italian sausage soup that originated in the countryside, in the homes of Italian farmers.

They likely gathered their land produce, and got their hands on some delicious sausage made by a friend or neighbor.

This is what I imagine happened:

One day, a farmer lady asked herself what shall I cook today? So she went to have a look in her pantry, gathered these same ingredients we are about to use (minus a few modern ones like the tomato paste and pasta) and whipped up this recipe without even thinking about it.

That’s how most old recipes were born.

Real Italian Sausage Soup Origins

While we don’t know when and who invented this Italian sausage soup, we can look at the more popular Italian soups that likely led to this one. Let me share three of them.

1. Zuppa Crapiata — Oldest (Pre-Roman, 3,000+ years)

• Region: Basilicata (especially Matera)
• Origin: Likely Lucanian or even pre-Lucanian (pre-Roman Italic tribes).
• Traditions: A communal, harvest-celebration soup made with mixed legumes and grains, cooked on August 1st to honor agricultural bounty.
• Ingredients: Lentils, chickpeas, fava beans, grass peas (cicerchie), barley, spelt, wheat berries, wild onions or garlic, wild fennel, olive oil (if available), salt (rarely).

2. Minestra Maritata — Ancient (Roman Empire era, 2,000 years ago)

• Region: Campania (especially Naples)
• Origin: Evolved from Roman dishes like ius primae decoctae, a soup with meat and leafy greens.
• Traditions: A festive Neapolitan soup symbolizing the “marriage” between meat and greens, traditionally prepared during Christmas and special occasions to celebrate abundance and harmony.
• Ingredients: Pork cuts (shoulder, trotters, fatty pieces), chard, cabbage, chicory, fennel, mint, black pepper, bay leaves, celery, carrots, onions, olive oil or pork fat.

3. Pasta e Fagioli — Medieval to Early Renaissance (600–800 years ago)

• Region: Found across many Italian regions (especially Veneto, Lazio, Tuscany)
• Origin: Developed once dried pasta became more common (13th–14th century), and beans were widespread in Europe.
• Traditions: A humble, everyday peasant dish rooted in medieval Italy, designed to provide nourishing, affordable comfort using simple staples like beans and homemade pasta.
• Ingredients: borlotti beans, bacon or lard,  small tubular pasta, onion, carrot, celery, vegetable broth or water, salt, pepper, olive oil.

You can see that none of the above recipes included sausage in the original recipe. However, knowing and cooking all or at least one of the above likely influenced the creator.

Crapiata soups proves that the custom of using beans to make soups in Italy is really old. Maritata was likely one of the first attempts to combine vegetables and meat to make a soup. And pasta e fagioli is the most modern Italian soup that must have led the way to our beloved zuppa con salsiccia (which is how we say sausage soup in Italian).

Why Is This The Best Italian Sausage Pasta Soup?

What’s better than sausage, beans and pasta all combined in a thick creamy dish that warms your heart and body with every spoon you take?

Of course, you likely wouldn’t want to eat that in the 35 degrees Celsius August heat, although you could with the air conditioning on!

Seriously though, if you love beans, sausages, and minestrone with pasta, this recipe gives you all three in one delicious dish.

It’s a one-pot dish, except for the pasta that must be cooked separately, but you can quickly rinse the pot from the pasta water and toss it in the dishwasher!

Plus, my recipe is different from the others out there. It uses fewer ingredients, it’s quick to make (not much simmering time is needed), and there’s minimal chopping. That’s because vegetables are not the star of this recipe, the sausages and the beans are!

Want more reasons to make it?

Here are two more.

1. It’s one of those recipes that keeps on giving, because it gets tastier. Wait till you taste it the next day!
   
2. It’s easy and quick to make. You can prepare it in under an hour, since I am giving you the easiest recipe.

Italian Sausage Pasta Soup Ingredients

You only need these 10 ingredients to make an Italian sausage soup of dreams, or fables!

Chickpeas: I like to use Biona Organic. The original traditional recipe calls for dry beans, but I am pretty sure we all appreciate saving the time. However, if you are someone who values using less processed and packaged food, feel free to replace the beans in this recipe for dried. You will have to soak them in water the night before, then rinse and drain them, and cook them for about an hr before starting the recipe.

Cannellini beans: I also use Biona Organic for these.

Italian sausages: I use Tuscan sausages, sometimes called Firenze. If you can’t find those, just ask the supermarket’s butcher for Italian sausages.

Italian extra virgin olive oil: Please don’t compromise on the quality of your Italian EVOO. It’s what truly makes Italian dishes so good, and replacing it with a cheap option, or worse, one that’s not extra virgin, it’s going to break your recipe. If you haven’t made the switch to Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, try Monini or Carapelli, and thank me later!

Onion: I usually use the common yellow onion, but you can also go for the milder white or red.

Garlic: You’ll need just two, so don’t worry about having to chop too many cloves! We are going to use it to prepare our bean base.

Rosemary: I am using dried rosemary, but if you have fresh, that will make this dish even better.

Tomato paste: You could use an Italian one – like Mutti concentrato di pomodoro, or your favorite brand, as long as there are no added flavours or herbs that can impact the final taste.

Ditalini pasta or Tubetti: Ditalini are very small pasta tubes about 7 mm long and 4 mm wide, while tubetti are slightly larger tubes around 10 mm long and 6 mm wide. I am using the latter, but either is fine.

Grated parmesan: This is optional. In fact, my first attempt didn’t include any cheese, and it was delicious.

