Paleo Zuppa Toscana

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Paleo Zuppa Toscana is a rich soup filled with potatoes, kale, Italian sausage and bacon. Your slow cooker makes this dairy free recipe easy to make.

Paleo Zuppa Toscana - Tastes of Lizzy T

Paleo Zuppa Toscana Recipe

One of my favorite things to eat is soup. And something that I don’t fix very often is soup. I know it doesn’t make sense.  For some reason, soup is generally not what comes to mind when I’m menu-planning.  The one exception is when we are on a Whole30 or eating strictly paleo.  Although I know there are a lot of unhealthy soups out there, soup in my mind equals healthy.

Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe

This Paleo Zuppa Toscana is our grain free, gluten free, sugar free and dairy free version of one of our Olive Garden favorites. That creamy soup is my husband’s favorite and we realized how easy it is to make the Olive Garden soup recipe into a low carb soup that would be hearty enough and spicy enough to still bring smiles.

Zuppa Toscana Ingredients

Zuppa Toscana literally means “soup in the style of Tuscany”. This creamy Whole30 zuppa toscana soup is full of potatoes, Italian sausage, kale, onions, and most importantly, bacon.

Bacon makes everything better.

Except chocolate. I do not care for chocolate covered bacon. I’ll take my bacon and chocolate separate, thank you.

Paleo Zuppa Toscana - Tastes of Lizzy T

Sausage Soup Recipe

I used our own Italian sausage blend that you can find here. Homemade sausage seasoning is so much better than store-bought. Yes, it takes 5 minutes to throw the seasonings in a pound of ground meat, but the exploding flavor that will happen in your mouth is so worth it. Plus, you get to decide what type of “sausage” meat you use. Our favorite meat to add sausage seasoning to is ground turkey because it is so lean.  I did a little bit of prep work the day before and got a pound of ground turkey seasoned and browned, so the next morning, it was all ready to throw in the slow cooker.

{And if you’re looking for homemade Italian seasoning mix? Try THIS!}

You can also prep the bacon ahead of time, too.  Just a little bit of thinking ahead will make this an easy paleo sausage and kale soup to throw together on those early mornings.

Paleo Zuppa Toscana - Tastes of Lizzy T

Zuppa Toscana with Coconut Milk

One last thing before you head to the store to get the ingredients for this dairy free zuppa toscana soup.  The recipe calls for coconut milk to make the soup creamy. If you don’t need the soup to be dairy free, you can add whole milk or half and half creamer instead.

The coconut cream (or regular milk) should be added at the very end of cooking.  Make sure that your can of coconut milk are refrigerated and use only the solid white cream from the cans. Save the clear milky liquid for a smoothie or another recipe.  Add the cream in, stir it into the soup a bit so it melts in and voila…you’ve got creamy soup!

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana

I like to double this recipe to fill my 5 quart slow cooker right to the top. That way we have plenty for leftovers. Meal prep can be hard, so having a soup recipe with lots of leftovers makes dinner the next day or even lunches a breeze.

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paleo-zuppa-toscana-recipe

Paleo Zuppa Toscana

4.73 from 29 votes
Paleo Zuppa Toscana is a rich soup filled with potatoes, kale, Italian sausage and bacon. Your slow cooker makes this dairy free recipe easy to make.
Servings 6 servings
Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 2 minutes

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Ingredients
 

  • 1 lb bacon cooked and crumbled
  • 1 lb Italian sausage browned and drained
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 medium onion diced
  • 3 large potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
  • 2 cups kale diced
  • 1 can full fat unsweetened coconut milk refrigerated

Instructions
 

  • Place half of the cooked and crumbled bacon into the slow cooker. Reserve the other half as a topping for the soup.
  • Add the Italian sausage, chicken stock, garlic, onion and potatoes to the slow cooker.
  • Cover and simmer on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours until the potatoes are tender.
  • With 30 minutes left, add the kale to the slow cooker. Cover and allow the kale to cook for 30 minutes.
  • Five minutes before serving, open the can of refrigerated coconut cream and add just the solid white cream to the slow cooker. Reserve the clear coconut milk for another use. Let the cream heat through the soup for about 5 minutes.
  • Serve with crumbled bacon on top.

Video

Notes

*You can lower the calories in this recipe by using lean turkey sausage and not adding as much bacon.

Nutrition

Calories: 818kcal
Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Calories 818

A bowl of zuppa toscana

About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Angie
9 years ago

5 stars
We substitute parsnips for the potatoes. They honestly don’t change the flavor and my kids don’t know the difference between when I use potatoes and when I use parsnips. Just wanted to share if anyone is looking for alternatives to potatoes.

Tully
9 years ago

A lot of the recipes I am seeing are not actually paleo. Potatoes are not a paleo food…

Lizzy T
9 years ago

The coconut milk is great to make the soup creamy! Enjoy!

Vanessa
9 years ago

5 stars
This zuppa looks amazing and vary tasty. I will make this recipe for my familly. Thanks

Allyson
9 years ago

This soup looks fantastic, and you’re right that bacon does make everything better. Can’t wait to try it as I can’t get enough soups lately!

Joy @ Yesterfood
9 years ago

5 stars
Yes, everything about this is beautiful, from the photography to the ingredients to the homemade sausage seasoning recipe (thanks!!). I feel warmer just looking at this amazing soup! ♥

Lizzy T
9 years ago

Thank you so much, Kelsey 🙂

Lizzy T
9 years ago

Thanks, Selena! It’s a delicious soup, paleo or not!

Lizzy T
9 years ago

Yay! Enjoy it, Kara!

Laurel Blow
9 years ago

5 stars
Wish I could eat this right off the screen! Can’t wait to give it a try!

Jamie @ Love Bakes Good Cakes
9 years ago

One of my favorite soups at Olive Garden! I love that y’all made this in the slow cooker – It would help with the chaos at my house during dinnertime!

Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
9 years ago

This is one of my favorite soups at Olive Garden too. Love how you made it with the coconut milk! It sounds amazing and perfect for these chilly days here in the Midwest!!

Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files
9 years ago

Oh my gosh…I am right there with you. I LOVE this soup from Olive Garden. I have made it a few times before but never thought to make it with coconut milk. Definitely adding this to our menu soon!

Cathy@LemonTreeDwelling
9 years ago

This soup looks incredible, ladies!

Kelley
9 years ago

Adding this to my must try list now! It looks so good!

Valerie | From Valerie's Kitchen
9 years ago

I’ve been on a kale kick lately and actually have some in my fridge right now. I’m thinking this is a great way to use some of it up! Looks wonderful!

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