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Bringing back another childhood staple, try my Whole30 Zuppa Toscana, a copycat rendition of Olive Garden’s delicious soup. The only thing that I am missing is the endless breadsticks and salad!
Growing up in Celina, Texas, my friends and I would always drive up to Frisco (the closest city to us) so that we could dine at Olive Garden together. In fact, when I ran cross country back in the day, Olive Garden was our restaurant of choice when we went to big meets out of town. Our Coach would take us to Olive Garden so we could feast before we’d run our little hearts out the next day. We loved it.
Being the soup lover that I am, I loved getting the Zuppa Toscana as my appetizer, even as a child. I loved it’s rich, creamy broth with the chunky potato and sausage filling. It’s one of those soups that really can be full meal.
In this Whole30 Zuppa Toscana recipe, I’ve recreated one of my childhood favorites while also keeping it dairy-free and gluten-free. It’s still simple to make and just as satisfying as it was during my teen years. The flavor from the ground sausage really does all the talking along with the rich and creamy texture of the soup, which is thickened with arrowroot flour and dairy-free creamer!
ingredients:
- Bacon
- Hot Italian Sausage
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Arrowroot Flour
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Italian Seasoning
- Lacinato Kale
- Russet Potatoes
- Dairy-Free Creamer
- Nutritional Yeast
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
step-by-step:
step one: cook the bacon
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon is just crispy, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Reserve the bacon fat in the the pot.
step two: cook the sausage
Add the sausage, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat with back of spoon, until cooked through and no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.
step three: build the soup
Add the arrowroot flour and stir until well incorporated. Stirring constantly, slowly pour in chicken broth, then bring the soup to a boil.
step four: add the kale and potatoes
Reduce heat to simmer. Add the Italian seasoning, chopped kale, and potatoes. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
step five: finish the soup
When the potatoes are tender, uncover and stir in the creamer, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Cook for 5 minutes, simmering uncovered, just to let the flavors meld.
step six: garnish and serve
Garnish with the cooked bacon bits, serve, and enjoy!
recipe faqs:
Let the soup cool completely, then transfer it to airtight containers or freezer bags, leaving some space for expansion. Label and date the containers before placing them in the freezer.
To thaw, move the container to the refrigerator and let it defrost overnight; for for a quicker option, use the microwave’s defrost setting. Further reheat the soup or stew in a pot on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it reaches a simmer, or microwave it in intervals, stirring in between, until heated through.
You can add 1 to 2 cups more broth to rehydrate the soup, as needed, and get it to the desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Yes! If you haven’t eliminated dairy from your diet, you could make this with half-and-half or heavy cream.
The hot Italian sausage gives the soup a little bit of a kick, but it’s not too spicy. You could always use mild Italian sausage instead if you’re worried about the heat.
I think this Whole30 Zuppa Toscana is going to be a total crowd-pleaser and I hope y’all enjoy it as much as me and my family do!
looking for more soups recipes? try these!
Chickpea and Farro Soup with Escarole
Whole30 Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 2 strips bacon, diced medium
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage
- 1 cup finely diced yellow onion (from about 1 small onion)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 4 cups chopped lacinato kale, stemmed (from about 1 bunch)
- 2 cups peeled and cubed russet potatoes
- 1 cup dairy-free creamer
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon is just crispy, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Reserve the bacon fat in the the pot.
- Add the sausage, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat with back of spoon, until cooked through and no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the arrowroot flour and stir until well incorporated. Stirring constantly, slowly pour in chicken broth, then bring the soup to a boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer. Add the Italian seasoning, chopped kale, and potatoes. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
- When the potatoes are tender, uncover and stir in the creamer, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice. Cook for 5 minutes, simmering uncovered, just to let the flavors meld.
- Garnish with the cooked bacon bits, serve, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This soup is so good, totally hits the spot on a cold day. I could eat this all winter long, thank you for this recipe!
This soup is like a warm hug. It never fails!! I usually make it non-whole 30 since I don’t follow a specific diet. I did try to lighten it up a little the last time I made it and used turkey bacon & hot chicken Italian sausage (removed from the casing). It was just as good as the original! My boyfriend loves it and I tell everyone about this soup. Definitely one of my favorite recipes ever!!
Alex this soup was AMAZING! So incredibly flavorful and filling – we loved it so much! Even my husband who “hates soup” said it was incredible and he wants me to make it again. Thank you for this recipe!!
Wow I’m not sure how it took me until buying Alex’s new book to try this. Seriously one of the best soups I’ve had – lots of flavor, comes together very easily, quickly, and looks and tastes impressive! I subbed full-fat coconut milk in for the nutpods as my grocery store was out and it was still super creamy and delicious!
Amazing! I’ve been meaning to make it for years and I don’t think I’ll ever stop now! the lemon juice at the end lightens it up and makes it taste so delicious and fresh!
Absolutely love this soup. I did notice that after adding the arrowroot starch it was nice and thick, but I forgot to take it off the stove (it was on super low) the broth seemed to break a little and was not as thick. Any recommendations?
Can’t wait for your next cookbook!
Hi! yes, arrowroot is one of those ingredients that the more you cook it, the less thickening power it has– if that happens again– you could always add another dose of a ‘slurry’ 1/4 cup broth with 2 tsp arrowroot or so, to thicken it back up!
This is so dang good! Only thing at the end when I added the nutritional yeast, nut pod creamer and lemon juice it initially was silky/creamy looking then it broke/separated. Still tasted delicious but just didn’t look right. Not sure what I did wrong.
This happened to me too! Absolutely delicious soup!! My husband and I ate it anyway. Such a fab new cookbook!! The problem is that the nutpods separated/curdled when I put them in. I was sooo disappointed! Next time I will use Thai Kitchen full fat coconut milk instead. Maybe Alex can weigh in on what may have happened with the nutpods. (They we’re cold, so perhaps tempering first?)
yes leaving them out at room temperature while you’re making the soup tends to help!! I usually get the nutpods that isn’t in the fridge section that I keep in my pantry– so that must be it!
Thanks so much! I’ll try again with the pantry version of nut pods. If it happens again, I’ll give the coconut milk a go! Btw, your Lemon avocado oil cake is to die for!!! Yummmm!! Xx
What can I use as a substitute for the Nutritional Yeast? My son got me hooked on your website a couple of years ago.
Hi! you can sub in 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese!
What can you substitute potatoes with if you want to cut carbs?
You could do some cauliflower florets!
Can I use parmesan cheese, heavy cream, and cornstarch to replace the nutritional yeast, nut pod creamer, and arrowroot flower if I’m not worried about whole 30?
yes!! all of the above works! 🙂
This was OFF THE CHARTS, CRAZY GOOD!! I’m not a huge fan of Italian sausage and the ingredients are pretty simple and basic so I was a little skeptical…but boy was this a treat for my taste buds and my hungry, pregnant belly! So flavorful, so satisfying, and something you feel GREAT about eating! I ate THREE BOWLS!!