This Healthy Zuppa Toscana is a healthier copycat version of everyone’s favorite Olive Garden soup. Dairy-free, Paleo, and made with only real-food ingredients, this hearty soup is full of flavor and so simple to make.

The Best Homemade Zuppa Toscana Soup

Who didn’t love Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Soup growing up? True story – I used to love Olive Garden as a kid. Their soup, salad, and breadsticks combo was my absolute favorite along with their chicken alfredo. Oh my gosh, I just could not get enough.

This soup is a healthier copycat of my old favorite. It’s packed with flavor from Italian sausage, crisp bacon, and plenty of fresh garlic. Even though it’s dairy-free, this soup is still perfectly delicious, creamy, and will be a hit with everyone. It also happens to be Whole30 compatible if that’s something you need!

Watch How to Make This Recipe

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paleo zuppa toscana soup ingredients

Healthy Zuppa Toscana Soup Ingredients

Bacon: you’ll need a few strips of thick cut bacon to start off the soup. 

Italian Sausage: you can use whatever ground Italian sausage you prefer. If you like things on the spicier side, then grab a pound of spicy Italian sausage to give the soup a bit of kick. 

Onion & Garlic: plenty of onion and fresh garlic help to give this soup the best flavor. 

Spices & Seasoning: you’ll need a combination of red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper for the soup. 

Arrowroot Starch: this is a grain-free thickener that works similarly to cornstarch to thicken the soup up a bit. 

Russet Potatoes: you’ll need around 4 cups of diced russet potatoes for this recipe. No need to peel them unless you want to!

Chicken Broth: I like to use low-sodium chicken broth for this soup so that I can better control the amount of salt. 

Coconut Milk: to keep the soup creamy we’re using full-fat coconut milk before, it works as a great dairy-free substitute for heavy cream. You can typically find full-fat coconut milk in the Asian aisle of your local grocery store. It will be unrefrigerated and sold in a can.

Kale: you’ll need around four cups of kale for this recipe. I chose curly kale for this soup but you could also use lacinato or “dinosaur” kale instead. 

Ingredient Substitutions

  • Bacon – if you prefer you can leave the bacon out altogether or use half of the amount if you prefer!
  • Italian Sausage – skipping the pork? swap the traditional pork Italian sausage for ground chicken or turkey sausage instead. 
  • Potatoes – you can swap the potatoes for cauliflower if you prefer! I’ve included some notes on how to do that, below.
  • Coconut Milk –  if you don’t need to keep this soup dairy free then you can use half & half instead of coconut milk. 
  • Kale – don’t love kale? swap it for another green like spinach or chard!

Helpful Kitchen Tools

coconut milk being poured into soup

How to Make Homemade Dairy Free Zuppa Toscana Soup

Step One: Heat a large stockpot over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced bacon to a large stock pot and cook until crispy. Stirring occasionally.

Step Two: When the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pot. Drain the bacon on paper towels and then set aside.

Step Three: Remove all but two tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pot. Next add the Italian sausage to the pot. Brown the sausage and break it up as it cooks.

Step Four: When the sausage is brown, add the diced onion, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Let everything cook for a few minutes until the onions start to become tender, roughly five minutes.

Step Five: Next sprinkle the arrowroot starch over the meat mixture and stir until well combined. Then, add the diced potatoes and chicken broth and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for around 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.

Step Six: When the potatoes are tender, add the coconut milk and kale to the pot. Simmer until the kale is wilted. Lastly, stir in the crisped bacon and then serve immediately. 

How to Make this Zuppa Toscana with Cauliflower

I love the hearty potatoes in this soup, but if you need a lower carb option you can also make this healthy zuppa toscana soup with cauliflower florets instead of diced potatoes.

Here are a couple of things to note when making this Zuppa Toscana with Cauliflower:

  • Depending on the size of the cauliflower florets they will likely need a bit less time to cook and become tender. Check the soup after 15-20 minutes of simmering to see if the cauliflower florets cooked through.
  • Cauliflower releases water as it cooks, which may make the soup a bit thinner. If you want the soup to be a bit thicker, you can make a slurry with a tablespoon of hot water and arrowroot starch and stir that into the soup to thicken.

How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat

Store the soup in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can reheat the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave. 

You can also freeze the soup, however, the texture of the potatoes do change a bit after freezing so keep that in mind.

More Reader Favorite Soup Recipes

Get all of our best healthy soup recipes, here!

zuppa toscana soup in bowls

I hope you give this Homemade Zuppa Toscana Soup a try! They are so easy to make and delicious! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. 

You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews and ratings help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you trust and love.

