Healthy Zuppa Toscana Soup
A Healthy Zuppa Toscana Soup that you'll absolutely love. Easy to make dairy free, this cozy soup is packed with flavor and so delicious!
Servings: 8 2 cup servings
Calories: 501kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage casing removed
- 2 cups diced sweet yellow onion about 1 large onion
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic about 4 cloves
- 4 cups Yukon gold potatoes diced into 1-inch chunks (about 6 medium 2-3 inches long)
- 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground fennel seed
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 cups chicken broth low or no salt
- 1 cup heavy cream or coconut cream, see notes below
- 4 cups kale stem removed and roughly chopped
- olive oil if needed
For serving
- 6 slices bacon cooked and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it apart as it browns. (We love this tool for breaking apart ground meat!)
- Once the sausage is fully cooked, use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the sausage, transfer to a plate and set aside. Save the fat in the pot. If you have less than 2 tbsp of fat in the pot, add a little olive oil to get 2 tablespoons total. If you have more than 2 tablespoons of fat, you can discard any extra (this will depend on the type of sausage used).
- With the heat still over medium, add the finely diced onions to the pot and cook until translucent (about 5-6 minutes).
- Once the onions are tender, add the minced garlic, stir, and cook another 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces and add to the pot. Season with the salt, pepper, ground fennel, red pepper flakes and stir.
- Add the broth to the pot and increase the heat to bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally just to help deglaze the bottom of the pan.
- While the soup is cooking, prepare the bacon by cooking to desired crispness, patting dry and chopping. Set aside.
- Once the potatoes are tender, add the sausage back to the pot along with the heavy cream (or coconut cream) and stir, cooking for about another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped kale, cooking just another minute or so until the kale is tender and bright green.
- Remove the soup from heat and serve topped with chopped bacon and Parmesan cheese (if using).
Crockpot Instructions:
- Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it apart as it browns. (We love this tool for breaking apart ground meat!)
- Once the sausage is fully cooked, use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the sausage, transfer to a plate and set aside. Save the fat in the pot. If you have less than 2 tbsp of fat in the pot, add a little olive oil to get 2 tablespoons total. If you have more than 2 tablespoons of fat, you can discard any extra (this will depend on the type of sausage used).
- With the heat still over medium, add the finely diced onions to the pot and cook until translucent (about 5-6 minutes).
- Once the onions are tender, add the minced garlic, stir, and cook another 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Transfer the cooked onions and garlic to the crockpot base
- Chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces and add to the pot. Season with the salt, pepper, ground fennel, red pepper flakes and stir.
- Add the broth to the pot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
- While the soup is cooking, prepare the bacon by cooking to desired crispness, patting dry and chopping. Set aside.
- Once the potatoes are tender, add the sausage in to the pot along with the heavy cream (or coconut cream) and cover for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped kale, cover for another minute or so until the kale is tender and bright green.
- Remove the soup from heat and serve topped with chopped bacon and Parmesan cheese (if using).
Instant Pot Instructions
- Set your instant pot to Sauté, 15 minutes.
- Add the sausage and cook, breaking it apart as it browns. (We love this tool for breaking apart ground meat!)
- Once the sausage is fully cooked, use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the sausage, transfer to a plate and set aside. Save the fat in the pot. If you have less than 2 tbsp of fat in the pot, add a little olive oil to get 2 tablespoons total. If you have more than 2 tablespoons of fat, you can discard any extra (this will depend on the type of sausage used).
- Add the finely diced onions to the pot and cook until translucent (about 5-6 minutes).
- Once the onions are tender, add the minced garlic, stir, and cook another 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces and add to the pot. Season with the salt, pepper, ground fennel, red pepper flakes and stir.
- Add the broth to the pot. Stir to help deglaze the bottom of the pan to avoid a burn notice.
- Cover the instant pot and set to Sealing, 4 minutes (it will take about 5 minutes to come to temperature).
- While the soup is cooking, prepare the bacon by cooking to desired crispness, patting dry and chopping. Set aside.
- Once the soup has cooked, quick release the pressure. Remove the lid from the pot and set to Saute, 6 minutes. Add the sausage back to the pot along with the heavy cream (or coconut cream) and stir, cooking for about another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped kale, cooking just another minute or so until the kale is tender and bright green.
- Remove the soup from the Instant Pot and serve topped with chopped bacon and Parmesan cheese (if using).
Notes
How to Make Zuppa Toscana Dairy Free
This recipe can easily be made dairy-free by swapping the heavy cream for coconut cream. This recipe was tested using Thai Kitchen brand coconut cream (not coconut milk). Using 1 13.5-oz can, I was able to separate 1 cup of cream from the liquid portion to use in this recipe.
You can also use full-fat coconut milk, but, for the creamiest results, I would recommend refrigerating the can before opening so that you can separate the liquid portion and cream portion.
You may need more than 1 can of full-fat coconut milk to get a full cup of cream, depending on the brand used.
Once the soup is finished, omit the parmesan cheese and just serve with chopped bacon.
Nutrition
Serving: 2cups | Calories: 501kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 730mg | Potassium: 851mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3842IU | Vitamin C: 57mg | Calcium: 210mg | Iron: 2mg