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This Healthy Zuppa Toscana recipe is rich and creamy, spicy and packed with all those classic comforting flavors while still being dairy free, gluten free, grain free and Whole30 compliant! It’s a hearty, cozy one-pot meal perfect for the cold, wintry months packed with kale, bacon, potatoes and Italian sausage, made creamy with coconut milk.
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Why You’ll Love This Healthier Zuppa Toscana Recipe
- This rich, hearty take on classic Zuppa Toscana has all the creamy, slightly spicy flavors of the one served at your favorite Italian food chain… but lighter! Using coconut milk instead of cream, Whole30 compliant bacon and a homemade Italian sausage blend makes it perfect for your paleo or dairy free diet. Because healthy eating is harder during the colder months, am I right?
- It’s super filling. With potatoes, kale, sausage and bacon it’s a complete one pot meal that won’t leave you hungry, even served for dinner.
- Believe it or not, even with the homemade Italian sausage mix this is a dinnertime soup recipe that’s still ready in just 50 minutes making it easy enough to make for a weeknight dinner. Just remember to make enough so there are leftovers for the next day!
If you’re looking for real-deal Zuppa Toscana made with heavy cream, I’ve got you covered!
What I Learned Testing This Recipe
- Don’t overcook the kale. I’ve found adding it right at the end just to wilt in the soup is the best way to preserve it’s vibrant green color. If you cook it for too long in the soup it will turn brown which is okay for leftovers the next day, but not what you want bringing a big pot of soup to the table for your family!
- Use store-bought sausage if you can find a healthy brand. Sometimes in Whole Foods I’ve found packs of Italian sausage that are Whole30 compliant or at least preservative free. If you can buy something like this of course skip making the homemade version. Or, for a still healthy (but not quite as healthy as written) soup just use regular Italian sausage as a shortcut.
- If you don’t get enough fat out of the pork and bacon, add a splash of oil. Obviously in an ideal world I don’t want to add any additional cooking fat to the pot but if it is the difference between skipping the oil and getting burnt onions, a light, neutral cooking oil like avocado oil is the best choice. Some healthier bacon brands are great, but some release a lot of water rather than fat, and if you’re using lean pork you also might not get enough fat for the rest of the cooking.
Ingredients
Whole30 compliant bacon – I find that Whole Foods usually has a good selection. Obviously, if you don’t need this soup to be strictly Whole30 compliant you can use regular bacon, but try to choose one without nitrates and with as few additives as possible in order to keep the soup as healthy as possible!
Crushed red pepper flakes – To add warmth and spiciness to both the soup and the homemade Italian sausage. If your family is particularly sensitive to heat, leave the 1/2 teaspoon out of the soup, and use it just in the sausage mix.
Yellow potatoes – Diced into bite-sized pieces. Do try to find yellow ones like Yukon Golds, as they hold their shape nicely in the soup and white ones like Russets are more likely to dissolve into it! If you want to avoid potatoes, cauliflower florets are a good swap — I use them in my Keto Zuppa Toscana. You could also try celery root.
White, brown or yellow onion – It doesn’t matter which!
Garlic – As this is a soup where the vegetables really stand out fresh is much better than dried here, but you could use the pre-minced stuff from a jar if you don’t need it to be preservative-free for Whole30.
Chicken stock – This will give the richest flavor, but you could use vegetable stock in a pinch.
Kale – Stems removed and leaves chopped.
Coconut milk – Choose an unsweetened (obviously!), full-fat variety. 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.
Ground pork – For the homemade Italian sausage. Use ground chicken in place of the pork, if you prefer or don’t eat pork (and use turkey bacon also if avoiding pork!)
Red wine vinegar – This brings essential acidity to the sausage mix to balance out all the dried herbs and spices.
Fresh chopped parsley – This adds some freshness to the mix, again balancing out all of the dried herbs and spices.
Dried herbs and spices – Garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, paprika, ground fennel seed, dried oregano and dried thyme are the perfect combination to mimic the taste of store-bought Italian sausage.
Serving & Storage Suggestions
I love that this dairy free Zuppa Toscana is a complete one-pot meal, but if you’re desperate for something on the side a couple of slices of my paleo bread for dunking would be nice, as would some sort of salad (soup and salad is a classic combo for a reason!)
Refrigerate leftovers up to 4 days in an airtight container. Reheat gently on the stove over medium-low. I don’t love it frozen — the potatoes go mealy and the kale dark brown and chewy.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s close, and in a few ways I like it better. The original leans on heavy cream; this one uses full-fat coconut milk, which gives you the same silky body without the dairy. The bacon fat is doing a lot of the heavy lifting flavor-wise.
If you’re not doing Whole30 or dairy free, absolutely — swap in an equal amount of heavy cream and stir it in at the same point. Just don’t let it boil hard after it goes in.
