This comforting Skillet Sausage and White Beans with Spinach is on your table in just 30 minutes. Serve with a loaf of crusty bread to soak up the delicious broth for a flavorful, satisfying meal.
This meal is simplicity at it’s best. Both in the list of easily stocked ingredients and the method of preparation. It all takes place in a 12-inch skillet so cleanup is a breeze and smoked sausage and white beans are purely a match made in food heaven. They should stay together forever and ever, amen.
Things I love about this recipe:
- It includes simple ingredients that are easy to keep on hand.
- It’s ready in 30 minutes.
- You can easily lighten it up by using turkey or chicken sausage.
- It’s full of fiber, protein and dark leafy greens.
- It’s super flavorful and extremely comforting.
- It’s vibrant – our food should be pretty!
Some of the items you will need – fresh baby spinach, a package of smoked sausage (or your sausage of choice), a can of petite diced tomatoes, and a couple of cans of cannellini beans. Just a side note that this is way more spinach than you’ll need but I had this big ol’ container in my fridge.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat and add the sliced sausage. Cook and stir until nicely browned. Remember, the sausage is fully-cooked so we’re just searing it here and that will only take 2 or 3 minutes.
Add 1-1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth, the rinsed and drained cannellini beans, the diced tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick. Bring this mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium and allow it to simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. The broth will reduce just a bit.
Add a few big handfuls of baby spinach. This is just about the amount in a 6 ounce bag. A little more or less won’t hurt anything.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir the spinach into the sausage and beans until wilted. Season the mixture with a little fresh ground black pepper and top it with some grated Parmesan.
Dinner is served!
Skillet Sausage and White Beans with Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 14 ounces fully-cooked smoked sausage, sliced into ½-inch rounds
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 ounces petite diced tomatoes (fire-roasted diced tomatoes work very well too!)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
- fresh ground black pepper,, to taste
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan,, or to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, stirring, until nicely browned. Add garlic and cook for just another minute or two until garlic is fragrant. Add chicken broth, cannellini beans, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let it simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes to allow broth to reduce a little.
- Stir in fresh baby spinach and remove from heat. Continue to stir until spinach is wilted. Garnish with fresh ground black pepper and Parmesan. Ladle into bowls and serve with a hunk of crusty bread.
Video
Notes
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.
I’ve made this a number of times now. We love it. Would this sit well in a crock pot for a period of time just to keep warm for a dinner party?
So glad you are enjoying the recipe, Wanda. I don’t think it would fare too well if left in a slow cooker for any period of time. I think this dish is best served quickly after the spinach wilts.
If you add the canned spinach towards the end, maybe 1/2 your before it finishes, should that be ok.. You would just need to hear up the spinich
This is the second time I made this. I used garbanzo beans instead of cannellini beans. So delicious. It’s in the rotation of recipes. Thanks!
Is there anything else in an use instead of tomatoes ? My mother in law is allergic.
I think the recipe would be lacking without the tomatoes. So sorry I don’t have a solution for this one!
Yum! Used a roll of Italian sausage, & cut back the broth after reading the comments. We loved it! Thanks!
Kind of a chilly day here in Michigan, I had everything for this recipw. We loved it. Might be one of our new favorite go to recipes. Thanks
Hello!
I am a big fan of the Fire Roasted tomatoes do we drain them with this recipie? Go ing to make tonight with Andoullie in the freezer and a cup of left over pasta!
You should not drain the tomatoes. The juice helps to create the delicious sauce. Enjoy!
Have you ever tried this with frozen or canned spinach? I have both of those on hand. Thanks!
Hi Beth. I haven’t tried it with frozen or canned spinach and I really do feel the result would not be the same due to the texture. Fresh is best!
I just made it with frozen spinach (all I had on hand) – it was amazing!!! Thanks so much for a great recipe – we’ll be having it again! 🙂
Hi, Valerie! I made this last night and it was so tasty! My dinner guest said it was delicious, and he thanked me for a great dinner. So thank YOU for a great dinner! 🙂
Fantastic, Esther! Thanks so much for the feedback. I’m thrilled it worked out so well for you 🙂
It was really nice to try but, the beans just didn’t seem right in the dish..
Made this last night and it was amazing! I used chicken sausage, and had to use black eyed peas bc that was all I had on hand…just one can so I did only one cup of chicken broth to compensate for fewer beans. Next time I will do two cans as I think it would be a better ratio of beans to meat, but my husband didn’t mind 🙂 For such little effort, this is a wonderfully fresh, healthy, and filling meal…perfect for summer. Will be adding to my rotation of meals to make for new moms. Thanks so much!
Valerie, this looks and sounds amazing… I love the combination of the spinach, beans and sausage!
Thanks, Amy!
Yum – thank you and have a Great Monday
You are very welcome, Liz. Have a great day!