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This Whole30 healthy Zuppa Toscana is rich and creamy, spicy, and absolutely bursting with flavor. You’ll love this filling, Whole30 soup anytime, but especially during cold, wintry months. Dairy free, gluten free, grain free, and sugar free, this is one of the best Whole30 soups out there and my favorite healthy soup!
Can You Really Make This Iconic Soup at Home?
We started a recent Whole30 with this soup, and I have to say: we did it right. I even posted a snap (?) on Instagram, lamenting how oh. so. hard. it is to do a Whole30, with lots of crying emojis… I’m subtle.
In previous rounds, I tired quickly of large slabs of animal protein, so I knew I had to shake things up a bit this round. And leading a group Whole30 and Facebook support group (join us!) means coming up with new and delish recipes to keep things interesting.
Et voilà, my friends, the Whole30 Zuppa Toscana. Who isn’t a fan of the creamy, spicy soup at your favorite Italian-food chain, laden with potatoes and kale and bacon and Italian sausage and “ohhhh boy”. Especially during the winter, my cravings for creamy, filling soups multiply like four-hundredfold, so we find ourselves in a tricky spot.
A spot where you’re 100% committed to doing a strict Whole30, but you really, really want Zuppa Toscana.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This Whole30 soup is rich and creamy like traditional Zuppa Toscana but totally dairy free.
- It starts with an easy but delicious Italian sausage recipe, made from scratch! But don’t be nervous – it’s super quick and couldn’t be simpler.
- The combination of coconut milk, kale, potatoes, Italian sausage, and bacon make this healthy Zuppa Toscana super filling and a one-pot meal.
This Whole30 Zuppa Toscana is based on a regular Zuppa Toscana recipe, subbing simple ingredients for the dairy, grains, and sugar. I recommend making your own Italian sausage, which is insanely easy, but you could use compliant storebought Italian sausage, too, of course. Make sure you use compliant bacon if you’re on a Whole30, as well. It can be tricky to find bacon that doesn’t have sugar in it, but Whole Foods has a few brands of that, as well.
I have a tendency to be super hungry on the Whole30, like eat. all. the. things., but this soup kept me super full all night. I might have had to bite my knuckles to get past my craving for Glutino pretzels on tap, shoveled into my face during our nightly screenings of Boardwalk Empire, but it wasn’t from hunger, that’s for us.
That, my friends, is a habit that, I have to say, I kind of still miss. Baby steps, fam. Baby steps.
Variations
- If you avoid potatoes, try cauliflower florets in place of the diced potatoes. You can even try celery root!
- Try ground chicken in place of the pork, if you prefer or don’t eat pork.
- If you’re allergic to coconut or are worried it might have a “coconutty” flavor, swap the coconut milk out for cashew cream. Combine 1 cup raw cashews with 3/4 cup water in a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth.
Chef’s Tips
- Don’t overcook the soup after you’ve added the kale. You want it bright green and just wilted.
- Make a big batch of this Whole30 healthy Zuppa Toscana on Sunday and eat it all week. Comfiest meal prep ever!
- Leave out the extra 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes in the soup if you’re sensitive to heat.
Make your Italian sausage: combine all ingredients and mix well with your hands. Alternately, simply pour all ingredients into a large pot and mix with a spoon while browning. Brown the sausage in a large heavy-bottomed pot, preferably a Dutch oven, breaking up with a spoon or spatula. Remove from pot, drain, and set aside.
Fry bacon until crisp and remove with a slotted spoon. Don’t get rid of bacon grease! Stir in the onions and garlic and cook until soft and translucent.
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil about 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender. Reduce the heat to medium and add coconut milk and sausage; stir until smooth. Add in kale and bacon and cook until kale is bright green and just wilted.
Serve!
