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Home » Recipes » Soup

Portuguese Sausage Kale Potato Soup: Caldo Verde

Published: Sep 8, 2013 · Updated: Oct 21, 2024 · By Lisa Goldfinger · 238 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

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Portugal's famous sausage kale potato soup, also known as caldo verde, is beyond delicious! Made with smoky garlicky sausages and plenty of kale and potatoes, this hearty soup verges on a stew and makes a wonderfully satisfying one-pot dinner. 

a blue Dutch oven filled with Portuguese Sausage Kale Potato Soup

In Portugal the most popular meat is pork and the best-loved soup is sausage kale potato soup. When I was in Lisbon and Porto there was a version of caldo verdo on every restaurant menu. It's also a popular dish at weddings and other special occasions.

The Caldo Verde recipe originated in the Minho region of northern Portugal. You might be familiar with the delicious sparkling wine called Vinho Verde, which hails from that same region.

A bowl of Portuguese Sausage Kale Potato Soup

HOW TO MAKE PORTUGUESE SAUSAGE KALE POTATO SOUP

There are only 6 main ingredients in this soup: sausages, kale, potatoes, chicken broth, onions and garlic. 

  • One of the key ingredients of Caldo Verde is Linguica sausage. It's a smoked pork sausage, flavored with garlic and sweet paprika. If you can't find Linguica, you can substitute another smoked sausage, such as Chourico or even Spanish Chorizo.
  • The first step to making sausage kale potato soup is to sauté the sausages. The fat and browned bits that are left in the pot will enhance the flavor of the soup.
  • I like to slice one sausage into rounds and brown it, for a tasty garnish. The rest of the sausages are chopped and cooked in the soup to thicken it and to ensure that you get some delicious sausage in every bite.

how to cut and chop sausages for Caldo Verde: Portuguese sausage, kale, potato soup

  • After the sausages are browned and removed from the pot, add the chopped onions and garlic and cook them for a few minutes until softened. Then add cubed potatoes, broth and water to the pot and cook until the potatoes have softened, about 15 minutes. 
  • Use a potato masher to mash half of the potatoes, right in the pot, leaving the other half as chunks of potato, for texture. 
  • Now add the cooked chopped sausage and the raw kale and cook the soup for a few more minutes until the kale is wilted and soup is heated through. 

How to prepare kale

  • For this soup I love to use the darker, more delicate lacinato kale. In addition to being delicious, it's packed with vitamins and minerals.

How to prepare kale

  • Kale has a thick center rib which we want to remove. Pull the green leafy parts off of the center ribs, then stack the leaves on top of each other and slice them crosswise, into thin slivers. Now they're ready to add to the soup and will take only a few minutes to cook in the hot broth.

shredded lacinato kale

How to prepare the potatoes

  • I like to use russet potatoes for this recipe. Peel them, slice them in half lengthwise and then crosswise into bite-sized chunks. Once you add them to the soup, they'll need only about 15 minutes of cooking.
  • After the potatoes cook in the broth, half of them are mashed, which makes the soup thick and creamy.  The other half remain in bite-sized chunks, adding great texture to this sausage kale potato soup.

how to slice potatoes for sausage kale potato soup

What to serve with Sausage Kale Potato Soup

  • If you want to stick with tradition, serve caldo verde soup with brown bread or corn bread on the side, to dip.
  • Although there are plenty of greens in this soup, I always enjoy a cold salad on the side with a hot soup. If you're in the mood for a side salad, I recommend this butter lettuce salad with citrus honey vinaigrette

a bowl of sausage kale potato soup with a couple of russet potatoes o the side

If you like this kind of tasty one-pot dinner, here are a few other Panning The Globe recipes you might enjoy: 

  • Curried Butternut Squash, Lentil and Chicken Stew
  • Moroccan Chicken Stew with Apricots, Sweet Potatoes and Kale 
  • Korean Chicken Stew with Spinach

Pull out your Dutch oven for this delicious one pot dinner - Portuguese Sausage Kale Potato Soup|Panning The Globe

Here's the recipe for Portuguese Sausage Kale Potato Soup. If you try this recipe I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

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Recipe

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Pull out your Dutch oven for this delicious one pot dinner - Portuguese Sausage Kale Potato Soup|Panning The Globe

Caldo Verde: Portuguese sausage kale potato soup


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

  • Author: Lisa Goldfinger
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 5-7
Print Recipe

