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Kielbasa Soup

Published: / Updated: / 53 Comments

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This kielbasa soup recipe is loaded with plenty of sausage, vegetables, and potatoes. It's a great option when you want something that is hearty and filling but a little bit healthier! 

kielbasa potato soup close-up

Here in Canada/USA, kielbasa is often sold in grocery stores labeled as “smoked Polish sausage” or just "kielbasa". "Kielbasa” actually means “sausage” in Polish. Did you know that? If you want to try another Polish-inspired soup recipe, check out my dill pickle soup. 

I just love soups with sausage and potatoes. This is a broth-based soup without any cream, and although everyone knows I love my creamy recipes, this soup (and soups like this) really hit the spot for me as the weather gets cooler. And as air-conditioned offices stay cold. It's also a tasty way to pack in some veggies. I added some cabbage in here too - it goes wonderfully in soup (like my cabbage roll soup or Instant Pot cabbage soup). I have a sautéed cabbage and kielbasa recipe you may like if that flavor combo appeals to you (it is surprisingly good if you're not much of a cabbage eater). 

Pro tip: I like to mash some of the potatoes right in the pot to give this kielbasa cabbage soup a little more texture. I like to use this quick trick in all sorts of soups that have potatoes. 

This kielbasa potato soup is one of those "tastes better the next day" kinda soups, so it makes great leftovers. I gave some to my mom, and she was texting me saying how much she liked this soup. And she's an honest kinda lady. She would tell me if it wasn't good. 😀

cabbage and kielbasa soup in a yellow cast iron pot

Recipe notes:

  • Smoked Ukrainian or Hungarian sausage would work in this soup if you can't find kielbasa. 
  • You could definitely make this soup without adding the spinach at the end if you're not a fan. 
  • You can use a different variety of potatoes if you wish. I didn't bother peeling the potatoes - it's up to you if you want to. 

Other cozy soup recipes you may like:

kielbasa cabbage soup in two bowls

Will you make this cabbage and kielbasa soup?

Questions? Ask away in the comments below. 🙂 

kielbasa potato soup close-up

Kielbasa Soup

This kielbasa soup recipe is loaded with plenty of sausage, vegetables, and potatoes. It's a great option when you want something that is hearty and filling but a little bit healthier! 
4.82 from 16 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 35 mins
Total Time 50 mins
Course Soup
Cuisine Central European
Servings 6
Calories 327 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion chopped
  • 13 ounces kielbasa (smoked Polish sausage) see note
  • 2 sticks celery chopped
  • 2 cups green cabbage chopped small
  • 2 Russet potatoes scrubbed & diced (peel if you want to)
  • 2 medium carrots peeled & sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 dash Italian seasoning
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 cups loosely packed fresh baby spinach
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Prep the onion, sausage, celery, and cabbage. Add it to a large pot along with the butter and oil. Sauté over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or so.
  • Meanwhile, prep your potatoes and carrots.
  • Stir in the garlic, smoked paprika, and Italian seasoning, then add the potatoes and carrots to the pot.
  • Add the chicken broth and water. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat so it's simmering. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots can easily be pierced with a knife.
  • I like to take a potato masher and quickly mash some of the potatoes to give the soup a slightly thicker texture (I just do this right in the pot). This step is optional.
  • Add in the spinach and season the soup with salt & pepper as needed.

Notes

  • I bought a coil of kielbasa sausage that weighed 13 oz./375 g. Feel free to use anything similar weight-wise.
  • Kielbasa sausage shouldn't be too greasy, so you shouldn't have to drain any fat. If you use a different kind of sausage, however, you may need to use your discretion and drain some of the fat if needed.
  • Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
     

Nutrition

Calories: 327kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 12gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 1173mgPotassium: 790mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 4647IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 2mg
Keyword kielbasa soup
Author Natasha Bull
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  1. Miss Daisy says

    5 stars
    I made this in my instant pot, added entire small cabbage cut up, small can great northern beans, rinsed, 4 diced potatoes, cooked separate on stove, I always cook potatoes separate when making for soups with a pinch of oregano, have done this for decades
    Sautéed cabbage carrots, onion, smoked sausage, then added the spices with garlic paste, sautéed another minute, added broth & water, pressed 15 minutes, NR,10 ,came out great, Mr really liked it, making again with Ham, PS, I sprinkled dill weed when serving, i use dill weed a lot. Next your dill pickle soup.
    Thanks. Great recipe. I subscribed 🙂

    Reply

  2. Melissa Louise Sams says

    4 stars
    I did like the soup, added 2 medium sized Russet potatoes but even after mashing them a bit, felt it was too thin. I think next time will only add 1 cup or water and see how that goes. Has a very good flavor.

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! Yes, it's definitely not a thick soup... more brothy for sure. You could absolutely try adding less liquid and mashing the potatoes as you suggest. Glad you enjoyed the flavor! 🙂

      Reply

  3. Darcy Reichard says

    5 stars
    Wow! Five stars! Thank you so much for this delicious inspiration! I may have added more Kielbasa and spinach than your recipe called for…but wow! SOOOO good!

    Reply

  4. Aly says

    5 stars
    This is SO good and flavorful! Perfect for a cold night. Made as is except I forgot to add the spinach at the end. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      I imagine it probably could be. I haven't tested it, though. Up to you whether you want to still do the searing steps and then transfer to a slow cooker after or just chuck everything in. I'd add in the spinach just before serving.