Exact quantities (serves 3 large portions, or 4 small ones):

• 1 can chickpeas (400 gr with water)
• 1 can cannellini beans (400 gr with water)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil + more to drizzle
• 1.5 tbsp rosemary
• 4 large Italian sausages (or 6 smaller ones)
• 1 large onion
• 2 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
• 250 gr Ditalini pasta
• 2-4 tablespoons grated Italian Parmesan cheese
• 3.5 cups water – some of this is pasta cooking water

Italian Sausage Pasta Soup Calories

This recipe makes three large portions, or 4 smaller ones. 

If you were to share this with your partner, it will be about 1000 calories each. Dividing it in four portions will reduce the calories to around 750.

This is a hearty meal, so you could easily pair a smaller portion with a salad, if you are on a diet.

How To Make Italian Sausage Pasta Soup Like An Italian

Preparing your beans base:

1. Open your cans of chickpeas and cannellini, rinse and drain them.
2. Add them to a large pot, the same pot you will be using for your sausage soup.
3. Mince the garlic cloves, and add those too.
4. Add two tablespoons EVOO (short for extra virgin olive oil).
5. Season with salt and pepper, and add the rosemary – dry or fresh.
6. Mix all the ingredients in the pot and put it on the stove to let them aromatize. I like to start with high heat for two minutes, and then lower to medium for the rest of the time.
7. Mix the beans from time to time. In all, they should cook for around 7 to 10 minutes.
8. Transfer the beans to a food processor, or even a smaller blender, add 1.5 cups water, and blend them into a puree. Set them aside for now.

Preparing the onion and sausages:

1. Chop your onion finely.
2. Add the chopped onion to the same pot you cooked the beans; don’t wash it so it retains the flavors.
3. In that same pot, crumble the Italian sausages, removing their skin.
4. Add a tablespoon of EVOO, and turn on the heat again; mix the ingredients, and let them caramelize. Again, I like to start with high heat and lower to medium. Keep mixing from time to time until the onions have caramelized and the sausages look almost fully cooked.

Cooking the pasta & finishing the soup:

1. In the meantime, boil the water for your pasta in a separate pot. Add plenty of water so the pasta has room to cook and you can add it to the soup later. Don’t forget to add a lot of salt (the Italian rule is about 1 tsp per 1 ltr of water).
2. Next, add the tomato paste with the sausages and onions, and mix.
3. It’s time to bring that aromatic bean puree you made earlier and pour it over the onions and sausages. Once you do, mix to combine all the ingredients.
4. Add the pasta to cook.
5. Take one cup of pasta cooking water and add it to the pot with sausages and beans, mix over the heat for few minutes, and taste to adjust the seasoning (that is add more salt and pepper if you want to).

Last steps

1. Add the pasta to the pot with your sausages and beans, and mix well. Turn the heat back on.
2. Add more water or stock. I added another 1.5 cups, but you can add more if you want more broth. Keep in mind that adding too much will dilute the flavor.
3. Let the pasta cook for 3 more minutes with the rest of the ingredients. Take the pot off the heat.
4. At this point, you can add the parmesan and mix, or serve your Italian sausage soup with the grated parmesan on top.
5. After you plate your Italian sausage soup, don’t forget to add a little drizzle of Italian EVOO before digging in.

How To Store This Pasta Soup

I have already mentioned that this soup tastes better the next day. That means you can safely store it in the fridge for one to three days. If you want to enjoy it over a longer period of time, use small containers to divide it into portions, and freeze it.

Can you freeze it?

Yes, you can! 

I do this a lot with soups and pasta when I am batching my client’s recipes (part of my job includes developing recipes). 

The key is to freeze them into small portions, using high quality containers. I prefer glass with plastic lids, as well as stainless steel containers. You can find those everywhere, including Amazon and Ikea.

In case you are wondering, when it’s time to defrost it, just do this:

Take it out the night before and leave it in the fridge. I like to slightly open the lid.

Then the next day, take it out and leave it on the counter for a couple of hours, until it’s time to enjoy it.

The best way to reheat it is to do it in a small pan, adding some water or Italian extra virgin olive oil, if needed.

However, I often reheat my soups and pasta in the microwave, and they still taste delicious!

Easy Substitutions Suggestions

In all honesty, I think this soup is perfect as is, so if you can, you should not change anything about it, unless you are allergic or intolerant to one ingredient. Removing or substituting one will make it different, but it will still be a tasty result.

Having said that, if you want to make this work for your diet, here are my suggestions.

How to make this vegetarian?

Replace the Italian sausage with an ingredient you normally use in its place. It could be tofu that you marinate with a specific mix to give it that sausage taste. Or you could also use a fake sausage.

How to make it vegan?

Replace the meat as the vegetarians would (see above); and omit the parmesan. My first try didn’t include any cheese, and it was spectacular.

How to lower the calories?

If you are on a diet, I get you. I have been there, and I am always trying to eat healthy and within my calories. So what can you do?

I would suggest making it once, enjoying a good-sized portion, really savoring every bite, and then make up for it by working out more and eating healthier the following week.

Option two would be to enjoy a smaller portion along with a salad, but believe me, once you start eating this special Italian sausage soup, there’s no one stopping you!

More Cook with an Italian Recipes

If you made it so far, thank you so much. I hope you try this recipe, because if you do I am sure you are going to love it.

I think you’ll also like these other ones:

Creamy Italian Broccoli Soup
My Authentic Italian Lasagna
Fluffy Italian White Bread

I’d love to chat with you directly about Italian food, fashion, and much more. That’s why I am starting my newsletter very soon! Have you subscribed to the list yet?

Take care,
Alessia