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zuppa toscana soup in bowls

Whole30 Zuppa Toscana Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 62 reviews
  • Author: Ashlea Carver
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: dinner
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: Italian inspired
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

This Whole30 Zuppa Toscana is a healthier copycat version of everyone’s favorite Olive Garden soup. Dairy-free, Paleo, and made with only real-food ingredients, this hearty soup is full of flavor and so simple to make. It’s perfect for a quick dinner and reheats well for an even easier lunch. This creamy and cozy Whole30 Zuppa Toscana Soup is sure to be your new favorite!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 strips thick cut bacon, diced
  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/21 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
  • 1/8 teaspoon cracked black pepper (plus more to taste)
  • 3 tablespoon arrowroot starch
  • 4 cups diced russet potatoes
  • 32 oz low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
  • 4 cups curly kale

Instructions

  1. Heat a large stockpot over medium heat. Once hot, add the diced bacon to a large stock pot and cook until crispy. Stirring occasionally.
  2. When the bacon is crispy, remove it from the pot. Drain the bacon on paper towels and then set aside.
  3. Remove all but two tablespoons of the bacon grease from the pot. Next add the Italian sausage to the pot. Brown the sausage and break it up as it cooks.
  4. When the sausage is brown, add the diced onion, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Let everything cook for a few minutes until the onions start to become tender, roughly five minutes.
  5. Next sprinkle the arrowroot starch over the meat mixture and stir until well combined. Then, add the diced potatoes and chicken broth and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for around 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
  6. When the potatoes are tender, add the coconut milk and kale to the pot. Simmer until the kale is wilted. Lastly, stir in the crisped bacon and then serve immediately. Enjoy!

Notes

  • My favorite Whole30 Italian Sausage is Pederson Farms.
  • To keep the recipe Whole30 friendly be sure to grab a bacon that is sugar free.
  • I used a full teaspoon of red pepper flakes in this recipe and it definitely had a kick to it! If you don’t care for spice, you can feel free to lower the amount of red pepper flakes or leave them out altogether.
  • Three tablespoons of arrowroot starch gave this soup the perfect amount of thickness in my opinion, but if you want a thicker soup, you can add a tablespoon more of arrowroot starch.
  • Be sure to use full-fat canned coconut milk for best results.

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112 Comments

  1. This soup was great. I ended up adding in more broth, more kale, and more coconut milk and it was still delicious. Perfect for the super cold weather we have right now!






  2. Chelsea F says:

    LOVE this soup recipe!! I don’t usually leave reviews even when things are good. This is beyond!! Even my boyfriend loved this one. Def on our winter lineup of soups.






  3. This is my go to soup recipe! It is so flavorful and feels hearty and healthy.






  4. Liria Caesar says:

    Such a delicious version of one of my favorite soups! Easy to customize and substitute. I’m so excited for the containers I froze for another day!






  5. This was a delicious gluten free + dairy free soup option. I try new soups constantly and this one is a keeper! Thanks for a great recipe, Ashlea.






    1. Ashlea Carver says:

      you’re so welcome, Amy!

  6. This is a staple in our home and we fight for the leftovers! By far the best zuppa toscana recipe I’ve seen out there and is so quick, easy and tasty. I cannot recommend this recipe enough. I make it year round no matter the weather it’s so so good. Trust me, TRY THIS!






  7. Zuppa is my favorite soup. I haven’t had it since I went dairy free last October. I was so happy to find a copy cat version that I could have. My sister made it for us before we took the kids Trick or Treating. It was as good as I remember!!! Only wish I had been the one to make it so that I could have more than one night of it 🙂 Plan to make it for the family. Will cut down on the salt per my own personal preference.






    1. Ashlea Carver says:

      Hi, Lisa! you could freeze it but the texture of the potatoes would change a bit after being reheated.

  8. This has become one of my go tos every winter. The minute the temperature drops below 70 this is in my first batch of soup season soups.






  9. This soup is so delicious! My husband keeps going on and on about how good it is! I used 2 T tapioca flour instead of arrowroot and it turned out perfectly!






  10. This gets a 10/10! A perfect easy weekday meal that is so good even my 4 & 6 year olds asked for more. Substituted diced prosciutto instead of bacon because that is what I had at home. Will keep this in heavy rotation






  11. This is my favorite soup recipe of all time! I love how savory it is. It’s so good that I can’t not believe it’s dairy free and that I made it.






  12. Ashley PC says:

    I’ve been making this soup for a solid year from the screenshot of an IG post on Whole30 Recipes. It’s legitimately my favorite soup, and my husband’s too. It’s actually the only way he’ll eat kale, and strangely, he always requests extra. I figured it was time to track down the original recipe and leave a review, something I never do, because I love it that much. Thank you for bringing this into my life.






    1. Ashlea Carver says:

      I’m so happy you and your husband love the recipe, Ashley!

  13. I made this 5 times already . It’s so good and simple to make !






  14. Love this soup! So happy to have a dairy free version to enjoy.