This colorful Italian sausage and white bean ragout with kale recipe is cooked with onions, garlic, zucchini, and tomatoes.
This sausage, kale, and bean ragout recipe is a favorite in our home and a "go-to" dinner.
Cooking Tips for Sausage and White Bean Ragu with Kale
Don't drain and rinse the white beans if you want a thicker sausage and bean ragout.
Can't find cannellini beans? Use any white bean for this kale and sausage stew. Other examples of white beans are navy beans, northern beans, lima beans, and butter beans.
Don't want to chop kale? Use arugula or spinach instead. Both arugula and spinach are soft and wilt fast, so throw it in the pot right before serving.
This sausage, kale, and bean ragout recipe can be made all together. This makes it more stew like. Conversely, ragu can be made crisper if the zucchini are cooked / seared first, set aside, and added before serving.
The recipe instructions below are for a softer stew type ragout. The cooking video instructional is for a more textured, reduced (not as saucy), and crunchier sausage and bean ragu.
What is Ragout / Ragu?
There is no difference in pronunciation between ragout and ragu. Both spellings are pronounced like ragu sounds.
Ragout is a slow cooked French based stew that can be made with meat and / or vegetables.
Ragu is an Italian meat and vegetable based dish that is generally served with pasta. Both ragouts and ragus are hearty comfort food dishes.
Variations on Sausage, Kale, and Bean Ragout
Use spicy Italian sausage with this white bean and sausage ragout if you like it hot. Stick with mild sausage if sensitive to heat.
This sausage ragout recipe is also versatile with vegetables, bean types, and protein. Don't like kale? Cool, skip it or serve with wilted spinach or arugula. Don't have white beans? Try it with kidney beans or black beans.
Even the Italian sausage can be interchangeable in this recipe. Try chicken sausage, diced chicken, white fish, or vegetarian quorn products.
Want a vegetarian or vegan ragout? Double the beans or veggies and leave out the meat. Throw in more zucchini and kale. We eat ragout without meat all the time.
What to Eat With Sausage, Bean, Kale Ragout
On warmer days, serve sausage and white bean ragout on it's own with no grain or starch.
When hungrier or if it's cold out, try sausage and bean ragout over farro, polenta / grits, egg noodles, rice, pasta, or gnocchi.
Like cheese? Garnish sausage ragu with a little cheese before serving or make Parmesan Crisps.
Sausage and Bean Ragout with Kale FAQS
Both are pronounced as ragu. Ragout is a slow cooked French based stew that can be made with meat and / or vegetables. Ragu is an Italian meat and vegetable based dish that generally is served with pasta. Both ragouts and ragus are hearty comfort food dishes.
White beans are white. It's not a trick! Traditionally, Italians use a lot of creamy large cannellini beans (the white version of kidney beans). But, literally any white bean will work for sausage ragout. Try navy beans, Northern beans, lima beans, or butter beans.
Things In My Kitchen:
- Salad Spinner - For rinsing and drying the kale. Clean your greens!
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Sausage and White Bean Ragout with Kale
EatSimpleFood.com
This sausage and bean ragout with kale recipe is versatile. Serve it with or without a grain. Sausage and bean ragout is full of protein and veggies like kale, sausage, zucchini, and white beans.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp e.v. olive oil
- 1 lb ground mild Italian sausage
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 28 ounces can cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
- 20 ounces (~ 2 cups) canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 6 ounces kale (~ 6 cups, 1 large head), roughly chopped
- 2 medium zucchini, diced or sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Parmesan cheese, grated - optional
- crushed red chili flakes - optional for spiciness
Instructions
- Bring a large pan to medium high heat, lightly coat the bottom of the pan with oil.
- Add the sausage and onions and cook uncovered ~ 7-9 minutes or until sausage is done.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (~ 1-2 minutes).
- Add tomatoes, beans, zucchini, salt and pepper and simmer uncovered 5 minutes.
- Add kale and cook until 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
- Add salt, red chili flakes, and Parmesan cheese to taste.
- Serve as is for a grain/starch free dinner or over pasta or rice. Happy Eating! Beckie
Notes
- Don't drain and rinse the beans if you want a thicker ragout.
- Sear the zucchini first in a little butter until brown on the outside but still a touch soft in the middle. Set aside on a plate and add back to pan before serving. This keeps it crispier and seared.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this Sausage, Bean, and Kale Ragout recipe with a complementary appetizer or side dish like:
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What my man says “Oh man, that’s good!”.
Easy, healthy, hearty, and tasty meal that will last for a dinner and a few nice ‘work at home’ lunches - thank you!
What my man says! Love it :). Thank you for the review Wren!
Holy smokes, this one is amazingly good! The mix of sausage, kale, tomatoes, beans and zukes is rich comfort food but still feels relatively light. Admittedly, we did have some wonderful local sausage to put in this, but I don’t see how you could go wrong making this recipe. We just ate it on its own without putting over pasta, as it has the texture of a stew anyway. Yum!
Y'all are making your way through some of my favorites. Yum... local sausage. Thanks for the comment Tom!