Great question! Not having bacon on hand happens to all of us, and using just smoked sausage will still make a delicious soup. Since bacon adds both fat and smoky flavor to sauté the onions, I’d suggest starting with a tablespoon or two of oil (olive or vegetable), then adding some diced smoked sausage early in the cooking process so the sausage can render some fat and infuse the onions with that smoky flavor you’d normally get from the bacon.

My apologies, Theresa, there was a problem with the recipe card. Thank you for pointing out the error! I’ve just fixed it. You can check the recipe card, but to answer your question here. At first (after you bring the soup to a boil), you simmer the soup for 15 minutes, then add the carrots and simmer the soup for an additional 15-20 minutes. Enjoy the soup. 🙂

After the soup is boiling and reduce to a simmer how long do you simmer the soup? It was not there on the instructions.