Vegan Zuppa Toscana is a rich, creamy, and hearty soup made with vegan sausage, potatoes, kale, and topped with vegan bacon bits! It's simply the ultimate vegan comfort food! You may remember it from the menu at The Olive Garden. Although their version is far from vegan, my copycat version is completely plant-based and can be made gluten-free as well!
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- dairy-free and can be made gluten-free too.
- packed with hearty plant-based protein!
- rich and creamy comfort food.
- bursting with flavor and simply delicious!
🧾 Ingredients and Substitutions
- Olive Oil - to fry the sausage and kale.
- Sausage - you can use any vegan Italian style sausage product that you like or you can make your own vegan Italian sausage using seitan or use my gluten-free vegan sausage crumbles recipe.
- Garlic - for flavor.
- Kale - a large bunch of fresh kale washed and ripped into small pieces with the hard stems taken off.
- Potatoes - About 4-5 medium potatoes washed, peeled, and cubed. Any type of potatoes will work, however, the red and yellow potatoes with thinner skin will not need to be pealed.
- Broth - vegetable broth or vegan "chicken" style broth works best. I like the Not Chick'n brand broth cubes.
- Italian Seasoning - to flavor the soup. Any Italian herb mix will work or you can add your own mix of basil, thyme, and oregano.
- Plant-Based Milk - any PLAIN non-dairy milk will work. I like soy, but you can also use rice, oat, or any other plant milk.
- Salt and Pepper - for flavor. (The amount of salt you will need will depend on the type of broth you use).
- Oil or Vegan Butter - to make a roux to thicken the soup. You can use any neutral flavored fat like canola oil, refined coconut oil, or my vegan butter recipe.
- Flour - to make the roux. You can use regular white wheat flour or a gluten-free flour mix. (If using GF flour, avoid the mixes with sorghum flour and/or tapioca starch for best consistency). (You can use potato or corn starch mixed with cold water instead of flour and oil if you wish).
- Bacon Bits - to sprinkle on top of your soup. Most store-bought bacon bits are actually made from soy protein and are vegan. However, it is super easy to make your own vegan bacon bits and avoid red dye and preservatives.
🥄 Instructions
Cooking the potatoes
- Bring 8 cups of salted water to a boil in a medium-sized pan.
- Wash, peel (optional), and dice the potatoes into bite-sized pieces, about 1/4 inch cubes.
- Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just soft (about 7-9 minutes), then drain and set aside.
Note: You can cook the potatoes directly in the broth of the soup. You can do this by adding them at the same time you add the broth (step 6 below). However, I find that they give the soup a slightly bitter flavor. I like to boil my potatoes first and drain off the cooking water before adding them to the soup.
Making the soup
- Chop up the vegan Italian sausage links into small bite-sized pieces or make your own sausage crumbles.
- Wash a large bunch of fresh kale and rip it up into small pieces pulling the large stems off.
- Sauté the sausage in olive oil for about 3 minutes.
- Add the kale and garlic and sauté kale for about 3-5 more minutes until it gets dark and shiny.
- Sprinkle in the Italian herbs and stir well.
- Add the broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the cooked potatoes and soy milk and continue to simmer while you make the roux.
🥣 Thicken the soup with a roux
- Heat oil and flour in a separate soup pan and stir with a whisk.
- Ladle out a spoonful of the broth out of the soup and pour it into the oil and flour mixture stirring well between each spoonful.
- Continue to add the broth 1 ladle at a time until most of the broth is mix with the roux and has become thick and bubbly.
- Pour the remaining soup into the 2nd soup pot with the thickened broth.
- Stir well and serve with bacon bits sprinkled on top.
✨ Other ways to thicken the soup
If you want an easier or lower fat way to thicken the soup, you can use potato starch or corn starch mixed with cold water instead of the oil and flour mixture.
To thicken with corn or potato starch
- Mix 1/3 cup of starch with 1/2 cup of COLD water and add it to the soup at the end of cooking.
- Stir well while you bring the soup to a slow boil and then turn off the heat.
Note: This method is not quite as rich and satisfying as the roux method, but it's much easier and lower in fat. If you have potato starch, that is my preferred starch for this method. I feel that it has a better flavor and texture than corn starch.
🥡 Storing and Freezing
This soup will still taste great for up to 2 months in the freezer in an air-tight container. It will keep in the refrigerator for about 3-5 days and makes delicious lunches!
Note: I know that this seems like a big pot of soup, but it's so good that my family of four will usually finish the whole pot in one night. If there are leftovers, I'm excited because it's delicious the next day too!
If you like hearty, creamy soups... you will also love my Vegan Cream of "Chicken" Soup, Vegan Cream of Broccoli, or my Vegan Green Chile Stew!
🌟 More delicious vegan soups
- Vegan Minestrone Soup
- Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup
- Vegan Lentil Soup with Kale and Lemon
- Red Lentil Soup with Pumpkin and Kale
- The Best Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
- Vegan Cream of Celery Soup
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
A creamy vegan soup loaded with vegan sausage, potatoes, kale, and vegan bacon.
- 4 cups potatoes washed, peeled, and cut into small cubes
- 4 links vegan sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large bunch kale or an 8 oz. bag of pre-washed kale
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian herbs
- 8 cup Not Chick'n broth or any other vegetable broth
- 2 cups plain soy milk or any other PLAIN plant-based milk.
- salt and pepper to taste (use a few shakes of cayenne pepper for spicy soup).
- 1/3 cup vegan butter or any neutral-flavored oil
- 1/2 cup flour or GF flour mix (without sorghum)
- 1/3 cup potato starch or corn starch
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1 cup bacon bits to sprinkle on top or mix in the soup at the end
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Bring 8 cups of salted water to a boil in a medium-sized pan.
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Wash, peel (optional) and dice 4 cups of potatoes into bite-sized pieces, about 1/4 inch cubes.
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Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just soft, then drain and set aside.
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Chop up 4 links of vegan Italian sausage into small bite-sized pieces or make your own sausage crumbles.
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Wash a large bunch of fresh kale and rip it up into small pieces, pulling the large stems off.
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Saute the sausage in 1 tbsp of olive oil for about 3 minutes.
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Add the kale and 3 cloves of garlic. Saute kale for about 3-5 more minutes until it gets dark and shiny.
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Sprinkle in 1 tbsp Italian herbs and stir well.
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Add 8 cups of broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
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Add the cooked potatoes and 2 cups of soy milk and continue to simmer while you make the roux.
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Heat 1/3 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of flour in a separate soup pan and stir with a whisk.
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Ladle spoonfuls of broth out of the soup and pour it into the oil and flour mixture. Stir well between each spoonful.
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Continue to add the broth 1 ladle at a time until most of the broth is combined with the roux and the mixture has become thick and bubbly.
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Pour the remaining soup into the second soup pot with the thickened broth.
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Stir well and serve with bacon bits sprinkled on top.
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Mix 1/3 cup of starch with 1/2 cup of COLD water and add it to the soup at the end of cooking.
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Stir well while you bring the soup to a slow boil and then turn off the heat.
Notes:
- You can cook the potatoes directly in the broth of the soup. You can do this by adding them at the same time you add the broth (step 6 below). However, I find that they give the soup a slightly bitter flavor. I like to boil my potatoes first and drain off the cooking water before adding them to the soup.
- You can stir the bacon bits in at the end, but I like to sprinkle them on top when you serve the soup. This way they stay crunchy.
To make this soup gluten-free:
- either use gluten-free flour mix in the roux
- or use the starch method to thicken.
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