This Keto Zuppa Toscana is a low carb creamy Italian sausage, bacon + kale soup. No potatoes! And can be made dairy free!
This is a low carb copycat of the oh-so-famous Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup. It’s a creamy Italian soup with Italian sausage, crispy bacon and kale.
I’m using a genius low carb swap out for the potatoes AND an amazing hack to thicken the soup. Perfect for a cozy Sunday at home!
Whole30 + Keto Zuppa Toscana
If you’ve never had zuppa toscana before, it was made popular by Olive Garden. I kept seeing this soup all over Instagram, and knew I had to create a low carb version of it. Now I know what all the hype is about!
A creamy soup with Italian sausage, bacon, potatoes, onion and kale. Simple, and so perfect!
Keto Zuppa Toscana with Turnips
Rather than using potatoes, I swapped them for turnips, which are my favorite low carb white potato substitute.
When turnips are cooked in soup, they lose that slight peppery bite and absorb all the flavors of the soup. They also hold their shape in soup, just like a potato. You would seriously never guess you weren’t eating a potato!
If you don’t have turnips on hand, radishes would work also!
Dairy Free Zuppa Toscana
To keep this dairy free, I made it creamy using my very favorite method of soaked cashews. When you soak cashews and blend them up, they taste SO MUCH like heavy cream!
You can also use canned coconut milk, but I honestly find that the coconut flavor lingers. For the most neutral tasting creaminess, soaked cashews are the best. If you’re ok with dairy, heavy cream works too!
To help thicken the soup just a bit without using any flour, I blend up the cashews and warm broth from the soup with 1 bag of frozen cauliflower rice. It’s genius! Thickens without altering the flavor at all, and also sneaks in even more veggies.
Watch Keto Zuppa Toscana Recipe Demo Video
If you make this keto zuppa toscana be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you all and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to share and tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Whole30 + Keto Zuppa Toscana
This Whole30 + Keto Zuppa Toscana Recipe is only 8g net carbs! A low carb creamy Italian sausage, bacon + kale soup. No potatoes!
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Heat your dutch oven (or large soup pot) over medium heat.
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Add the Italian sausage, and break it up and brown (I like using a potato masher!). Once cooked, spoon it out into a bowl.
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In the same pan in the leftover sausage drippings, cook the chopped bacon until crispy. Spoon onto paper towels to drain.
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Remove all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat. Add the onions, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
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Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
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Pour in the chopped turnips and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until the turnips are fork tender.
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In your high speed blender, add the frozen cauliflower rice, soaked cashews, and ladle in 1 cup of the hot cooking liquid from the soup. Blend on high until completely pureed. Add back in to the soup. This will thicken it and make it creamy.
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Pour back in the sausage and kale. Cook another 5 minutes until the kale is bright green and tender. Taste for salt + pepper. (Sometimes I’ll even add back in some of the bacon renderings for more flavor if needed. Great fat macros for keto!)
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Remove from the heat. Add back in the bacon just before serving so it stays crispy.
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Serve warm, garnished with red pepper flakes if desired.
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Leftovers will keep in an airtight container refrigerated for 5 days, or frozen for 6 months. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until warm.
Slow Cooker Instructions: Follow steps 1-5. For steps 6, add the onions, garlic, turnips, sausage + chicken stock to your slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours. Then follow steps 7-11.
Soaking Cashews: To soak the cashews, you can soak overnight in 3 cups room temperature water on the counter. Or you can do a quick soak, and soak the cashews in 3 cups boiling water for 1 hour. Drain after soaking.
Cashew Substitute: If you don’t want to use cashews, you can substitute 1/2 cup (or more to taste) of the following: canned coconut milk, original flavor Nutpods, Silk dairy free heavy cream, or if you’re ok with dairy you can use heavy cream. I personally find canned coconut milk gives this soup a coconut flavor, which is why I prefer cashews. These substitutions will effect the nutrition information, so adjust if needed. Heavy cream is the lowest carb option!
Turnips: I love using turnips as a low carb substitute. They hold up the best when cooking with the most neutral flavor! You could also use rutabaga, but that will give it a bit more of a sweet potato flavor profile. Radishes are my 3rd favorite substitute option. No need to peel the radishes. If you’re ok with carbs, obviously potatoes work too! Same quantities for all substitutions. Make sure they’re cut into bite size pieces.
Sausage: You can use hot Italian sausage if you like it spicy!
Kale: You can use any kind of kale, my favorite is lacinto kale.
Bacon: Make sure your bacon is sugar free if making this during Whole30.
Calories: 526Total Carbs: 10.3gProtein: 20.8gFat: 44.8gFiber: 1.8gNet Carbs: 9g
Nutrition facts are calculated as a courtesy and not guaranteed.
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