German Kale and Sausage Soup – Oma's Grünkohl und Wurstsuppe

by: Gerhild Fulson  /  Cookbook Author, Blogger, German Oma!

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This German kale and sausage soup, Grünkohl und Wurstsuppe, is perfect for when you're wanting down-home goodness. It's the kind Oma made for any meat-and-potato lover!

That means my hubby loves it! Not only is he a meat-and-potato lover (like most Germans), but he absolutely LOVES kale. It's German food that tastes wunderbar!

Why to Love Kale?

I'm so glad that hubby loves kale. Because, not only do I love it as well, but it's often called the "king of super healthy foods" and is on that "superfood list". 

With its delicious earthiness and its superfood goodness, and more importantly, knowing how to cook this, kale makes this such a satisfying soup.

Eating something that tastes so good, knowing that it's actually very good for one's health, just makes perfect sense. That means, kale is one of those 'makes perfect sense' kind of foods.

Fresh, frozen, jarred, or canned Kale?

For this soup, you can use any type of kale.

If you are using fresh kale, you may want to blanch it very briefly first. Blanching removes some of the bitterness that some people don't like. However, blanching isn't required, so you can just omit it, if you wish.

In order to blanch the kale, hold the bottom of the stalk with one hand and strip the leaves off with the other.

The plunge the leaves into boiling water. Leave them in there for about 30 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon. Drain well. Coarsely chop the leave and use in the soup.

When you add the blanched kale to the soup, you'll need to cook the soup about 20 minutes until the kale is tender.

If you are using frozen kale, you can thaw it first. However, you can also just add the frozen kale to the soup. It will thaw as it is cooking in the soup. 

If you are using jarred or canned kale, I would drain it first before using. That's just my personal opinion ... not actually based on fact. But, it's what I do. As well, since this is usually already quite cooked, it doesn't need to cook long in the soup.

Make this soup your own by adding whatever is in your crisper. Cauliflower, broccoli and parsnips would be great as well. Even some wilted lettuce works.

If you're wanting your soup a bit creamier, use a potato masher and mash the soup slightly. 

Grab your copy of Oma's favorite soups collection in Quick Fix German Soups e-Cookbook. You'll LOVE it! 

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How much Kale to use for this recipe:

Making soup is not like baking a cake. For a cake the ingredient quantities need to be exact. For a soup, however, exact quantities don't usually matter. 

In the case of kale, that's good. Although using frozen kale, usually in one pound bags, or jarred/canned kale, often around 24 fluid ounces, are pretty standard sizes, for a bunch of kale, it's a different thing.

Not only are bunches different sizes, but once one removes the stalks and depending upon the variety of kale, differences can be quite substantial.

For this soup, I make it easy. Either use about one pound frozen, one can/jar, or one bunch (usually about one pound). OR, use more or less, depending on how 'kale-y" you want the soup. 

Hummus?

Yep. Hummus. Sylvie, my daughter-in-law, shares that hummus is delicious in this to add extra zing.  Her easy hummus recipe is so quick to make and it's becoming wildly popular in Germany. Try it. I think you'll like it too!

Ready to make this Kale and Sausage Soup?

Print Recipe

German Kale and Sausage Soup – Oma's Grünkohl und Wurstsuppe

This German kale and sausage soup, Grünkohl und Wurstsuppe, is perfect for when you're wanting down-home goodness. It's the kind Oma made for any meat-and-potato lover!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings:

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• about 1 pound blanched, fresh, or frozen kale
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1½ pounds potatoes, peeled, cut into ½-inch cubes
• 2 carrots, sliced or cubed
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Instructions:

1. Prepare kale. If using fresh, strip the leaves from the stalk. Either blanch the kale (if you're wanting to remove some of the bitterness). After blanching and draining, chop the kale leaves. If keeping fresh, chop the kale leaves. If using frozen chopped kale, you can use it frozen, but try and break it apart into smaller pieces.
2. In a large soup pot, heat the oil and add the onion. Cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook a further minute.
3. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, sausage, kale, and broth.
4. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer until the veggies are tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

Notes/Hints:

• Add a pinch of cayenne if you like things spicy.
• Use a potato masher to mash the soup slightly if you like the texture of the soup to be thicker rather than broth-y.
• Add a bit of lemon juice at the end to give a brighter flavor.
• Add other veggies sitting in your crisper, such as cauliflower, broccoli and parsnips. Sweet potatoes would be good as well.
• If you are using jarred or canned kale, simply drain it and add the kale towards the end of the cooking time.

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Oma's Kale and Sausage Soup ~ Grünkohl und Wurstsuppe

By Oma Gerhild Fulson

This German kale and sausage soup, Grünkohl und Wurstsuppe, is perfect for when you're wanting down-home goodness. It's the kind Oma made for any meat-and-potato lover!

Ingredients: kale, olive oil, onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, celery, smoked sausage, chicken broth, seasonings,

For the full recipe, scroll up ...

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More about me >

Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.