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Home Recipes Course Lunch & Dinner Soups, Chili, & Curry Sausage Kale Soup
P Paleo DF Dairy Free 30 Whole30

Sausage Kale Soup

Jump to Recipe Rate Recipe
Posted:1/25/21
Updated:1/18/23
Sausage Kale Soup recipe with text in middle of graphic

This Sausage Kale Soup (also known as, “Zuppa Toscana”) is a comforting dairy-free soup classic. A healthier take on the Olive Garden recipe with a variety of ways to lighten things up. Make in the Instant Pot, slow cooker or on your stovetop! Dairy-free, Paleo, and Whole 30 friendly.

Looking for other delicious soups for weeknight dinners? Check out the Healthy White Chicken Chili and Instant Pot Carrot Soup too!

soup with potatoes kale and sausage in a white bowl this recipe

I love a bowl of warm soup – it’s so comforting on a cold day.

If you’re a fan of zuppa toscana at Olive Garden, you’re going to love this lightened up sausage kale soup. Made with real food and the perfect cozy recipe. I hope it’s going to be your new favorite soup!

The Ingredients

  • bacon – pick your favorite.
  • italian sausage – use turkey sausage for lighter option
  • yellow onion + garlic – flavor!
  • chicken broth – make sure to check the ingredients if following a Whole30® or paleo diet.
  • canned coconut milk – full fat for best flavor or lite works (see notes). Heavy cream may also be used.
  • curly kale – about ½ bunch
  • red potatoes – scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
  • seasonings – salt, to taste, ground pepper, red pepper flakes, and italian seasoning*
ingredients for soup - potatoes onion kale sausage coconut milk and bacon

This recipe is the perfect weeknight dinner because it comes together quick and can be made using three different cooking methods: Instant Pot, slow cooker, or on your stovetop!

How to Make Zuppa Toscana at Home

Step 1 – Cook the Meat

In medium-large dutch oven (I used 4qt staub) over medium heat, cook strips of bacon until crispy. Remove bacon, placing on towel lined plate and set aside. In same pot, add Italian sausage, breaking up with wooden spoon to crumble; once browned and cooked through, drain fat and transfer sausage to heat proof bowl.

Step 2 – Cook Onion and Garlic

In same pot, add in chopped onion and minced garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 5 minutes or so. (Add ½ tsp of olive oil as needed if you’ve drained all of fat from pot)

Step 3 – Add Broth + Cook Potatoes

Add in broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to low-medium and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. 

Step 4 – Add Milk + Rest of Ingredients

Add in coconut milk, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, sausage and kale.

Step 5 – Cook until warmed through

Stir until combined and cook uncovered over medium heat, another 5 minutes, until kale has wilted. 

Serve and garnish

Feel free to garnish with chopped bacon and more red pepper flakes as desired, enjoy!

soup cooking in a cast iron skillet with kale sausage and potatoes

Slow Cooker Method

To make in the slow cooker, the recipe is the same, you just have to adjust the steps slightly. You’ll follow the same directions as the stovetop, up until Step 2.

Then place potatoes, broth, salt and pepper, seasonings and sausage into the slow cooker. Cook on high about three hours, until the potatoes are soft. Once the potatoes have cooked through then you’ll stir in the coconut milk and kale and let the kale wilt for about 10 minutes.

Serve and garnish with the chopped bacon.

Instant Pot Method

This Zuppa Toscana is a great Instant Pot recipe too! Everything can be made right in your pressure cooker pot. Once you get to Step 3, also add in the salt and pepper, seasonings and sausage.

Select the “manual” setting and “high” on your pressure cooker, then timer for 5 minutes. Once done, quick release the pressure and stir in coconut milk plus kale. Allow kale to wilt, about 5 minutes then serve with the chopped bacon.

Recipe Modifications

This recipe is really easy to modify to use what you have on hand or meet specific dietary needs.

If you want a low carbs or keto options you can substitute cauliflower for the potatoes. This works well with a frozen bag or two of florets or a whole fresh head chopped.

Another options which is nice to keep on hand in the pantry are gnocchi. You can get lots of different types of gnocchi like potato or even cauliflower. Gnocchi will give this soup more of an authentic Olive Garden feel.

