Healthy Zuppa Toscana
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Healthy Zuppa Toscana is a healthier spin on the well-known Olive Garden version of this soup. This recipe includes some lean ground turkey in addition to Italian sausage as well as coconut milk instead of heavy cream.
For some other nutrient-dense soup recipes, try this Split Pea Vegetable Soup, Italian Minestrone Soup with Pesto, and Anti-Inflammatory Chicken Ginger Soup.
Dairy Free Zuppa Toscana
While I don’t specialize in dairy-free recipes by any means, I do think this dairy-free soup is something you’d enjoy even if you don’t have dietary restrictions. Coconut milk is easy to keep stocked in my kitchen for recipes like this one.
For other recipes using coconut milk, try our Thai Sweet Potato Soup or Curried Meatballs and Rice.
Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Soup is delicious but uses heavy cream and lots of Italian sausage.
Why This Recipe Works:
- SIMPLE – This Tuscan soup cooks in just one pot on the stovetop. 10/10!
- LIGHT BUT HEARTY SOUP – While we love indulging at times, this lighter soup includes savory sausage and lean ground turkey, lots of veggies, and coconut milk instead of cream. This soup is a great way to fill you up without being over-indulgent.
- FULL OF FLAVOR – The key to flavor is using plenty of seasonings and quality ingredients. We also love the coconut flavor too. It tastes even better than the original recipe at Olive Garden – trust me.
Ingredients Used:
Simple ingredients for a classic Italian Soup.
- Meat – A combo of spicy Italian sausage and ground turkey.
- Veggies – Onion, carrots, celery, garlic, yellow potatoes, and kale.
- Liquids – Lower-sodium chicken broth (or chicken stock) plus full-fat coconut milk.
- Seasonings – flour, onion powder, Italian Seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper
How to make Healthy Zuppa Toscana Soup:
Step 1
Sauté meat. In a large Dutch Oven, add olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground sausage and ground turkey, and cook until meat is browned and cooked through. Remove meat to a separate bowl.
Step 2
Cook veggies. In the same pot, add a little more olive oil, the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until the veggies are slightly softened. Then add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds or so.
Step 3
Add seasonings and flour. Sprinkle the flour over the top of the veggies as well as the seasonings (kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, onion powder, Italian Seasoning, and red pepper flakes) and stir for a minute or so.
Step 4
Add liquids. Then add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the diced potatoes and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender. Add the meat back to the pot and stir well.
Step 5
Add the kale. Finally, add the coconut milk and hearty kale and cook for about 10 additional minutes, or until piping hot.
Step 6
Serve. Serve the soup in individual serving bowls. Serve with crackers or crusty bread. Some parmesan cheese would also be delicious.
What to serve with Healthy Zuppa Toscana Recipe:
A big bowl of soup is often-times enough for me but the following sides are great accompaniments too.
- BREAD – Try our Italian Herb Bread, Sourdough Focaccia, or some Brioche Dinner Rolls.
- SALAD – Spinach and Goat Cheese Salad, Arugula Caprese Salad, or Classic Wedge Salad.
- DESSERT – We love finishing a meal with Italian Lemon Ricotta Cookies, Brown Butter Pecan Cookies, or the best Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe!
How to Store and Freeze Zuppa Toscana:
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container for up to four days. We normally meal-prep and divide soup into individual soup containers.
- Freeze leftover soup in a freezer bag for up to three months.
Other Homemade Soup:
It’s so very hard to choose my favorite soup recipe. I love them all! The following are a few of my favorites – don’t ask me to say just one. 😀
- Turkey Lasagna Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup with Bacon
- Turkey Meatball Italian Wedding Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- French Onion Soup without Wine
Recipe Variations:
- Instead of lean turkey or spicy sausage, feel free to use any ground meat like turkey sausage, any pork sausage, or ground beef. Bacon (or use turkey bacon) is also super tasty in this soup.
- Use fresh spinach or Swiss chard instead of fresh kale, if preferred.
- Use even more veggies by adding more or other kinds. Russet potatoes or even sweet potatoes could be substituted for the yellow version.
- Adjust the seasonings as you wish. We like it spicy and always add additional red pepper flakes.
- Instead of coconut milk, use regular cream or a combo of other dairy products.
Kitchen Tools used for this recipe: (Affiliate Links)
xoxo ~Sue
Healthy Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground sausage – we like the spicy version
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 medium yellow onion – diced
- 3 whole carrots – diced
- 3 stalks celery – diced
- 3 cloves garlic – minced
- 1 ½ pounds yellow potatoes – diced
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon each onion powder, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes – or to taste
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
- 8 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
- 15 oz. full-fat unsweetened coconut milk
- 4 cups kale – stems removed and slightly massaged
Instructions
- Sauté meat. In a large Dutch Oven, add olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground sausage and ground turkey, and cook until meat is browned and cooked through. Remove meat to a separate bowl.
- Cook veggies. In the same pot, add a little more olive oil, the onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until the veggies are slightly softened. Then add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds or so.
- Add seasonings and flour. Sprinkle the flour over the top of the veggies as well as the seasonings (kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, onion powder, Italian Seasoning, and red pepper flakes) and stir for a minute or so.
- Add liquids. Then add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the diced potatoes and cook until the potatoes are fork-tender. Add the meat back to the pot and stir well.
- Add the kale. Finally, add the coconut milk and hearty kale and cook for about 10 additional minutes, or until piping hot.
- Serve. Serve the soup in individual serving bowls. Serve with crackers or crusty bread. Some parmesan cheese would also be delicious.
Notes
- STORE leftover soup in an airtight container for up to four days. We normally meal-prep and divide the soup into individual soup containers.
- FREEZE leftover soup in a freezer bag for up to three months.
We really enjoyed this soup. I am a soup lover and this will definitely be a new fave. I am kind of a wimp when it comes to spicy, so I might cut back on the red pepper flakes. But it was very tasty!!
I love to hear this, sis! Thanks for your feedback!
This will now be in our regular soup rotation. We all LOVE it!
Yay! Thanks for your feedback, Jackie!
I am not sure if I can say the name correctly, but I definitely understand how to eat it! Amazing!
I have Ben making my version of this for years. I use smoked sausage (ring sausage), and skin on potatoes. I wash and slice potatoes about 1/4″ thick. The sausage is cut on the bias about 1/4″ as well, and a long with the onions is cooked in the bottom of a large pot. I do add crushed red pepper flakes as I do like a little zip to my food. Cook in the large pot with kale until boiling. Boil a few minutes and serv. It never lasts long enough to freeze. Great soup!
I love soup, all year round. This soup has so much flavor and goodness with all the veggies and coconut milk. This is a new favorite and I will be making it often.
I’m so happy to hear this, Shari! 🙂