Whole30 Zuppa Toscana

When fall and winter hit, I'm so ready for all the soups. Not only are they great for throwing in the crock pot or on the stove, but making a batch of soup make your house smell amazing and warm your soul. They're great for leftovers or freezing too!

Scroll down to the recipe for Dutch oven, slow cooker or even make this whole30 zuppa toscana in the Instant Pot.

Why I Love Whole30 Zuppa Toscana

• It's a hearty soup filled with healthy ingredients like kale and potatoes and protein from the sausage. This healthy zuppa toscana is made with olive oil, chicken broth and coconut cream or cashew cream instead of cheese and heavy cream. 
• It's a creamy soup that tastes just as good the next day. Which makes it great for meal prep!
• The whole family will love it. Our toddler especially loves the potatoes and sausage.
• It's an easy whole food recipe. You only need one pot.
• Easy to make low carb. Swap out the potatoes for a chopped head of cauliflower to make it keto and low carb!

​Grab these Ingredients

Here are the simple ingredients for this zuppa toscana recipe. Most are pantry staples and easy to find in grocery stores. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.

• Ground sausage: check the ingredients for added sugars and preservatives to keep this whole30 compliant. I really like the Italian sausage from Whole Foods or you can make your own Italian sausage with ground pork and spices.
• Chicken broth: find one with reduced sodium so it isn't overly salty. Bonus points for using bone broth!
• Onion: fresh diced onion builds the base flavor for this soup.
• Italian seasoning: a bit of this adds all the Italian flavors you need for a traditional zuppa toscana.
• Garlic: nothing beats the smell of fresh garlic and onion cooking together.
• Russet potatoes: I love the heartiness the potatoes add to this dish. You could swap this for sweet potatoes or red potatoes. Or you could use cauliflower florets as well to keep it low carb. 
• Kale: make sure to wash it well before adding it to the soup. You can chop it or just tear it into small pieces. We also have a tutorial on how to freeze kale to if you have any frozen kale available you can use that.
• Coconut cream: this is the thick part of the coconut milk from full fat coconut milk. You can find it in the international section of the grocery store. The coconut flavor minimal, in fact, I can't even taste it. However, you could also use cashew cream as an alternative.
• Tapioca starch: this is an optional ingredient that helps thicken the soup, similar to what cornstarch would do. It's very affordable and can be found in the baking aisle. We use it to thicken a lot of soups like this creamy sausage gnocchi soup.

How to Make Whole30 Zuppa Toscana

The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through the steps with some photos and a video so you have a clear idea of what to expect. This classic Italian soup is really easy and these step-by-step instructions will make sure they turn out every time.

Brown the sausage

Add the olive oil to a large dutch oven over medium heat. When it's hot, add the onion and cook, letting it soften and sweat for 2-3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute, until fragrant.

Add the Italian sausage and cook to break it up until no pink remains, about 4 minutes.

Boil the potatoes

Add the chicken broth, diced potatoes (or cauliflower), salt and red pepper flakes. Bring the soup to a boil over medium high heat then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes.