Prepare all the vegetables: Dice the onion, peel and dice the potatoes into ~½ inch pieces, mince the garlic, wash the spinach (or kale) and basil. (Time-saving tip: dice the potatoes while the sausage is cooking)
In a 4-5 quart soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the vegan sausage crumbles, diced onion, and minced garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, using a spatula to crumble the sausage. The vegan sausage will release liquid - continue to cook until the liquid evaporates and the sausage browns, stirring frequently. Stir in the dried oregano, then remove the cooked crumbled sausage mixture to a plate and set aside.
Add the vegetable broth and diced potatoes to the pot. Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Add the coconut milk, spinach (or kale, see notes), basil, red pepper flakes, and the cooked sausage. Season with salt and ground black pepper, if desired. Bring to a boil, make sure to wilt the spinach, then remove from heat. Serve hot.
Notes
This soup is great with spinach OR kale. The kale has more of a chewy bite. If using kale, clean the kale leaves and tear them into small pieces. Add the kale about 3 minutes after adding the potatoes, to give it down to soften and cook down.
Coconut milk from a can gives this soup a rich flavor. Use canned lite coconut milk for less calories, or use unsweetened coconut milk from a carton or unsweetened almond milk for even fewer calories.
Try these other additions, too!
White beans. You can add 1-1.5 cups of cooked white beans (one 14-oz can, drained) to the final step of the soup recipe, when you're adding the spinach. This adds a nice boost of fiber to this soup.
Carrots. You can add ~1-1.5 cups chopped carrots at the same time that you're adding the diced potatoes - let the carrots cook through with the potatoes.
Celery. Add some thinly sliced celery while you are browning the vegan sausage and onions.
Splash of white wine. Add a splash of dry white wine after you remove the cooked sausage from the pan - this will deglaze the pan and add more flavor to the soup. Then continue with adding the vegetable broth and potatoes and cooking the rest of the soup.