Snow in College Station means only one thing in my mind (besides making snow angels, of course)… an excuse to stay inside and create something warm and delicious! The famous, creamy Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup was always one of my favorites when I was younger. I have never been too much of an Italian foods fan, but that all changes when this soup comes into the picture.
I believe this low-calorie, vegan recipe gives the classic Olive Garden recipe a run for its money. What’s the secret, you ask? The golden potatoes! Although Olive Garden’s original restaurant recipe calls for Russet potatoes, the golden potatoes have a natural buttery flavor. This vegetable is great for vegans who find it hard to add that “thick and creamy” taste to recipes without the addition of animal products. But, don’t just take my word for it… try out this mouth-watering recipe yourself!
Ingredients (yields 10 cups at 148 cals/cup)
- 12 oz. veggie “sausage” (optional)
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 large purple onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 5 golden potatoes (The original restaurant recipe actually calls for Russet potatoes, but the golden potatoes have a natural buttery flavor, which is great for vegans!)
- 1/4 cup veggie “bacon” bits (optional)
- 1 tbsp. dried parsley
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 5 cups kale (5 large leaves)
- 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
Begin by cooking your veggie “sausage” as stated on the label. I sautéed my “sausage” in a skillet on high for about 5 minutes.
Next, using a knife or food processor, dice the onion and garlic.
Chop the potatoes into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces.
Combine the “sausage,” onion, garlic, potatoes and vegetable broth together in a large pot. Stir, then cook on medium heat until the potatoes are soft. (This can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.)
After the potatoes have softened, add the veggie “bacon” bits.
Then, add the spices – dried parsley, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
Let simmer for about 10 more minutes.
While the soup is simmering, separate the leaves and stems of kale. We will only be using the leaves in this recipe, but save the stems for your juice in the morning! Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
After the soup has simmered for about 10 minutes, add the kale and almond milk to the mixture. Stir until the kale is thoroughly heated… it will change colors, becoming a darker green. Serve and enjoy!
Buon appetito!
- 12 oz. veggie "sausage" (optional)
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 large purple onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 5 golden potatoes (The original restaurant recipe actually calls for Russet potatoes, but the golden potatoes have a natural buttery flavor, which is great for vegans!)
- ¼ cup veggie "bacon" bits (optional)
- 1 tbsp. dried parsley
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 5 cups kale (5 large leaves)
- 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
- Begin by cooking your veggie "sausage" as stated on the label. I sautéed my "sausage" in a skillet on high for about 5 minutes.
- Next, using a knife or food processor, dice the onion and garlic.
- Chop the potatoes into ½" to 1" pieces.
- Combine the "sausage," onion, garlic, potatoes and vegetable broth together in a large pot. Stir, then cook on medium heat until the potatoes are soft. (This can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.)
- After the potatoes have softened, add the veggie "bacon" bits.
- Then, add the spices - dried parsley, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Let simmer for about 10 more minutes.
- While the soup is simmering, separate the leaves and stems of kale. We will only be using the leaves in this recipe, but save the stems for your juice in the morning! Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- After the soup has simmered for about 10 minutes, add the kale and almond milk to the mixture. Stir until the kale is thoroughly heated... it will change colors, becoming a darker green. Serve and enjoy!
This was really good. I used tofurky sausages and cut them into chunks and also used collard greens instead of kale. Yum!
Did you cook the collards longer than the recipe called for?
Just found this. I can not wait to try it. Tuscan Zuppa was my favorite pre-vegan days, You made my day!
It was my favorite too! This is one of my all-time favorite recipes… you will have to let me know how you like it!
This soup was amazing. Thank you for bringing back one of my favorites. You quite frankly are my hero
We have really enjoyed a similar vegan version of this soup for a while, but I always add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast.
Excellent! This took about 30 mins for me to make. I used russet potatoes, Tofurky polish sausage, and a bag of frozen chopped kale. I also added blended soaked cashews (1/2 cup) for creaminess instead of the almond milk. Will be making again.
what if someone is allergic to nuts will the almond milk work
In that case, I would recommend using coconut milk.
This soup was spectacular!!!
Can you use soy milk?
It didn’t come out good with soy. I wish I had almond milk.
Oh no! Thanks for letting us know, though! I’ll recommend sticking to almond milk for this recipe… hopefully you will try it again with the almond milk.
Hi this looks good and I plan to make it. I was wondering what your bacon bits are made from
Hi Angela! I used MorningStar Farms Bacon Strips… cooked on the stovetop, then crumbled them up into bits.
Hi! Cannot wait to make this recipe! Just a heads up, as I almost made the same mistake, the Morningstar farms bacon strips contain egg whites and dry milk!
YUMMM WILL TRY TODAY FOR MY FAMILY. THANK YOU FOR SHARING !
Delicious just made it!!! The only change I made was instead of one cup of almond milk I used one cup of a cashew cream I made. Super rich and tasty!
Think I can substitute vegan “chicken” broth for the vegetable broth?
I’m sure that would work great, Carla!
I thought this recipe was good. It isn’t as creamy as olive garden’s soup but it could have been easily if you swapped cashew cream for the milk. I thought the 1 tsp of red pepper flakes was too much. I would tone it down to 1/4 and taste as I go.
I will be on my third time of making this, my husband LOVES it and asks to eat it for all three meals of the day. He told me today he likes it BETTER than Olive Garden’s version 😍 I use field roast Italian sausage and lightlife bacon (both vegan 💚) This is definitely going to be one of our staple meals. Thank you!! 🤗
Yay!! This makes me so happy to hear <3 this is definitely one of my favorite recipes as well!
Instead of bacon bits, I just added some liquid smoke to give it more flavor.
Thank you! I’m making this tonight! Btw, I purée cauliflower and add it to almond milk in all my vegan creamy soup recipes. It adds that creamy texture plus it’s nutritious and not fattening!
This is amazing!! Didn’t use the “bacon”, but it is better than the original in my opinion. Thank you for sharing.
I love this soup! I added three extra things this time: a can of white beans, two chopped up carrots, and some sliced celery. Yum!
Great idea! That sounds delicious!
Really good. I added a few sliced fresh mushrooms and I used fresh herbs: parsley, rosemary, thyme, and basil. I followed some of the previous suggestions and used a mixture of almond milk and my own cashew cream along with a pinch or two of nutritional yeast. This was flavorful, creamy, and wonderful. If you’re using Tofurky hot Italian sausage, you can cut back on the red pepper flakes or leave them out (per your personal taste). I also did not use the bacon bits but that was just because I didn’t have any on hand. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Kristen!
Would love to know how to adapt for an instapot?
We liked this soup without the substitute meats and also used coconut milk instead of almond and it was delicious. You can also add cabbage to add some bulk and this was yummy.
I have made this recipe using cauliflower instead of potatoes because my mom was diabetic. It was delicious. Since then I have gone Plant-based for joint pain relief. I made this last night and I still used cauliflower because I really like it, but I used plant-based Italian sausage and I had kale I had to use up so I used that. Just offering these suggestions in case anyone might want to try them. The recipe is so easy and so delicious but if you do substitute items out like I’ve done, it’s still taste wonderful!
What great suggestions! I love the cauliflower idea :)