This amazing Healthy Dairy-Free Zuppa Toscana features chewy kale, crispy bacon, Italian sausage, and potatoes in a smooth savory broth. It's a favorite healthy one-pot soup recipe perfect for weeknight dinners. It's also the ultimate cool-weather comfort food.
With only 10 ingredients plus a few common spices, this hearty soup recipe will win over your heart in no time!
If you’re new to Healthy Zuppa Toscana like I was, you are in for a BIG treat with this kale, sausage, and potato soup! As an Olive Garden classic, I remember watching friends ooo and ahh over the flavors while I missed out with a dairy intolerance. Now I can finally understand what the hype is about, and you can too!
If you’re up for a true Olive Garden experience at home, consider a ‘Soup and Breadsticks Meal’. Make this Zuppa Toscana and my Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone Soup recipe on Mashed.com. Or try my favorite Healthy Minestrone Soup recipe that’s just a little different and more suited to my taste.
If you're gluten-free like me, a Foolproof Gluten-Free French Baguette makes a good easy breadstick substitution.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- it’s creamy and indulgent
- uses surprisingly unpretentious ingredients
- 10 main ingredients plus just a few spices
- 40 minutes
- one-pot
- Bacon.
With that freshly crisped sprinkle of bacon on top, this recipe is a delight for dinner guests!
What is Zuppa Toscana?
The phrase Zuppa Toscana literally means soup from Tuscany. An authentic Tuscan soup often includes vegetable broth, chopped local vegetables such as zucchini and kale, as well as potatoes, bits of Tuscan bread, and an Italian bacon known as rigatino.
The Zuppa Toscana made popular by the Olive Garden Restaraunt is an American-Italian fusion recipe. This version includes heavy cream, sausage, potatoes, and kale in addition to some of the more traditional ingredients.
My Healthy Zuppa Toscana recipe is a dairy and gluten free Olive Garden Copycat Zuppa Toscana. However, I chose healthier soup ingredients with chicken sausage and coconut milk to lighten it up a bit.
What do you substitute for heavy cream?
Full-fat coconut milk in a can makes a perfect lactose and dairy-free substitute for heavy cream in recipes. You can simply substitute it one-for-one in place of heavy cream.
Does it taste like coconut?
This Dairy-Free Zuppa Toscana does not have a detectable coconut flavor from the coconut milk. With coconut milk, there is a fine line between ‘no coconut taste’ and tasting very coconut-y. I was careful to keep the amount below that line so it tastes just like the real thing!
How to make it (with photos)
You need only 10 ingredients plus a few common spices to make this Zuppa Toscana without heavy cream. Check out our clean ingredients list!
Ingredient Notes + Substitutions
You need thick-cut bacon, tapioca starch (you can substitute corn or arrowroot starch), vegetable or chicken broth, Italian Sausage, mushrooms, onion, garlic cloves, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, potatoes, curly kale, and full-fat coconut milk.
Ingredient Tips
Italian Sausage:
- Use ground Italian sausage for smaller pieces in the soup (my partner’s preference). For larger pieces, start with Italian sausage links and remove the casing (my preference).
- Choose mild or spicy Italian sausage based on your personal preference. Both are very tasty.
- You can use chicken or pork sausage. I tried this recipe with both, and prefer chicken sausage because it's a little lighter.
Potatoes and Onion:
- I recommend a small dice when preparing these ingredients so they cook quickly. Boiling time can vary by a full 10 minutes depending on the size of the dice.
- White onion is more traditional. I used a yellow onion for one of the trials and both tasted great.
Instructions
Here is how to make this Healthy Dairy-Free Zuppa Toscana in just 30 minutes!
- Fry Bacon: In a large pot on medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp (about 5 minutes). Meanwhile, mix starch with ½ cup cold broth by whisking or shaking in a sealed jar.
- Set Bacon Aside: Remove the bacon and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil. Remove all but a tablespoon of bacon fat from the pot.
