Quick, easy, and DELICIOUS recipe for sausage and kale soup in the Instant Pot!
I asked my husband what I should write about this soup because I was having a hard time thinking of what to write this morning. (Hashtag, sleep deprived).
His answer: It’s amazing.
So there you have it. This soup is amazing and you should definitely go plug in your Instant Pot and make it for lunch. Or dinner. Or both. I wouldn’t blame you.
Truly, this sausage and kale soup is all kinds of delicious. And, characteristic to the Instant Pot, it is quick and easy too. I first shared an abbreviated version of the recipe on my post, Top 15 Must-Have Instant Pot Recipes. But I knew it would not just stay there as a little blurb. Such an “amazing” soup deserves its own post.
The soup combines many of my favorite things in a bowl– sausage, cream, a warm broth, and delicious greens. All of which, incidentally, are things we buy at Costco.
I picked up a package of kielbasa last month and will now be adding it our regular meal planning/grocery list rotation. So easy to cook a few pieces for a hearty breakfast, cook several pieces with onions and peppers for a favorite family dinner, and, of course, throw in a pot for sausage and kale soup.
If When you make this Instant Pot soup, don’t forget that bread and butter always pair beautifully with a warm bowl of soup. I mean, you could lick the bowl clean like my six-year-old did last time I served this soup, but I wouldn’t suggest it. You are likely to get soup on your nose and eyebrows and that could be a little awkward.
Instead, soak up the creamy-brothy goodness how nature intended–with a freshly baked piece of crust or chunk of biscuit.
- Whole wheat sandwich loaves (pictured, two hours start to finish)
- one-hour French bread (one hour, obviously)
- cheesy drop biscuits (the fastest option)
Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup

Instant Pot Sausage and Kale Soup
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
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Cook Time: 18 minutes
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Total Time: 23 minutes
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Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
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Category: soup
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Method: pressure cooker
Description
Quick, easy, and DELICIOUS recipe for sausage and kale soup in the Instant Pot!
Ingredients
- 1 lb chopped sausage (kielbasa or sweet Italian)
- 1 onion, diced
- 3–4 carrots, diced
- 1 C uncooked brown rice
- 2 C chopped kale
- 4 C chicken broth
- 1/2 C heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions
1. Saute chopped sausage in the Instant Pot. Let the sausage cook for as long as it takes you to chop 1 onion and dice 3-4 carrots (stirring once or twice). Stir in the onions and carrots. Saute 3-4 minutes more.
2. Stir in 1 cup uncooked brown rice, 2 C chopped kale, and 4 C chicken broth. Cover and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
3. Quick release the pressure and uncover. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp flour and 1/2 C heavy cream. Pour the cream mixture into the soup, stir to mix, and return the Instant Pot to sauté. Let the soup cook for about 5 more minutes, or until it begins to thicken.
4. Salt to taste and serve immediately.
Don’t forget to pin this recipe and share it with a friend!
Whole family loved this!
I used chicken bone broth, added a ton of fresh garlic, a bit of salt, mild Italian sausage, frozen spinach, cashew milk and white rice. I didn’t need flour to thicken.
Wish I had made a double batch. Super easy and delicious.
★★★★★
Do you think this would be a good recipe to cook and then FREEZE to serve for a later date?
I do not like to freeze rice or potatoes in soup because they get more bloated/get a weird texture.
Fantastic recipe, even though I omitted the cream.
★★★★
So easy and super tasty. Definitely will make again and again. Thank you Lisa.
★★★★★
We love this soup!
★★★★★
This is such a quick and easy lunch! We have it often on our homeschool days. I really enjoy making it on Sundays after church as well. We love it both with the sweet itilian sausage (from Costco) and with kielbasa.
★★★★★
This is an amazing soup.!! I made it 3 times our first month with our newest baby. So quick and easy- plus I love seeing all the teal food going into it,
★★★★★
Why do some of the recipes have a print button and this one does not?
I am sorry Kathleen! I updated the recipe cards on my blog, and am working my way back through older recipes. I went ahead and updated this one so that you can easily print the recipe.
Thanks so much!
★★★★★
I just made your instant pot sausage and kale soup! It tastes really delicious and I loved the addition of the brown rice….added a great level of heartiness :0) In terms of changes, I think that I would use raw spicy Italian sausage versus cooked sausage. What I noticed is that the pre-cooked chicken sausage completely lost it’s flavor from being under pressure for an extended period of time. I think using raw sausage would add more flavor to the final products. I also used 1/4 cup versus 1/2 cup of the flour and heavy cream mixture. The creaminess was also a nice touch!
So glad you enjoyed it! I have used a variety of sausage in mine, as well. Uncooked sweet Italian is my personal favorite.
I made this, at work. It’s amazing. You rock.
★★★★★
Made this last night for my girls and their friends, it was a hit. One of my daughters left most of her carrots, but come one, she’s 12, what do you expect?? You nailed it, it was wonderful! This recipe feeds about 6-7 I think, there were five of us and we have about 2 servings left over.
So great. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I made this today, thank you for the recipe! It was more rice casserole than soup though, I added extra liquid. I’m not sure why it was so thick, any advice? Also my carrots were very overdone so I think if I did it again I’d decrease the time. Made with your drop biscuits, delicious!
What kind of rice did you use? My only thought is that your rice absorbed more liquid.
Thank you for a great recipe! Everything was flavorful and delicious. However, the brown rice I used (long grain) was not quite done. Should I not use long grain?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! The rice does cook a little more as you stir in the cream, but you could also add a little additional time if needed. I do use short grain in mine, so the time reflects that.
I had the same problem. I also used long grain rice. Just got my instant pot for Christmas from my kids. Loved this soup! How much more time should I add to this cooking time? Thank you for the recipe.
I would try adding five minutes. As I mentioned, the rice will cook a little more after you add the cream and greens too.
Could you use quinoa?