Vegan Zuppa Toscana is rich, creamy, hearty and filling. Made in 1-pot with vegan sausage, potatoes and kale for the best tasting soup ever.
Zuppa Toscana literally means ‘Tuscan Soup’. It’s traditionally made with Italian bacon and served with toasted Tuscan bread.
Our version is based on the Olive Garden Americanized version based on potatoes, kale and Italian sausage.
We used Beyond Sausage Italian Sausage in this soup and were seriously blown away by how hearty and delicious it was.
It’s really very easy to make, and leftovers are amazing and taste even better, so this is a great option for meal prep as well.
And if you love hearty soups then you’ll also love our vegan chicken noodle soup, vegan minestrone soup and vegan clam chowder.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Vegan sausage – we used Beyond Sausage Italian Sausage which worked amazingly well. However, you can use any vegan sausage that you have available.
- Coconut milk – should be canned, full fat and unsweetened. You could also use our vegan heavy cream substitute.
- Potatoes – starchy potatoes like Russets work great in this soup. They should be peeled and chopped before being added to the soup.
- Vegan chicken stock – or vegan chicken broth like Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base. Otherwise you can use vegetable stock/broth.
How To Make Vegan Zuppa Toscana
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, chopped onion and chopped vegan sausage and sauté until the onions are softened and the sausage is browned.
- Add crushed garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute or two to lightly toast the spices.
- Add peeled and chopped potatoes, chopped kale and vegan chicken stock to the pot and stir in.
- Bring it to the boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
- Add coconut milk, salt and black pepper and let it simmer for a minute. Taste test and season with extra salt and black pepper if needed.
- Mix cornstarch with a little coconut milk (or water) into a slurry. Add the slurry to the pot while stirring and continue to stir until the soup has thickened.
- Your soup is ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
This soup is really filling and hearty and it has a good amount of protein too, so it can definitely be served as a main course, though it also works great as an appetizer.
Serve it topped with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, fresh chopped parsley and crispy fried onions with some crusty bread on the side for dipping.
Crispy fried onions are of course totally optional, but they do look really good on top of this soup and the extra crunch is delicious too!
If you’re in the mood to bake up some bread then our vegan focaccia would go really well with this.
Chef’s Tips
Thicken with cornstarch. Making a cornstarch slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with a little coconut milk (or water) and mixing it into a paste and then whisking this into the soup until thickened really brings the whole soup together.
Before adding the cornstarch, the soup is more like a broth, and the fats from the vegan sausage sort of sit on top of the soup. Whereas once thickened with the cornstarch you have a really delicious consistency. However, it is optional so if you prefer it to stay a broth consistency you can omit the cornstarch.
Gluten free. This recipe is already gluten free provided the vegan sausages you use are gluten free. The Beyond Sausage Italian Sausage that we used is already gluten free so if you use those as well, then you’re all set.
Storing and Freezing
Keep leftovers stored in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. The starch from the potatoes thickens the soup up even more and it just gets even more delicious! Reheat in the microwave or over low heat on the stove until heated through.
It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or over low heat on the stove.
More Hearty Vegan Soups
- Vegan Black Bean Soup
- Vegan Lentil Soup
- Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Vegan Corn Chowder
- Vegan Sweet Potato Soup
- Vegan Potato Leek Soup
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 Pound Vegan Italian Sausages (450g) Chopped
- 3 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 pounds Potatoes (900g) Peeled and Chopped into ½ inch cubes
- 2 cups Kale Chopped
- 5 cups Vegan Chicken Stock (1200ml) or Broth
- 1 cup Coconut Milk (240ml)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
Serving (Optional):
- Fresh Parsley Chopped
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Crispy Fried Onions
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil, chopped onion and chopped vegan sausage and sauté until the onions are softened and the sausage is browned.
- Add crushed garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for a minute or two to lightly toast the spices.
- Add peeled and chopped potatoes, chopped kale and vegan chicken stock to the pot and stir in.
- Bring it to the boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.
- Add coconut milk, salt and black pepper and let it simmer for a minute. Taste test and season with extra salt and black pepper if needed.
- Mix cornstarch with a little coconut milk (or water) into a slurry. Add the slurry to the pot while stirring and continue to stir until the soup has thickened.
- Serve topped with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, fresh chopped parsley and crispy fried onions with some crusty bread on the side for dipping.
Notes
- Vegan sausage – we used Beyond Sausage Italian Sausage which worked amazingly well. However, you can use any vegan sausage that you have available.
- Potatoes – starchy potatoes like Russets work great in this soup.
- Vegan chicken stock – or vegan chicken broth like Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base. Otherwise you can use vegetable stock/broth.
- Coconut milk – should be canned, full fat and unsweetened. You could also use our vegan heavy cream substitute.
- Thicken with cornstarch. Making a cornstarch slurry by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with a little coconut milk (or water) and mixing it into a paste and then whisking this into the soup until thickened really brings the whole soup together. However, if you prefer the soup consistency to be more of a broth, then you can omit the cornstarch.
- Gluten free. This recipe is already gluten free provided the vegan sausages you use are gluten free. The Beyond Sausage Italian Sausage that we used is already gluten free so if you use those as well, then you’re all set.
- Storing: Keep leftovers stored in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. The starch from the potatoes thickens the soup up even more and it just gets even more delicious! Reheat in the microwave or over low heat on the stove until heated through.
- Freezing: It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge and then reheat in the microwave or over low heat on the stove.
This recipes tastes just like the Olive Garden soup,which was a favorite when I was not a vegan. I’ve tried several recipes which, while good, just didn’t quite make the cut. This is it! I bring this to our pot luck and everyone loves it! Thank you!
Yay! Thanks so much for the amazing review Diane!
Soooo good!
Thanks Rose!
A nutritious, hearty and tasty soup!
Thanks Anna!
P.S. Recipe rating…just saw that.
Thanks so much Jillian!
We had this for dinner tonight! Really good, used field roast fennel sausage. Thanks for recipe.
Could you omit or sub something for the vegan sausage?
You could omit it if you like.