Meat-lovers Kale Soup

November 8, 2016 (updated May 3, 2023) — Written by

If I had to pick one food to live off of for the rest of my life it would be SOUP hands-down. Serve me up a real soup with a complex homemade bone broth and I am all yours. I tend to make one big batch of soup weekly – store it in single serving glass mason jars – and either freeze or use for my to-go lunches, dinners and if I’m feeling extra zealous, even breakfast.

kale, vegetable and meat soup in a rustic bowl

This soup is the best soup for one simple reason; bacon. Render down a pound of bacon and marry it with some collagen rich bone broth and it will have your tastebuds doing the two-step. Top that off with some fresh green veg and hearty legumes and boom; a satisfying grain-free meal.

I ate this at work today and every single person who came into the lunch room was like, “MMMM, something smells good!” I was like, mmm hmm; its bacon.

RELATED: See our easy grilled steak recipe here.

So here it is, my take on Portuguese kale soup – this one is a must try.

Recipe

a bowl of homemade kale soup styled on a board outside in the fall

Ingredients :

  • 2 medium onions diced
  • 2 medium carrots sliced in rounds
  • 3-4 small celery stalks with tops chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 tsp of turmeric
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp of turmeric
  • 8 cups of homemade bone broth
  • 1 lb pastured + organic bacon
  • 1 lb of pastured + organic kielbasa sliced in 1/4″ rounds then halved (or sausage or baby sausage meatballs)
  • 14 oz of cooked chickpeas – I like using the boxed Whole Foods 365 brand (or cooking my own in the Instant Pot)
  • 1/2 a head of green cabbage sliced thin
  • 2 cups of chopped kale
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions: 

  1. Chop bacon in 1/4″ squares and render in large soup pot until bacon is browned, cooked all the way through and just starting to get crispy. Do not drain or remove fat.
  2. Add kielbasa and brown.
  3. Add carrots, celery, onion and spices and sweat them down until they are on the hard side of tender. You want them cooked but you will simmer the soup when it is assembled so you don’t want them to go mush at the end.
  4. Add garlic and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes to avoid burning.
  5. Add bone broth and chickpeas and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Check to make sure carrots are tender.
  6. Turn off heat and stir in kale and cabbage.
  7. Let sit for 5-10 minutes so the greens can steep.

*Try this topped with some hot peppers, fresh herbs or nutritional yeast.

By Lisa Fennessy

Lisa is the founder of The New Knew. Passionate about clean beauty, organic eats and nontoxic lifestyle, Lisa writes to create awareness. Conscious consumerism and informed decisions will impact the marketplace, our health and THE WORLD!

3 Comments

  1. Reply

    Margot

    Omg – I’m bookmarking now.

  2. Reply

    Carol

    Yummy kale soup adapted for AIP! No chickpeas or tomatoes because I’m still on elimination phase of AIP. Hubby made the delicious soup. Used riced cauliflower. Also he was going to make his own sausage to make sure no spices I can’t have yet, but used organic grass fed beef instead. No cayenne allowed yet either. He put the kale in at the end & let it cook in the broth with all the veggies. We may add some shredded carrots, but it’s good as is! Thank you for the recipe!

  3. Reply

    Jeannie

    I made your Kale and Sausage soup today – and it was so good : )

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