Reviewed: Apr. 28, 2005

This is a very pretty soup. Easy to make. I would start by boiling the beans and wait till the beans are almost cooked untill cooking the sausages. Also, it does not really say what to do with the saffron once it is soaking. I assumed just add it to the pot. As a personal preference I lowered the amount of the garlic. I used italian sausage and added some black and cayenne peppers to add the spice of the andouille. I will definitely make again and next time use the adouille. Really enjoyed it.

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28 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

I Love to Eat

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Reviewed: Mar. 27, 2007

I ended up changing the recipe at little due to what I had on hand. I substituted green bell pepper for the red, turkey sausage for the andouille, and I browned the sausage in cajun seasoning instead of adding sweet paprika. I'm sure the recipe is just as delicious as originally intended, but this is what was in the kitchen. My husband and I thought this soup was awesome. I will definitely cook it again.

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22 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

SIRELROKA

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Big Rapids, Michigan, USA

Living In: Valparaiso, Indiana, USA

Reviewed: Apr. 6, 2008

Mine turned out more like a stew, but it was really good! I used navy beans instead of Northern beans, but they worked great.

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16 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

GINAH1

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Reviewed: Dec. 9, 2007

I just made this soup and it is definaley a keeper. I did make a few changes however. I used navy beans, since I don't care for northern beans. And I've never heard of saffron so I left that out. And I used italian sausage and added red pepper flakes to spice it up and a few chicken bouillion cubes. I tossed everything in the crock pot except the sausage and kale. When everything was almost done, I added my cooked meat and sauted kale and cooked another hour to blend in. This is absolutely yummy!

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13 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

HONEYROSE

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Akron, Ohio, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 15, 2009

I love this recipe. I have made it several times. Even my kids eat it. The sausage is very important to this soup -- make sure it is andouille sausage. It adds much of the flavor. Also, I used canned beans and started the recipe at step 3. It makes this soup far less time consuming.

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9 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Laura S.

Reviewed: Oct. 13, 2008

This was good, but I didn't want to spend 2.5 hours making this so I used fully cooked chicken jalapeno sausage and canned cannelini beans, and changed the prep to make this just under an hour from start to finish. I sauteed the onions and the chopped sausage until onion was tender. Added the garlic, paprika, bell pepper, and kale and cooked a few minutes. Added 4 cups homemade chicken broth, saffron, and rinsed beans. Simmered for 10 minutes.

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9 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

chibi chef

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Rockville, Maryland, USA

Living In: Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA

Reviewed: Nov. 6, 2008

This has good meaning behind it. Very good tasting ingredients here. However there is not NEARLY enough liquid to make this a "soup" It is more like a dense stew. I had to increase the chicken broth by 2 cups and then add another cup of water near the end to stop the sodium from creeping up. I love Kale in this and I added 1 link chorizo along with 2 andouille sausages - came out great!

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8 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

sublimecook33

Reviewed: Mar. 27, 2008

I cut back on the sausage a bit and used fire-roasted tomatoes for a smokier flavor.

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6 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

wisweetp

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Smithville, Mississippi, USA

Living In: Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA

Reviewed: May 29, 2010

I made this last winter for a family Spanished themed dinner. It was WONDERFUL! I have made it a couple time since and it is clearly a favorite of mine. I have modified the cooking a bit. First, I boiled the beans according to the instructions on the pkg. I believe you put the beans in water, bring to boil, remove from heat and let it sit an hour. This reduces cooking time enormously. Second, I don't cook the sausage separately. The only Andouille sausage I have found was precooked so I sliced it up and added it to the soup. Third, since the soup has to simmer it may lose liquid, I add water or broth in order to compensate and then it ends up as soup, as it should. Fourth, I add the sausage to the beans when simmering, it gives it more flavor and the beans need longer than 10. I used ALL the ingrediants as the recipe calls. I used kale for the first time and it was wonderful. Saffron is expensive but this soup requires it to be done correctly. Mmmm I think I need to make it again!

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5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

justlisa

Reviewed: Aug. 18, 2011

Spanish Style White Bean & Sausage Soup Haiku: "Fail soup, I am sad. Directions flawed, but good taste. (But on the next day.)" I was mortified to serve this to company, only to find that the beans were still hard as pebbles. I followed the recipe, only simmering my beans for more like 3 hrs., and simmered the entire soup for an additional 2 hrs. I couldn't quite get the 1st step of, what? Boiling the andouille, only to brown it later? Also, it doesn't clarify as to when to return the saffron/broth to the pot, so I just did that while it was simmering. I was overjoyed at the thought of this recipe, as I leap for anything that calls for either saffron (treasured spice that I so rarely use) or andouille (so tasty!), and loved the idea of using kale in a soup. And speaking of calling it "soup" - no way, this definitely needed additional liquid, as others have mentioned in their reviews. Sooo, we boiled and re-simmered the soup last night, and made sandwiches, and I've just now sat down to a "real" bowl of the soup, and yes, it tastes fantastic - very unusual, spicy, and earthy. I hope to make it again, but will just use canned beans, and maybe dump everything, except the kale, in the crockpot to decrease the troublesome steps.

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4 users found this review helpful