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Whole30 Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup
- Cheesy Vegan Broccoli Soup (Whole30)
- Whole30 Lasagna Soup
- Bruschetta Chicken (Whole30, Paleo, Low Carb)
- Slow Cooker Tom Kha Soup (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)
- Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Whole30 Creamy Garlic Chicken (Dairy Free, Paleo)
- 15-Minute Hearty Chickpea Soup
Whole30 Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 4 slices Whole30-compliant bacon sliced into ½-inch pieces
- 1 pound Italian sausage made from below recipe or storebought
- ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 4 medium yellow potatoes about 1 pound 3 ounces, diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium white or yellow onion diced
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced, about 4 cloves
- 4 cups chicken stock
- ½ bunch kale stems removed and leaves chopped, 4 cups
- 1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Homemade Whole30 Italian Sausage
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley or 2 teaspoons dried
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon ground fennel seed optional
- pinch dried oregano
- pinch dried thyme
Instructions
- If making Italian sausage: combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Alternately, combine all ingredients in the saucepan and stir well when browning.
- In a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed medium pot over medium heat, add Italian sausage and sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes over. Use a spoon to break up the pieces. When browned and cooked through, drain and set aside.
- Cook the bacon pieces in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 5-10 minutes. Remove the crisp bacon and set aside – don’t get rid of the bacon fat! Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the onions and garlic, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 10-20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the coconut milk and the cooked sausage; heat through. Add the bacon and the kale into the soup just before serving and cook ’til the kale is bright green and softened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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This recipe was originally published in January 2017 but was updated with step-by-step photos, video, and tips August 2018.
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Deeeelicious! My husband specially requested it tonight. We like to eat it for lunches all week!
Thank you for the compliment, Emily! It’s such a great lunchtime soup this time of year 🙂
Love love this recipe! Any suggestions on how to make without an instapot or crockpot? We had one the first time I made this recipe and don’t now.
We are so glad you enjoy this recipe! Yes, we created a version just for the Crockpot. 🙂 https://40aprons.com/crockpot-zuppa-toscana/
What is the serving size? One 1/2 cup?
Jordan, we consider the serving size one cup. 🙂
How much of a difference would omitting the bacon make? We eat pork, but not bacon.
Hi! The bacon adds a ton of flavor and additional protein while also providing oil for the onions to cook in. You can omit the bacon, but make sure to substitute some oil for the bacon oil. 🙂
How would substituting ground turkey in the sausage recipe change the flavor? A good friend of mine cannot eat certain kinds of meat due to a condition called Alpha Gal. I would need to use turkey instead of pork and turkey bacon in the soup. Would it still work? Thanks in advance!
Turkey would definitely work here, Jen! It would be a bit milder of a flavor than pork, but ground turkey will do!
We made this for dinner yesterday and it was amazing. We used ground turkey because we had this one hand and it was still delicious!!! Very flavorful.
That sounds perfect!
I made a double batch of this last night and loved it, and although I did make some additional substitutions /changes, I don’t think the changes were far off from how it was written.
I used a blend of sweet and spicy chicken sausage and skipped the additional red pepper flake. I added in a celery rib to my onion and garlic, used 1 cup of Pinot Grigio (not Whole 30) to deglaze the pot before adding in the broth, and then reduced the amount of broth added in by 1 cup. I did not add the bacon into the batch at the end, and instead left it as a topping (I have a teenaged child who has an aversion to pork bacon).
It was so tasty! I’m so glad I made a double batch!
Made this several times and LOVE it. Has anyone tried it successfully in an InstantPot? 40Aprons, do you have instructions for that method?
So far we only have a Crockpot option here but we’re working on it! 🙂
This is the recipe that brought me to 40 Aprons because it’s so amazing and I’m so glad because I don’t know if my Whole30 would have become a complete change in my way of eating without loving so many delicious recipes such as this one. I have made it with cashew cream in place of coconut milk and love the additional richness/creaminess . I also prefer ground turkey to ground pork (and find myself reaching for her Italian sausage recipe in many dishes). I even adapted it to my Instant Pot! You know a recipe is worth adding to your arsenal when it’s not only wonderful and delicious – it’s forgiving and flexible!
Glad we could help Nicole!
Could this be adapted to the instant pot?
Great question! Feel free to try it and let us know how it goes. 🙂
Thank you so much for the recipe! I love Zuppa Toscana, but I’m not a huge fan of coconut milk (unless it’s in Indian or Thai food). I loved the addition of cashew cream! This is going to make my Whole30 so much more enjoyable.
Glad we could help Abigail!
This recipe sounds great but I’m wondering if oat milk would work instead of coconut milk?
Absolutely! Dairy milk or any of the alternatives would work here. Depends on your flavor preferences!