Soups
Vegan Zuppa Toscana Soup
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
35 minutes
Yield
4 -5
It’s that time of year again when one sunny day gets everyone thinking about Spring. Unfortunately for us up in Canada we have a few months left of chilly snow-filled days. It was on one of those -20 days that inspired me to create a new soup recipe. I’m a huge fan of soups, all year round, and have made almost every kind out there. I stumbled on a traditional Italian Vegan Zuppa Toscana on Pinterest and decided to try out my own vegan version.
Why you’ll love this vegan zuppa toscana:
- Quick: It’ll only take you about 30-40 minutes to have this ready to warm you up
- Healthy: I’ve added in things like kale that boost the nutrient content of this soup
- Comforting: Between the flavors, and the potatoes, this soup recipe is truly so comforting
Ingredient Notes:
Kale: I used kale for this soup recipe because that is what a traditional Zuppa Toscana is made with. A lot of people are on the kale train but I thought we could take a second to chat about why this beautiful green roughage is so popular today. It wasn’t that long ago that kale was used strictly for presentation at restaurants and not as the main ingredient. So why did kale take center stage? A single cup of raw kale contains:
- Vitamin K: 684% of the DV
- Vitamin C: 134% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 9% of the DV
- Manganese: 26% of the DV
Source: Healthline
How to make vegan zuppa toscana:
1. Break up the sausage using your hands, then fry the sausage in a deep pan medium-high heat while stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. When browned (around 5-6 minutes) remove sausage and place onto a plate.
2. Add your olive oil to the pot and heat on medium-high for around 20 seconds before adding the onion. Cook until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
3. OPTIONAL: Add your white wine of choice and let it reduce to half (about 2 minutes).
4. Increase the heat to high, add vegetable stock paste, potatoes, seasoning and herbs and cook for around 5 minutes until potatoes are fully coated. Add enough water just to cover the potatoes and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in the coconut or oat milk, cooked sausage, and kale. Let simmer for 2 minutes, until kale leaves have softened.
6. Serve hot with vegan parmesan and a dash of lemon!
FAQ & Expert Tips:
What is zuppa toscana? The name Vegan Zuppa Toscana in Italian is actually a broad term that means “Tuscan Soup”. This kind of soup got its North American popularity thanks to Olive Garden, who knew. Well, hunny, this ain’t no Olive Garden and I’m here to take us back under the Tuscan sun for a more traditional vegan option made with rich greens and earthy root veg.
Vegan Zuppa Toscana is known for its sausage, bacon, and heavy cream. I used Field Roast sausage but omitted the bacon, and subbed non-dairy milk for the heavy cream. Honestly, you can’t even tell the difference. Field Roast sausage is an unreal meat replacement and the veggie broth gives the perfect amount of umami flavoring. For this recipe, I went with coconut milk but you can use almond or cashew, whichever you prefer. It’s recipes like this that I love sharing with my readers, not only are you going to make a delicious meal, you are learning how easy it is to take a popular recipe and customize it for your specific dietary choices.
Storage: Store this in your fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days or let it cool completely and freeze it for up to 2 months. Dethaw and reheat when you’re ready to consume!
I don’t like kale: Remove it completely or swap it for spinach instead.
Other soup recipes you’ll love:
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Vegan Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 2 field roast Italian sausAges
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 large of cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine optional
- 1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable stock paste
- 3 large russet potatoes scrubbed rinsed and cubed - cut evenly
- season to taste
- 2 tbsp. dried basil
- 1 tbsp. dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes optional — adjust to your taste
- enough water to cover the potatoes around 4-5 cups
- 1 can coconut milk or oat milk
- 3 cups chopped kale hard stems removed - can also use spinach or fresh green chard
- garnish with fresh lemon and vegan parmesan
Instructions
- Break up the sausage using your hands, then fry the sausage in a deep pan medium-high heat while stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. When browned (around 5-6 minutes) remove sausage and place onto a plate.
- Add your olive to the pot and heat on medium-high for around 20 seconds before adding the onion. Cook until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- OPTIONAL: Add your white wine of choice and let it reduce to half (about 2 minutes).
- Increase the heat to high, add vegetable stock paste, potatoes, seasoning and herbs and cook for around 5 minutes until potatoes are fully coated. Add enough water just to cover the potatoes and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in the coconut or oat milk, cooked sausage, and kale. Let simmer for 2 minutes, until kale leaves have softened.
- Serve hot with vegan parmesan and a dash of lemon!
Any suggestions on how to adapt this to cook in a slow cooker? I love this recipe and was hoping to find a way to have it ready after a long day lol
Hey Nicole, I haven’t made this is a slow cooker before but you could try adding everything into the slow cooker. Just omit the greens and garnishes till the very end.
Amazing soup!
We used beyond sausages so that the recipe is gluten free and it was awesome. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
You’re so welcome! Thanks for the love, Tania!
Super delicious 😊
thank you, jennifer!!!
I loved this recipe because of the flavor that builds with every step. So delicious!
thank you, ashley!