Vegan Zuppa Toscana

Creamy Potato Kale Soup with Smoky Quinoa Crumble

This vegan Zuppa Toscana soup is made with a rich creamy garlic broth and is loaded with kale, potatoes, and Italian-style quinoa meat crumbles.

This creamy potato and kale soup is a cozy, warming comfort food for the winter months, but can really be enjoyed any time of the year as a main or starter soup, although you may be left wanting more than just an appetizer. This Italian-inspired soup recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free.

Zuppa Toscana simply means Tuscan Soup in Italian. More traditionally Zuppa Toscana is made from kale, cannellini beans, potatoes, Italian bacon, and other vegetables. This recipe was inspired by the untraditional Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden, which is essentially a soup with white potatoes, sausage, kale, and garlic.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions + Additions
• Storage
• Recipe

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to make a vegan version of Zuppa Toscano.

• kale
• potatoes
• smoky quinoa "sausage" crumbles (or store-bought plant-based Italian sausage)
• canned whole coconut milk
• vegetable broth
• garlic cloves
• yellow onion
• nutritional yeast
• fresh thyme
• white wine vinegar
• crushed red pepper
• good quality olive oil, salt, and pepper

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

If making the smoky quinoa crumbles make sure to start by following the recipe here. If using store-bought plant-based Italian sausage or meat crumbled then follow the instructions on the packaging. The crumbles are added to the recipe at the end when plating.

To get started making the soup grab a large pot and heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium-low and add the diced onion and chopped thyme. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften. Then add the minced garlic and sauté 3 minutes.

Deglaze the pot by adding in the white wine vinegar and stir.

Add coconut milk, vegetable broth, potatoes, nutritional yeast, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper and stir until combined.

Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil.

Allow to boil for 2-3 minutes and then decrease the heat to simmer and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.

With a ladle scoop out about 2-3 cups of soup from the pot and add to a blender. Pulse and then add the blended soup back to the pot.

Add the roughly chopped kale to the soup and stir to combine. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes until the kale is tender.

Serve the soup in bowls and generously top the quinoa crumbled or vegan sausage. If using pre-made sausage links cut them into small bitesize pieces.

Garnish with finely chopped fresh kale or Italian parsley, a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, and freshly ground black pepper. Optionally serve with some freshly baked bread or garlic bread, and enjoy!

Substitutions + Additions

A few ingredients can easily be swapped to make vegan zuppa toscana out depending on availability in your area and time of year and seasonings can be adjusted to your taste.

• Smoky Quinoa Crumble - the quinoa can easily be swapped out for a store-bought plant-based Italian sausage or meat crumble, preferably something with some Italian spice. Try something like Beyond Meat Hot Italian Sausage or Lightlife Plant-based Italian Sausages. 
• Potatoes - red potatoes were used in this recipe but any white potatoes work, you can also use gold potatoes or russet potatoes.
• Greens - if fresh kale is unavailable in stores it can be substituted for fresh spinach, collard greens, or chard. If fresh greens are hard to come by frozen greens can be used instead of fresh ones.
• Milk - instead of coconut milk, substitute for another creamy high-fat vegan milk. It must be unsweetened and plain plant-based milk. Try extra creamy oat milk or soy milk. Depending on the milk you can add cornstarch to thicken the soup. Start with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and mix it with a little milk and add to the soup.
• White Wine Vinegar - rice vinegar or even apple cider vinegar
• Vegetables - add additional vegetables like celery and carrots. Add these in when sauteing the onions.
• Beans - traditional Zuppa Toscana has white beans, so a great addition for sustenance and extra protein add in white beans, like cannellini beans, great northern beans, or lima beans (butter beans).
• Spice - Add or reduce heat by adjusting the amount of crushed red pepper flakes. If you prefer a mild spice start with 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.

Storage

Store soup leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze leftovers for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe bag or container. Store the soup and quinoa separately. Quinoa can last up to 6 months in the freezer.

This soup can be batch cooked and frozen in meal-size portions. All you have to do is defrost and reheat.

Soup can be reheated over low-medium heat on the stove until heated throughout.

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