No. Between the sausage, the bacon, the garlic, and the red pepper flakes, the coconut reads as creaminess, not flavor. Use unsweetened full-fat coconut milk, not cream of coconut, and the recipe will turn out fine!
Yellow potatoes, like Yukon Golds. They hold their shape in the broth instead of dissolving, and they’re creamier than russets. Leave the skins on for extra nutrition, texture and flavor!
Yes! Brown the sausage and bacon on the stove first, then add everything except the coconut milk and kale to the Crockpot and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours. Stir in the coconut milk and kale in the last 15 minutes!
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Healthy Zuppa Toscana (Whole30, Paleo, Dairy Free)
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.
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OMG so easy, filling and delish! We run a wellness accountability coaching business and we had been testing out fall soup recipes to recommend to clients and this one was a huge winner! We immediately texted the recipe to all our clients as the perfect, easy filling meal. Both men and women found it super hearty. . It’s going in the permanent rotation!
Thanks for the awesome review!
Made this tonight and it was easy and amazingly delicious! Very filling and perfect for a winter Whole30 meal. Will definitely be making it again 🙂
That is great to hear! 🙂
Love this recipe! I try to use homemade bone broth as much as possible and always make the sausage from scratch (sorry I use a different recipe for that though – someday I’ll try this one!). Tonight I added some spinach because I didn’t have enough kale. Just add at very end as it wilts quickly. So good! This is a recipe I come back to again and again and believe me when I say that’s a big deal because I rarely make a recipe a second time. Only the best get repeated!
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
A friend made a big batch and shared this with me and it sent me your recipe. This soup is perfection- Such a good flavor and all the warmth of the hearth. I am currently on Weight Watchers so any blues out there: 16sp points per cup 🙁
Aw, thanks for the kind words!
LOVE this recipe- but just realized I’m out of Kale. Has anyone tried with spinach in a pinch?
Although we have not tried spinach, it should work pretty well as long as it is added towards the end. 🙂
@ERIN I made it the first 2 times with spinach, it was so good I was reluctant to try Kale! Also had to use Oat milk once due to no coconut mild (canned) I do like the coconut milk but think Im trying it today with “lite” coconut milk. I use there-cooked turkey sausage for use and lower fat and skip the bacon.
*pre-cooked turkey sausage from Costco
So delicious. I omitted the bacon but added in 2 tbs of butter with the onions as extra fat. Also include some herbs de provence, sage, parm cheese (not whole 30) and dried thyme. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes 🙂
Wow, that sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing, Christina. 🙂
I just put the ingredients in my crockpot! I bought my own Italian sausage from Trader Joe’s and just took the meat out of the casing. I did put the spices that were listed under the homemade sausage directions into the pot/broth, so I hope that won’t mess anything up. Regardless I’m excited to try!
Yay!! That’s exciting, Kat! How did it go??
It was so good! Making it again for this week.
This is hands down one of my favorite recipes. Period. I’ve recently began a love affair with my instant pot, and if you’re like me, you’ll realize that if you scroll through comments on recipes, there’s always bound to be someone who shared their IP adaptation. I had to go back to 2018 in the comments to find one (hah… I was desperate!). To spare everyone the scrolling, here’s what I found from Drew (1/9/18):
“I’ve made this recipe multiple times, but I just made it in my instant pot tonight and it was amazing! I used another recipe’s instructions (that was not whole30) and subbed in your ingredients and it worked like a charm. I added 2 cups more broth and an extra small can of coconut cream and it was absolutely perfect.
The directions I used said to saute the onions in the instant pot and then add your italian sauage and garlic. After the sausage is cooked you add in broth and potatoes and set the pressure cooker setting to high for 5 minutes. Once it’s finished pressure cooking, you let it sit and slow release for 10 minutes before doing a quick release. Lastly, you add in your bacon, kale, and coconut milk/cream and you’re done!”
Thanks for posting this modification, Lindsay 🙂 The Instant Pot is definitely a game changer!
Thank you for reaching-posting! Saved me a lot of scrolling 🙂
This is one of my favorite Fall soup recipes! Is there a modification for cooking in a crockpot?
SAME! There’s nothing better than soup in the fall! To cook this recipe in a Crock-Pot, you would want to use less liquid, add the meat, veggies, and spices first, then add the coconut milk at the end. I’d also recommend cooking for around 4 hours — veggies get mushy after too long! Let me know how it goes!
Hi! I have been making this recipe for a few years and just love it. Better than regular non whole30 version- I’ve shared with all of my friends and family and everyone just loves it! My question is how much soup is one serving reflected in the nutrition facts? 1 cup?
So glad you love this recipe, Scout! Yes, the serving size is one cup. 🙂