Say Olá! to Caldo Verde or Portuguese Green Soup. When the weather gets cold, we go full-on soup mode. As in we start making vats and vats of our favorite soup. Namely, Chicken Miso Soup, Tortilla Soup, Rustic Tuscan Soup and this, which is the best Roasted Tomato Sausage Kale Soup Recipe around if you ask us.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’re a soup connoisseur, one look at this recipe may make you think this is the classic Portuguese kale soup known as caldo verde aka “green soup.” This is and isn’t that recipe because it’s a bit brothier and we leave the potatoes and kale more intact.
As in this is just a soup that we started making and it morphed over the years into something that’s not quite an Italian wedding soup, almost a minestrone, and akin to caldo verde.
Recipe Ingredients
The ingredients you’ll need to make this twist on caldo verde are:
- Linguiça Sausage or Spanish Chorizo
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Yukon Gold Potatoes
- Broth or Water
- Stemmed Kale
How To Make This Recipe
This caldo verde soup recipe is super easy to make and the whole thing can be put together in less than an hour (a rarity for a soup mind you). If you wanted to make a lot at once you could easily double the recipe:
- Brown The Sausage: Start by browning the coins of sausage (use a spicy sausage for more heat or a sweet sausage for something more mellow) in olive oil then set aside.
- Cook The Vegetables: Saute the onions and garlic in the drippings.
- Simmer The Soup: Stir in the broth and potatoes and cook until tender. As is standard with soups, the flavor will develop more the longer it simmers; however, you can serve this as soon as everything is cooked. Puree half of the soup then return it to the pot and stir in the greens and chorizo. Cook just until greens are wilted then serve.
What Is Caldo Verde?
Let’s call a spade a spade and clarify what is caldo verde. It’s a soup that hails from northern Portugal and is considered by many to be the national dish of the county. It is commonly made with sausage, greens, and potatoes. It’s also rumored to be an effective hangover cure though we can’t personally attest to that.
But this isn’t exactly the traditional Portuguese soup recipe. If you go to spots that are known for caldo verde like San Francisco’s Grubstake restaurant, you’ll find that caldo verde is traditionally made with a cabbage that’s hard to find stateside; the soup base is often completely blended; and it’s usually served with the Portuguese sausage known as linguica.
Variations On This Kale Soup
- Switch the greens: Use any number of dark greens in this soup like, say, Swiss chard or dark green cabbage.
- Swap beans for potatoes: If potatoes aren’t your thing (or you just don’t have any on hand), just use another ingredient instead! Try it with sweet potatoes for a little sweetness (a great contrast if you use spicy sausage) or add kidney beans, cannellini beans, or Great Northern white beans.
- Make It Spicy: You could use a hot Italian sausage,or even add a pinch of red pepper flakes before you serve it to give the soup some heat.
- Blend It all: Borrow a page from the traditional Portuguese recipe and blend the whole soup base (as in the soup without the kale or collards or sausage) for a creamier texture.
More Of Our Best Soup Recipes
Do try this recipe but also? Make sure you give these delicious soup recipes a try too:
Okay, that’s all there is to this recipe. Now go stock up on all your cooking essentials then head into the kitchen, make this, and share it with us by tagging @saltandwindand #swsociety on social!
Caldo Verde Portuguese Green Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For The Sausage:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces Smoked Portuguese Sausage (Linguica) or Spanish chorizo sliced into 1/2-inch thick coins
For The Soup Base:
- 1 medium yellow onion finely chopped
- kosher salt and Freshly ground black pepper
- 8 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, chicken broth, or water
- 12 ounces Yukon Gold potato peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 4 ounces collard leaves or kale, stemmed and very thinly sliced
Instructions
- Cook The Sausage: Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, brown the coins of sausage by cooking it cut side down, turning occasionally, until golden all over, about 8 minutes. Remove the browned sausage to a plate and set aside. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of the oil.
- Make The Soup Base: Return the pan to medium-low heat, add the onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes.
- Simmer The Soup: Add the broth and potatoes and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the soup boils, reduce the heat to low. Partially cover the pot then simmer the soup until the potatoes are knife tender, about 20 minutes. (You could also put the soup in a slow cooker at this point and let it cook over low for up to 8 hours.)
- Blend The Soup: Use an immersion blender to blend half of the soup base (or all of it if you want to be more traditional).Serve The Soup: Stir the collards or kale and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until the broth turns a bit green. Stir in the reserved sausage, taste, and adjust seasoning and serve.
2 thoughts on “Caldo Verde Portuguese Sausage Kale Soup”
Excellent soup. We’ve made it several times now. Straight forward and easy to make.
Thanks for the great recipe!
So glad you like it!