I’m all about a dinner soup! You know, a soup that has everything you need for it to be a complete meal? Protein, starch, and veggies all in one. It’s a soul-warming one-pot meal that will leave you satisfied. (Though I wouldn’t say no to a side of crusty buttered no knead bread here, either). You’ll love Portuguese Kale Soup, a staple in Portuguese cuisine. Living in Rhode Island, it was easy for me to get my hands on some linguiça and chouriço for this recipe, both common Portuguese sausages. But you can use any smoked sausage you have available to make it – kielbasa, Spanish chorizo, etc. Much of the flavor of the soup comes from the sausage itself, so do make sure you get a good one! I prefer a spicy smoked sausage for this Portuguese soup. And don’t worry – if you’re not a fan of kale, there are plenty of other options too. As long as you have a leafy green in there, you’re good! One note: There are a few kinds of versions of Portuguese Kale Soup and Caldo Verde, sometimes referred in recipes as the same, but recently it was brought to my attention that they are two distinctly different soups. Some have beans, some don’t. Some use an immersion blender to blend the potatoes to a creamy potato base before adding the cooked sausage and kale in. In Caldo Verde, small chiffonade cut greens are used, which meld more into the broth making it appear green (“Green Soup”). I opted to use chunks of Yukon gold potatoes, which are soft but keep their shape, and didn’t blend it, for a chunkier version of the soup. Here’s more on the differences between Caldo Verde and Kale Soup!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Linguiça and/or Chouriço – Portuguese sausages, or other smoked sausage, such as Spanish chorizo or kielbasa. Onion Garlic – and lots of it! Potatoes – I used Yukon gold, but any kind will do. Waxy potatoes will keep their shape more, starchy such as russet potatoes will fall apart a bit (not necessarily a bad thing, and will help thicken the soup). Red Kidney Beans – or white beans such as Cannellini beans. Kale – or other green, such as collard greens, spinach, or cabbage. Keep in mind, different greens taste different and take different times to cook. Spinach has a mild taste and cooks almost instantly when added to the hot soup, whereas cabbage has a strong flavor and takes longer to cook. Water and/or chicken broth – the sausage adds a lot of flavor to this soup, so broth isn’t 100% necessary! I did half and half for mine. Apple cider vinegar – technically optional, but highly recommended! You can add a few tablespoons to the whole pot or a few drops to each individual bowl of soup. Salt and Pepper
How to make Portuguese Kale Soup
Cook the sliced sausage in some olive oil until it’s browned and the fat renders. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so, until fragrant. Then add the potatoes and water, along with some salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer on low until potatoes are tender. Finally, add the beans and kale, heating for another few minutes until kale is wilted down. Season to taste and add apple cider vinegar to the pot or individual bowls of soup.
Tips and Tricks
Drain and rinse the canned beans thoroughly. The liquid in canned beans often causes indigestion, and also contains extra salt that isn’t needed in this soup. Kale is delicious when grown in cold weather or prepared properly. When grown in the hotter months, it can sometimes have a bitter taste. You can plunge it into ice water after chopping it up to take away some of the bitterness. Here’s more on how to prep kale, including decreasing bitterness and taking the stems off. You can freeze the leftovers, however, the texture of the potatoes will be changed slightly from freezing. That’s never stopped me, though!
Can you use another leafy green besides Kale in in this Portuguese Soup?
Yes! Some recipes use spinach, some cabbage, and some collard greens. Or a mix! Keep in mind, using another green vegetable may affect cooking time and flavor/texture. For example, spinach has a mild taste and very soft texture, and takes almost no time to wilt down. Cabbage, on the other hand, has a strong taste. Collard greens take a while to cook down, so you may want to add them with the potatoes towards the beginning of the recipe.
Other recipes with Kale
Kale is such a surprisingly versatile vegetable! Aside from Portuguese Kale Soup, I love making kale pesto, and adding it to pizza (it gets super crispy, like in this bacon and kale pizza!). Kale is wonderful as the leafy base in salad (especially if you massage the dressing into the kale leaves, like this Massaged Kale Salad with Apples, Goat Cheese, and Maple Vinaigrette).
Other favorite soup recipes
Stuffed Cabbage Roll Soup Avgolemono Soup Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Lasagna Soup
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