An easy stovetop method and simple ingredients create this flavor-packed Chicken and Sausage Stew with white beans and spinach. A rustic, comforting choice for a cold winter evening.
There are some ingredients that just work so well together. In this Chicken and Sausage Stew, bites of boneless chicken thighs and sausage cook together in a deliciously seasoned broth until fork tender. Creamy cannellini beans and fresh baby spinach add texture, color, and great nutrition.
It all happens in one pot on the stove and the result is pretty darned fabulous.
This recipe was inspired by my Sausage White Bean and Kale Stew, another rustic, delicious meal.
Don’t you just love cold weather food? I’ve been in a soup and stew mood since November and our cool winter temps have kept that mood going strong.
I’ve had such great feedback from so many of you on my Instant Beef Stew and my recipe for Classic Stovetop Beef Stew has become one of the top posts on Valerie’s Kitchen since the onset of fall. Well, I’m right there with you and we’ve been enjoying both of those recipes here as well.
I opened the blinds in our bedroom this morning and was stunned to see a blanket of white covering the ground. We finally had our first Oregon snow! I literally ran for my sweater and boots and with a pretty serious case of bedhead, ran out the door to snap photos. Check out my Instagram story to see what I’m looking at through my windows as I write this post.
The timing could not be better to be sharing this incredibly comforting Chicken and Sausage Stew with you all today. I love this lighter take on stew. The fact that it’s a one pot recipe means less time in the kitchen cleaning up and more time cozying up by the fire.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken thighs cook up perfectly tender and add more richness than boneless breasts would in this stew.
- Sausage – Any fully-cooked chicken, turkey, beef, or pork sausage will work. I like to use a smoked chicken sausage to lighten things up. For a little heat, try it with andoullie sausage.
- White Beans – Canned cannellini beans are meaty, substantial, and have the best creamy texture.
- Spinach – Fresh baby spinach.
- Veggies – Carrots, celery, sweet yellow onion, and minced garlic.
- Diced tomatoes – A can on of fire-roasted diced tomatoes add a hint of smokiness.
- Dried seasoning – Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes.
- For the rest – Olive oil, tomato paste, all-purpose flour, grated Parmesan cheese.
How to Make Chicken and Sausage Stew
The prep for this recipe includes trimming any excess fat from the edges of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and dicing up some veggies. Easy.
You’ll need a Dutch oven or nice sized soup pot.
The Mirepoix
A mirepoix is the aromatic base of a multitude of soup and stew recipes and the first step in creating this tasty Chicken and Sausage Stew. It sounds fancy but it’s just the simple combination of diced onion, celery, and carrots slowly cooked in either butter or oil until tender. We’re also adding a little garlic to the pot. Cooking this mixture over a low heat coaxes out lots of great flavor.
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Cook until onions are tender, about 5 or 6 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and stir until combined well with the veggies.
- Add the flour.
Instead of thickening the stew at the end of the cooking process, flour is added and combined with the veggies before the broth is added.
- Stir the flour into mirepoix until well blended and cook, stirring, for a minute.
- Gradually add broth and cook until mixture is thickened.
- Increase heat to medium and add the uncooked chicken, sausage, beans, tomatoes, and seasoning. Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the pot and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and fork tender. Stir spinach into the hot stew and remove the pot from the heat.
Make it Low in Fat and Calories
You will save quite a bit of fat and calories by using chicken or turkey sausage in this recipe. The nutrition information on the recipe card below was calculated using chicken sausage and it comes to 420 calories per serving. That’s low enough that I don’t have any issue at all adding a nice sprinkling of Parmesan to mine.
Grated Parmesan adds a nice, salty bite. It’s the perfect way to finish this delicious stew.
Storage Tips
- Refrigerate – Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The stew will be best if consumed within 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze – Transfer the stew to a freezer-safe zippered plastic storage bag, press out as much air as possible, and freeze flat. Once frozen, bags can be stacked to save space. Thaw safely in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- Reheat – Leftovers can be warmed in the microwave or in a saucepan over low heat.
More Rustic Chicken Dishes You’ll Love
- Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Julia Child’s Coq au Vin
- Skillet Chicken Parmesan
Sign up for my free newsletter for all the latest recipes and join me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest for more cooking inspiration!
Chicken and Sausage Stew
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 carrots, peeled, halved length-wise and sliced (½-inch slices)
- 2 ribs celery,, sliced
- 1 cup diced sweet yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 12 ounces smoked sausage, sliced (chicken, turkey, pork, or beef)
- 29 ounces cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (2 14.5 ounce cans)
- 14 ounces fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)
- 5 ounces roughly chopped baby spinach, big stems removed (about 3 cups, tightly packed)
- grated Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Trim the chicken thighs of excess fat and cut into bite-size pieces.
- Heat oil over MEDIUM-LOW heat in a large Dutch oven. Add carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Cook until onions are tender, about 5 or 6 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until combined well with the veggies. Stir flour into carrot mixture until well blended and cook, stirring, for a minute. Gradually add broth and cook until mixture is thickened.
- Increase heat to MEDIUM and add chicken, sausage, beans, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper (if using). Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to LOW, cover the pot and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked and fork tender. Stir spinach into hot stew and remove the pot from the heat. Allow the spinach to wilt from the heat of the stew and serve.
- Serve with grated Parmesan.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Cozy Soups and Stews
This was great! I made a half batch but with a few changes: kept the full amount of mirepoix, used sweet Italian chicken sausage, smoked paprika instead of regular, and added chopped lacinato kale and gnocchetti about 10 minutes before it was done /before I added the spinach. The flavors melded together beautifully and I got to use up so many things in my pantry and fridge. Thanks!
So much good flavor here!! Sharing with everyone I know.
I loved this recipe. It was very easy to make and so delicious. My husband loved it too. I will definitely make this again‼
This stew was absolutely wonderful! So wonderful, that my husband is still talking about it almost a week after I made it! This will definitely be a regular meal in our house. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe.
You’re welcome, Karen! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
My wife said this is the BEST soup we’ve ever made!! This is our new favorite soup. I didn’t change a thing and don’t plan to. Very nice job and thank you for sharing this great recipe
You’re welcome, Terry. Happy you loved it!
We used chicken sausage and rotisserie chicken instead of andouille or chicken breasts. It was delicious. Everyone loved it, the regular foodies, and even those on a diet , since we used chicken and no cheese it was a great calorie/protein ratio.
Absolute best winter stew EVER!!!!
My whole family loved this stew. I will definitely be making it again! You’ve got a new fan, I can’t wait to see what you make next.
Chicken OR sausage would appeal to me more. ( just double one up ) So, this is great recipe to adapt. Sounds deilicous Ty.
Going to try this today! Was wondering about freezing leftovers. Assuming it won’t be a problem. Any hints?
It should freeze well but be prepared for it to be very thick after thawing. You’ll definitely need to add additional broth when you reheat it to get the desired consistency. Take a look at my most recent post for Slow Cooker Hamburger Minestrone for tips on freezing soups.
Wonderful recipe! Full of flavor and very filling.