Italian Sausage and White Bean Stew

I came across two similar recipes for an Italian Sausage stew the other day and I knew it must be fate. I made a quick dash to the grocery store and made it for dinner that very night!

The first recipe came from a new-t0-me blog called piExperiment. That recipe included zucchini, which I thought sounded good, and red bell peppers, which dh prefers. The second recipe was at A Dash of Sass, another new-to-me blog. Both sounded delicious so I sort of combined the two. I used the zucchini and red bell peppers and I left out the pasta. Be sure to use a good sausage. It realllly makes the dish. I used a sweet Italian sausage but I think next time I'll use a more spicy, hot sausage instead. Served with some crusty whole grain bread, it was a quite a hearty meal. Another plus - it was on the table in under 30 minutes. You gotta like that, especially during this busy time of year!


Italian Sausage and White Bean Stew
Original recipe from A Dash of Sass
Slightly different recipe from PiExperiment

16 ounces sweet Italian turkey sausage
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian blend spices*
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the pan. Add red peppers and onion. Saute until soft. Add minced garlic and quickly saute. Be careful to continue stirring to avoid burning the garlic. Add sausage to pepper and onion mixture. Cook until browned and crumbled, approximately 5 to 8 minutes.

Add beans and tomatoes. Add herbs. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked through.

Add some fresh basil and grated Parmesan cheese and stir.

Serve topped with more Parmesan cheese.

* Feel free to substitute an Italian blend of spices for the basil and oregano if you don’t have those individually.