Description

A nutritious satisfying one-pot dinner that's fairly simple to cook.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, for sautéing
  • 1 ½ pounds fully-cooked, smoked Linguica sausage - slice one fourth of the sausage into thin rounds - the rest into ¼-inch dice (Chorizo or Chourico are good substitutes if you can't find Linguica)
  • 2 cups finely chopped yellow onion (2 medium onions)
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic (5-6 cloves)
  • 4 cups low salt chicken broth (I recommend Swanson's)
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 ½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled, sliced into quarters lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1-inch chunks.
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 bunch kale, washed, thick center ribs removed, and slivered (I prefer the dark green dinosaur kale but any kale is fine)

Instructions

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Sauté the sausage rounds for 1 minute or two, until they are nicely browned. Transfer to a small plate and set aside. Add diced sausage to the pot and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until they start to brown a bit. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot, along with the chopped garlic and onions. Sauté over medium-low heat for 4-5 minutes until onions soften and start to get transparent. (Don't let them brown)
  3. Add broth, water, potatoes and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a steady simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Using a potato masher, mash half the potatoes right in the pot, so you have a creamy broth with some chunks of potato remaining.
  4. Add the cooked chopped sausage and the slivered kale. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the kale wilts and the soup is heated through.
  5. Ladle soup into bowls and top each with a few rounds of cooked sausage. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for a the advice of a professional nutritionist.

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: Portuguese

Did you make this recipe?

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #panningtheglobe

 

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Dinner, Europe, Lunch and Brunch, Most Popular Recipes, Soup Tagged With: dairy-free, gluten-free, paleo, pork, potatoes

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

  1. John Dahlgren

    September 10, 2013 at 11:59 am

    Soup looks wonderful. I love sausage.

    Reply
  2. Joe Disch

    September 10, 2013 at 11:59 am

    Favorite soup? Bone broth!

    Reply
  3. Nicole

    September 10, 2013 at 11:58 am

    Sweet dutch oven!

    Reply
  4. Diana Bockheim

    September 10, 2013 at 11:57 am

    bean soup would be great in this pot!

    Reply
  5. Susie

    September 10, 2013 at 11:57 am

    Anything tastes better from a Dutch oven! i especially like my Dutch oven minestrone, coq au vin, and chile verde!

    Reply
  6. Maxwell

    September 10, 2013 at 11:55 am

    That soup looks delicious. I will definitely be trying it in the near future!

    Reply
  7. Pam H

    September 10, 2013 at 11:55 am

    Homemade chicken noodle is my fav 🙂

    Reply
  8. Joy Meetis

    September 10, 2013 at 11:55 am

    I love making chicken and wild rice soup. I make big batches that I freeze and I have it all winter!

    Reply
  9. Heather

    September 10, 2013 at 11:54 am

    That soup looks yummy even though its 100*+ degrees where I am 🙂 There are so many yummy soups to choose from, but Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup 🙂

    Reply
  10. Sherry R

    September 10, 2013 at 11:53 am

    The soup looks delicious! I will be trying it...and probably will cook it more than once.
    Thank you for the opportunity to win the Dutch oven.

    Reply
  11. Alan

    September 10, 2013 at 11:52 am

    I love a good tortilla soup and I'm sure it would taste better in this Dutch oven.

    Reply
  12. Eugenie

    September 10, 2013 at 11:50 am

    I love mushroom barley soup.

    Reply
  13. Christy

    September 10, 2013 at 11:48 am

    My favorite soup is kale and sausage type soups, thank you!

    Reply
  14. Joseph Varano

    September 10, 2013 at 11:46 am

    So many awesome recipes I'd love to try!

    Reply
  15. Eric

    September 10, 2013 at 11:45 am

    My favorite is very similar to this, only with white beans and sweet potato instead of the russet potatoes.

    Reply
  16. Cary Bradley

    September 10, 2013 at 11:45 am

    This is my new favorite! I'm growing both dino and Portuguese Tronchuda kale in the garden right now! I LOVE your recipe. I've been meaning to try Calo Verde soup for years and I love how you mash half the potaotes for density, and also chop most of the chorizo for a bite in every spoonful. Excellent ideas!!! Thanks so for sharing!

    Reply
    • Michelle

      January 07, 2016 at 4:53 pm

      FYI, This is nothing like caldo verde is supposed to be

      Reply
      • Lisa

        January 08, 2016 at 11:20 am

        Hi Michelle,
        Thanks so much for visiting Panning The Globe and for leaving a comment. I often get inspired by delicious dishes from other countries. Sometimes I stick with the traditional recipes but often I enjoy experimenting and adding my own adaptation. I'm sure the traditional Caldo Verdo is amazing! I also hope you'll give my version a chance. All the best ~ Lisa

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