Slow Cooker Sausage and White Bean Stew

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Slow Cooker Sausage and White Bean Stew is a tasty stew that starts with dried beans cooked all day in the slow cooker! If you want a lower-carb version of this stew, use fewer beans and more sausage and spinach.

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After I kind of fell in love with turkey Kielbasa, I decided to try making a bean and sausage stew with this tasty ingredient. And this Slow Cooker Sausage and White Bean Stew could become a recipe template for many more dishes in the future, since the recipe starts with dried beans that are cooked with broth, onions, tomatoes, and spices for 8-10 hours in the slow cooker until the beans are creamy and soft.

I’d always heard that tomatoes will cause beans not to soften, but apparently a long cooking time will overcome that, because the beans in this dish were amazing. I added the sausage at the very beginning with the beans, but next time if I was home I’d probably add that halfway through the cooking time so the sausage was a little firmer. Then stir in some chopped spinach at the end and you have a delicious dinner.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

dried small white beans
onion
Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
ground rosemary (affiliate link), or dried rosemary, crushed
Dried Thyme (affiliate link), crushed
canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
can of petite dice tomatoes
pre-cooked sausage, cut into half-moon slices (see notes)
fresh spinach
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

What size Slow Cooker did I use?

I would use about a 4 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe. The stew freezes well so if you only have a bigger size you might want to double the recipe.

How to Make Slow Cooker Sausage and White Bean Stew:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

I used turkey Kielbasa, but use any pre-cooked sausage you prefer.
Cut the sausage in half lengthwise and then slice into half-moon slices. (I might add this after the beans have cooked for a while if I was going to be home.)
Chop onions, mince garlic, and crush the rosemary and thyme in a mortar and pestle if you have one.
Put the dried beans, chicken stock, tomatoes, and spices in the slow cooker. If you’re not going to be home, go ahead and add the sausage at this time. If you will be home, I would add the sausage about halfway through the cooking time.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the beans are creamy and as soft as desired (I like them quite well done.)
When the beans are done, measure 4 cups of spinach leaves, packed into the measuring cup.
Coarsely chop the spinach leaves. Add chopped spinach to the stew, turn the slow cooker to high, and cook about 30 minutes more.
Serve hot, with Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over the stew if desired.

Slow Cooker Sausage and White Bean Stew thumbnail image of finished stew

More Tasty Recipes with Dried White Beans:

Beans and Legumes Index ~ Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker
White Bean Soup with Ham and Rosemary from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Pasta with Arugula and White Beans from This Week for Dinner
Tuna and White Bean Salad from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Ingredients

1 lb. dried small white beans (see notes)
1 onion, chopped into fairly small pieces
1 T finely minced garlic
1 tsp. ground rosemary or dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
6 cups chicken broth
one 14.5 oz. can petite dice tomatoes
14 oz. pre-cooked sausage, cut into half-moon slices (see notes)
4 packed cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Instructions

Pick over the beans, removing any broken ones, and add beans to the slow cooker.
Chop onion, mince the garlic, and crush the spices with a mortar and pestle (or meat mallet) and add to the slow cooker.
Add the chicken stock and diced tomatoes to the slow cooker and start to cook on low.
Cut the sausage in half lengthwise, and then slice it into half-moon slices.
If you’re going to be cooking this while you’re not home, add the sausage now and cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until the beans are nicely softened.
If you will be home, I would cook the other ingredients about 5 hours and then add the sausage. It will work either way, but the sausage will be softer if you add it for the entire cooking time.
When beans are done to your liking, chop the spinach, turn the slow cooker to high, and cook about 30 minutes more.
Serve hot, with freshly grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling on the stew if desired.

Notes

One pound of beans is about 2 cups. Homemade chicken stock would be great in this but chicken broth from a can or a carton will also be fine. I used turkey Kielbasa sausage for this recipe.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 343Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 1507mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 6gSugar: 3gProtein: 18g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions
Dried beans are a good choice for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, and using low-fat turkey Kielbasa keeps this South Beach Diet friendly. If you want a stew with less carbs, use more sausage and spinach and half as many beans, but this recipe as written is probably too high in carbs for a traditional low-carb eating plan.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Stew Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Recipes by Diet Type photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there. Click here for more Slow Cooker / Instant Pot Recipes on my other site!

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was posted in 2012. It was last updated with more information in 2021.

Pinterest image of Slow Cooker Sausage and White Bean Stew

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