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swamp soup in a bowl
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Swamp Soup

This Southern swamp soup is hearty, loaded with smoked sausage, beans, turnip greens, and pasta. It has gone viral all over the nation for a good reason!
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword southern recipes, southern soup recipes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories
Author Kathleen

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon bacon grease or vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds kielbasa sausage cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce such as Tabasco®
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon sugar
  • 6 cups, plus more to thin as neeeded low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 heaping tablespoon chicken flavor Better Than Bouillon
  • 1 can Rotel, undrained
  • 2 (14.5-ounce) cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (12-ounce) bag frozen black eyed peas, thawed and drained
  • 1 pound frozen turnip greens, thawed and drained
  • 1 cups uncooked ditalini pasta
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Heat (1 tablespoon) bacon grease or vegetable oil, over medium heat, in a large Dutch oven. Add sliced sausage (1 1/2 pounds) and brown on all sides. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the browned sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. If there aren't 2 tablespoons of oil and drippings in the Dutch oven, add enough vegetable oil to make up the difference.
  • Add onion (1 1/2 cups), celery (3 stalks), and carrot to the dripping in the Dutch oven. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft and onion is translucent, about 7-9 minutes.
  • Stir in garlic (1 tablespoon) and tomato paste (2 tablespoons) and continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
  • Stir in Tabasco (1 teaspoon), bay leaf (1), Cajun seasoning (1 teaspoon), paprika (1 teaspoon), garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon), and sugar (1/8 teaspoon).
  • Add low-sodium chicken broth (6 cups), dissolved Better Than Bouillon (1 heaping tablespoon), and water (1 cup), Rotel (1 can), white beans (2 cans), and black-eyed peas (12 ounces). Bring to a boil. Immediately reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • Stir in thawed turnip greens (1 pound) and uncooked pasta (1 cup). Adjust heat to achieve a moderate simmer. Cook until pasta is al dente. Adjust the seasoning, if the soup is thicker than you like, thin it with more chicken broth, ladle it into individual bowls, sprinkle it with fresh parsley, and serve.

Notes

  1. This is a versatile soup, and you can substitute many of the items.  Of course, turnip greens and kielbasa are the corner stone of the recipe. However, you can change the ingredients as you prefer.
  2. To keep the intention of the recipe, I suggest using a smoky sausage and a hearty green like kale or Swiss chard.
  3. I suggest making the soup per the recipe the first time, so you know how the soup is intended to taste. Then, go wild!