To make a richer soup, use just the cream from the coconut milk (versus the entire can).

How to Freeze Soup + Reheat

Freeze before adding coconut milk. For the best flavor and consistency, I would suggest freezing a portion of this soup before adding coconut milk.

The best containers to use for freezing. There are a few great options to use when storing the soup in your freezer. These containers are great for stacking in a freezer with more space or stasher bags can be more compact and individual servings.

Be sure to label containers. Write the type of soup and date that it was frozen. Soup can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Thaw and reheat. You can thaw soup in the fridge for 1-2 days or by submerging the container in warm water. Once the soup is thawed you can place it in a pan to warm on the stovetop or a microwave-safe container.

white bowl of soup with kale and crushed pepper

Let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley

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Sausage Kale Soup

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★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

This Sausage Kale Soup (also known as, “Zuppa Toscana”) is a comforting dairy-free soup classic. A healthy take on the Olive Garden recipe with a variety of ways to lighten things up. Make in the Instant Pot, slow cooker or on your stovetop! 

  • Author: Ashley
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Italian Inspired
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 slices bacon
  • 1 pound (16 ounces) Italian sausage (use turkey sausage for lighter option)
  • 1 small yellow onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk – full fat for best flavor or lite works (see notes)
  • 4 cups chopped curly kale (about 1/2 bunch)
  • 4 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning*

Instructions

  1. In medium-large dutch oven (I used 4 quart staub) over medium heat, cook strips of bacon until crispy. Remove bacon, placing on towel lined plate and set aside. In same pot, add Italian sausage, breaking up with wooden spoon to crumble; once browned and cooked through, drain fat and transfer sausage to heat proof bowl.
  2. In same pot, add in chopped onion and minced garlic, stirring until fragrant, about 5 minutes or so. (Add ½ tsp of olive oil as needed if you’ve drained all of fat from pot)
  3. Add in broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat to low-medium and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. 
  4. Add in coconut milk, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, sausage and kale. Stir until combined and cook uncovered over medium heat, another 5 minutes, until kale has wilted. 
  5. Serve and garnish with chopped bacon and more red pepper flakes as desired, enjoy!

Notes

Slow Cooker Method – Follow the same directions as the stovetop, up until Step 2. Then place potatoes, broth, salt and pepper, seasonings and sausage into the slow cooker. Cook on high about three hours, until the potatoes are soft. Once the potatoes have cooked through then you’ll stir in the coconut milk and kale and let the kale wilt for about 10 minutes. Serve and garnish with the chopped bacon.

Instant Pot Method – Use “Saute” mode and cook bacon until crispy. Remove then add sausage, breaking up and cooking until browned. Drain excess fat. Then add in onion and garlic, stirring frequently for a few minutes. Add in broth, potatoes, seasonings, salt and pepper. Select the “manual” setting and “high” on your pressure cooker, then timer for 5 minutes. Naturally release pressure for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure and stir in coconut milk plus kale. Allow kale to wilt, about 5 minutes then serve with the chopped bacon.

Keywords: copycat olive garden soup, zuppa toscana, healthy sausage soup

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @fitmittenkitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #fitmittenkitchen

About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

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Reader Interactions

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Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. rainia lardas says

    2/2/2021 at 7:02 pm

    OMG, this was so good and so easy to make!!
    This is about to be a staple in our house

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Andrea Fischer says

    3/12/2021 at 11:08 am

    Delicious and simple to make. We absolutely loved this soup. Definitely keeping this one in our meal planning rotation!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Wanda says

    9/23/2021 at 9:51 pm

    I don’t think potato is keto…love your soup recipe but replaced the potato with cauliflower…delicious! Cooked the soup on the stove.

    Reply
  4. Wanda says

    9/23/2021 at 9:55 pm

    Oh I forgot to mention, I also used celeriac…thank you for your recipes

    Reply
  5. Kyann W says

    9/28/2021 at 1:21 pm

    This was SO good!! I’ll be making a double batch next time for sure!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  6. Dezerie says

    1/7/2022 at 9:13 am

    Hi how much is a serving 1.5 cups?

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      1/10/2022 at 12:43 pm

      Yes about 1.5 cups

      Reply

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