- Add Mushrooms, Onion, Sausage, Spices: Turn the heat to medium-high and add mushrooms, onion, and sausage. Cook, stirring on occasion until the sausage is browning and the onion begins to soften. Add splashes of broth as needed to deglaze the pan. Then add garlic, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.
- Bring to a Low Boil: Add remaining broth, potatoes, bay leaves, and starch mixture. Stir well to mix it all together. Adjust the heat to bring to a low boil. Cook until the potatoes are soft (15-20 minutes).
- Coconut Milk and Kale: Add coconut milk and kale. Simmer for 5 minutes to wilt the kale.
- Serving: Serve hot with bacon sprinkled on top.
That's it! Easy peasy. I recommend prepping the ingredients ahead of time since the process moves quickly once you get started.
What to Pair with Healthy Zuppa Toscana
Pair this Healthy Zuppa Toscana with our Gluten-Free French Baguette or serve with a simple Tuscan-inspired salad like our Easy Tuscan Chicken Salad.
And for a truly decadent meal, don’t forget dessert! My Unbelievably Authentic Dairy-Free Tiramisu is a fan-favorite no-cook dessert recipe and one you’ll be so glad you tried. For something extra-easy and ready in under 10 minutes, you won't want to miss my Italian Hot Chocolate recipe.
A glass of dry white wine pairs well with Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana. I recommend a dry Riesling or Pinot Gris.
Related Healthy Soup Recipes to consider...
If you love healthy soups, here are some more delicious recipes to try!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card or comment field below. Thank you!
Healthy Dairy-Free Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch can sub corn or arrowroot starch
- 3 ½ cups vegetable or chicken broth divided
- 1 pound ground Italian Sausage
- 8 ounces mushrooms
- 1 ¼ cup diced onion
- 3 medium russet potatoes diced into ½ inch cubes
- 4 cups curly kale stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk from a can
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Spices
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 medium bay leaves
Instructions
- Fry Bacon: In a large pot on medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp (about 5 minutes). Meanwhile, mix starch with ½ cup cold broth by whisking or shaking in a sealed jar.
- Set Bacon Aside: Remove the bacon and place it on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil. Remove all but a tablespoon of bacon fat from the pot.
- Add Mushrooms, Onion, Sausage, Spices: Turn the heat to medium-high and add mushrooms, onion, and sausage. Cook, stirring on occasion until the sausage is browning and the onion begins to soften. Add splashes of broth as needed to deglaze the pan. Then add garlic, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.
- Bring to a Low Boil: Add remaining broth, potatoes, bay leaves, and starch mixture. Stir well to mix it all together. Adjust the heat to bring to a low boil. Cook until the potatoes are soft (15-20 minutes).
- Coconut Milk and Kale: Add coconut milk and kale. Simmer for 5 minutes to wilt the kale.
- Serving: Serve hot with bacon sprinkled on top.
Notes
Nutrition
A glass of wine and Italian dinner music is all you need for a stellar Italian-themed dinner. Enjoy your evening!
xo, Jamie
Lara
We’ve been making this every week, and the whole family is still excited for it!
Jean
This zuppa Toscana recipe is the ultimate healthy comfort food!
Donna
This is simply a stellar recipe that my family loves. The crispy bacon really makes it special, and I love kale in soup. We used chicken sausage and it was great!
Maple
My whole family loved this soup! We used chicken sausage and halved the bacon to make it even healthier. I’d never know it was dairy free! Such a lovely recipe.
Ivanka
This is the perfect fall or winter recipe! So hearty and simple, just like a classic Italian soup.
Andi
I haven’t had a true dairy full Zuppa Toscana so I can’t compare, but this soup is phenomenal! Definitely a repeat in our house and a special treat. Thank you for this recipe and I look forward to spending more time on this blog!
Janet R.
New favorite soup! The bacon and sausage with kale makes for a really flavorful and comforting soup. I'm not even a big soup person, but if all your soups are like this, then I must try them all!
Kayla
Yum! This tastes as good as it looks! Hearty, easy, and filling.