Italian Sausage and Cabbage Stew

EASY, hearty and simple Italian peasant stew with cabbage, parsley and Italian sausage.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated September 24, 2023
Elise Bauer
Italian Sausage Cabbage Stew
Elise Bauer

The best thing about cold weather? It's the best excuse to make a big pot of soup or stew! This recipe is an Italian take on our standby cabbage soup.

More a stew than a soup, it uses Savoy cabbage (you could also use Napa cabbage), which is milder than regular cabbage, Italian sausage, white beans, fresh parsley, and Parmesan cheese.

I'm so used to German treatments of cabbage, I'm surprised at how good this stew is with the Italian sausage and Parmesan. I don't usually think of Parmesan and cabbage paired together, but they really do work in this stew.

Easy to make and easy on the budget. Buon appetito!

Italian Sausage Cabbage Stew
Elise Bauer

Italian Sausage and Cabbage Stew

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 50 mins
Total Time 60 mins
Servings 8 to 10 servings

We use savoy cabbage for this recipe, but you could use regular cabbage, or even collard greens or dinosaur kale. If you want to make this stew vegetarian, leave out the sausage and double the beans.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 pound sweet Italian sausage, bulk, or removed from casings

  • 1 large yellow onion, half sliced and half minced

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 1/2 cups white wine

  • 1 (15-ounce) can white beans (cannellini, Great Northern, or navy), drained

  • 1 quart vegetable or chicken stock

  • 1 quart water

  • 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste

  • 1 large (2-pound) savoy cabbage, quartered, then sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 1 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed

  • 1/2 to 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, for garnish

Method

  1. Cook the sausage:

    Heat the olive oil on medium low heat in a large (8-quart), thick-bottomed pot. Add the sausage, breaking it up into pieces as you put it into the pot in a single layer.

    When the sausage has cooked on all sides (still pink in the center), remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside.

  2. Sauté onions and garlic:

    Add the minced onion (save the sliced onion for later) and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often.

    Once the onions give up some of their water, use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

    Add the minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

    sausage-cabbage-stew-method-2
    Elise Bauer
  3. Add wine, beans, boil, and lower heat to simmer:

    Add the white wine and the beans and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. If you want, for a thicker base, use an immersion blender to blend some (or all) of the beans and onions.

  4. Add water, stock, salt, cabbage, sliced onion, bay leaves, sausage, then simmer:

    Add the water, stock, salt, cabbage, sliced onion half, bay leaves, and sausage. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then uncover and continue cooking until the cabbage is tender, about another 10 to 20 minutes.

    sausage-cabbage-stew-method-3
    Elise Bauer
    sausage-cabbage-stew-method-4
    Elise Bauer

    To serve, sprinkle on chopped parsley and grated cheese.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
245 Calories
8g Fat
22g Carbs
17g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 245
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 11%
Saturated Fat 3g 16%
Cholesterol 22mg 7%
Sodium 951mg 41%
Total Carbohydrate 22g 8%
Dietary Fiber 6g 20%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 17g
Vitamin C 25mg 124%
Calcium 183mg 14%
Iron 3mg 17%
Potassium 611mg 13%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.