      Reply

  9. Tom Eggebeen says

    5 stars
    Terrific soup ... I substituted chopped parsley for the spinach (added near the end) ... and used Yukon Gold potatoes - they stand up a little better than russets ... we had friends over, and they both had seconds; so did we. Ha. Our guests brought homemade pretzel rolls - great for sopping up the liquid.

    Reply

  11. Mary-Ann Bieksza says

    4 stars
    I like that so many ingredients are in two's: two carrots plus 2 cloves of garlic plus... Makes it so much easier than 3/4 rds of a 28 lt can of tomatoes, for instance.

    Reply

  13. Linda M Simard says

    Omg first time making this soup and it is soooo good. The only thing I didnt have was the smoked paprika. But I used regular paprika
    I'm sure the smoked paprika adds to the flavor. My husband is going to love this for supper tonight.

    Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

  15. Leihoku says

    5 stars
    I have this on the stove right now. This is the second soup recipe that I made from your website today. I made the potato and ham recipe for lunch. I shared your recipes on FB and Twitter. This recipe was extremely easy to put together. I didn't have smoked paprika, I just had ground paprika. I will buy smoked paprika the next time I go grocery shopping.

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      I love that!! I'm so happy that you're enjoying my recipes! Yes, you definitely need to try smoked paprika... it's one of my most used spices 🙂

      Reply

  16. Nancy LaMonica says

    Hello,
    I will be making this delicious looking recipe soon. But, I live alone...do you know if it freezes well so I can enjoy it over and over??
    Thanks so much for your time!
    Nancy 😊

    Reply

  17. Patricia Kwiatkowski says

    I made this soup tonight for supper. It was delicious. The only thing I did different was to take the fresh kielbasa out of its casing

    Reply

  18. Dory says

    5 stars
    Excellent soup. I made this for dinner tonight and served it with a nice rustic bread. Delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.

    Reply

  20. Kelly M says

    5 stars
    Nice, straightforward soup recipe! I followed pretty much exactly as written with no major substitutions. I’m not sure what kind of potatoes I used but they were a mixed bag of small red and white from Aldi. I bought smoked paprika after waffling on whether to get it or just use regular, and I’m glad I did. That little bit of smokiness was really good! I alllllmost skipped the spinach but actually went back and added more! Would absolutely make again.

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Kelly!! Good call on the smoked paprika... it's been a game changer for me! Thanks for taking the time to write me a comment! XO

      Reply

  21. Hena says

    Hi!! How can we make this soup vegetarian. Will taking the sasage out simply be bland? Looks so yum minus the sausage !

    Thanks,
    Hena

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! Hmmm... yeah, the sausage really is the star of this soup. I mean, you could try it without... it'll obviously be a different soup, but I think as long as you season it well, it could still be tasty. You'd just take out the sausage and use veggie broth instead of chicken broth. I do have some vegetarian recipes on here, including soups, so if you don't want to try altering this recipe, there's plenty more here: https://www.saltandlavender.com/category/vegetarian/

      Reply

  22. Tricia B. says

    5 stars
    Hi Natasha. Made this last week... both husband and myself love soup(s). Since we keep kielbasa sausage on hand I thought I give this soup a try as it looked so good. Well, it didn't disappoint... sooo good! So good in fact I passed your blog/site along with the recipe to a friend. She looked at the recipe... made it and sent me a photo of it with "Delicious!" above the photo. I told her that I knew she would love it!!
    Thank you Natasha... keep the recipes coming. Now if it would ONLY get cooler weather here in Texas...more soup please! 😉

    Reply

  23. Jill says

    I LOOOOOVE your recipes and look forward to trying at least one new recipe a week from you! I’m sure it’s a pain, but I kinda wish you would include calorie, fat, sodium, etc. per serving.
    It won’t deter me from making your meals, but it sure would come in handy for health conscious folk 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Aww that's so nice to hear, Jill! I'll tell you why I don't include nutrition info (this may be a long explanation haha). I've tested some of the nutrition calculators out there, and I've found them to be very inaccurate, unfortunately. A lot of the nutrition info on online recipes in general is way off, and I don't want to add to the problem. I am not a trained nutritionist (they do a ton of schooling), so I don't feel comfortable calculating anything beyond calories myself. If in a recipe the other values (fats, carbs, etc.) were way off, I'd have no idea. And as far as sodium goes, since all my recipes add salt "to taste", it would also vary a lot. Take this recipe, for example... every brand of kielbasa varies, so nutrition info would just be an estimate that could be waaay off, which is fairly useless if someone needs accurate info for health reasons. I do have calories posted on the odd recipe (usually healthier ones), but yeah, I am not very consistent doing it always since it takes quite some time doing it manually. I always advise people that if they are truly concerned with calorie counts, you need to weigh the exact ingredients you use (since ingredients themselves can vary so much, especially brand-to-brand), and that will be closer to whatever the actual calorie value is. I'm always keeping an eye out to see if they finally improve nutrition calculators to the point that I can easily use them to get accurate info, so who knows... maybe someday soon I'll include it on more recipes. Hope this explanation helps a bit!

      Reply