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    You are here: Home | Recipes | Soup

    Vegan Zuppa Toscana

    Mar 26, 2024 by Faith VanderMolen

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Zuppa Toscana, meaning "Tuscan soup", is a well-balanced soup full of hearty potatoes, flavorful plant-based sausage and vibrant greens. This Vegan Zuppa Toscana is just as delicious as the original, even though it's meat and dairy free!

    A back lit picture of a large bowl of Vegan Zuppa Toscana sprinkled with black pepper.

    I created this Vegan Zuppa Toscana recipe without even realizing it was a vegan version of the well-loved zuppa toscana from Olive Garden. We love Beyond Meat Vegan Sausages and one day I added them to a simple potato soup with white beans and kale. After drizzling some cashew cream in at the end, this vegan zuppa toscana was born. We love to pair this hearty soup with fresh Italian bread or toasted vegan sourdough bread topped with olive oil, garlic and salt. If I was serving this soup to friends, I would also make a side vegan caesar salad for a delicious, balanced and hearty meal!

    Jump To
    • Why This Recipe Works!
    • Ingredients
    • Substitutions
    • How to Make Vegan Zuppa Toscana
    • Storage
    • My Top Tips
    • Recipe FAQs
    • More Vegan Soup Recipes!
    • 📖 Recipe

    Why This Recipe Works!

    • Choosing a vegan sausage that you love gives this soup so much depth of flavor right from the start. By browning the sausage, you'll get a lot of rich, flavor-packed fond in which you can then sauté your onions and garlic in, resulting in layers upon layers of flavor!
    • This is a one-pot meal that is well-balanced, meaning it contains protein, carbs, fat and veggies all in one pot. It's a mama's dream come true!
    • When I don't have a lot of time I love to use store-bought conveniences, making this Vegan Zuppa Toscana that much easier to prepare. However, if you want to go the extra mile, you can take the extra time to use homemade vegan sausage, cook your beans from scratch and use homemade veggie broth.

    Ingredients

    All of the ingredients for zuppa toscana measured out into bowls on a wooden cutting board.
    • Vegan Sausage - It's so important to use a vegan sausage brand that you love on its own. We love making this Zuppa Toscana with Beyond Vegan Sausages as they are packed with flavor, which permeates into the rest of the soup.
    • Flour - You'll need some flour to mix into the fat from the sausage to create a roux. The roux and the cashew cream will create a delicious, rich and creamy soup base.
    • Potatoes - White or yellow potatoes are my favorite kind of potatoes to use in this soup, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand.
    • White Beans - I love to use cannellini beans in this soup, but any creamy, light colored bean would work well.
    • Cashews - Traditional Zuppa Toscana calls for heavy cream, but for this vegan Zuppa Toscana, well be making homemade cashew cream. To make cashew cream, you'll simply blend cashews with water until a thick, smooth cream forms. Then you'll use this in your soup!
    • Kale - I love kale in this recipe, but any hearty green vegetable should work.
    • Vegetable Broth - For an even more meaty flavor without the meat, you can use a plant-based broth that is flavored like meat, such as Not Beef or Not Chick'n.

    See recipe card for full list of ingredients and quantities.

    Substitutions

    While we love Beyond Meat Sausages, you whatever sausage you have on hand and enjoy.

    To make this Vegan Zuppa Toscana gluten-free, use gluten-free all purpose flour and make sure that the plant-based sausages you're using are gluten-free as well.

    If you don't have cashews on hand, you can look for a plant-based cooking creamer at your local grocery store. You can also use unsweetend soy milk. Oat or almond could also work, but I find they have a naturally sweeter taste, even when no sugar has been added.

    How to Make Vegan Zuppa Toscana

    Vegan sausage and sliced onions browning in a large white pot.

    Step 1: In a large pot, cook the vegan sausage, onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil until browned. Cut up the sausages before cooking them or break them up with a spoon as they cook. Drain any excess oil if necessary.

    A wooden spoon stirring potatoes in a rich vegetable broth.

    Step 2: Once the onion has softened, sprinkle over the flour and spices and stir so that the sausage gets coated in the flour. Allow the flour to cook for a couple minutes, before slowly adding in the broth and potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and allow the potatoes to cook until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.

    White beans, kale and black pepper being stirred into a sausage and potato soup.

    Step 3: Stir in the white beans and kale and allow them to warm through, about 5-10 minutes.

    Cashew cream being poured into vegan zuppa toscana.

    Step 4: While the soup simmers, blend the cashews and water until smooth and then add this "cream" into the soup.

    Hint: Cut the potatoes into uniform pieces so that they cook evenly.

    A large bowl of vegan sausage, potato and white bean soup with black pepper on top.

    Storage

    This soup lasts for a few days in the fridge in an airtight container. It makes for great leftovers so make a double batch if you want!

    The cashew cream will thicken as the soup chills, so you may need to add a splash of water to the soup as it reheats. However, my usually looses up as it reheats.

    My Top Tips

    1. Once the sausages have browned, drain off any excess oil. When I forget to do this, this soup is a lot more greasy than I would like and little beads of oil form at the top of my soup as I'm eating.

    Recipe FAQs

    What does Zuppa Toscana mean in Italian?

    Zuppa Toscana means "tuscan soup" in Italian. Olive Garden has made this sausage, potato and bean soup famous even though a classic tuscan soup contains some different ingredients, such as zucchini, carrots, celery and panchetta.

    Do Italians eat Zuppa Toscana?

    Yes, Italians eat Zuppa Toscana. However, their Tuscan soup is usually a slightly spicy vegetable soup, while Olive Garden has turned it into a creamy, sausage-based soup.

    Is Zuppa Toscana Vegan?

    The Zuppa Toscana soup from Olive Garden is not vegan. It contains sausage and cream, both of which are animal based products. However, you can make a vegan Zuppa Toscana by using plant-based sausages and homemade cashew cream.

    More Vegan Soup Recipes!

    • Vegan Pizza Soup
      Vegan Pizza Soup
    • creamy tomato zucchini soup topped with grilled cheese croutons
      Creamy Vegan Tomato Zucchini Soup
    • Pumpkin Peanut Butter Soup (Vegan!)
    • vegan cauliflower chowder in a bowl served with crusty bread
      Roasted Cauliflower Chowder (V GF)

    Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below!

    📖 Recipe

    Vegan Zuppa Toscana

    Faith VanderMolen
    A vegan version of the popular Olive Garden soup called Zuppa Toscana
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 40 minutes mins
    Total Time 45 minutes mins
    Course Soup
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 6 people
    Calories 346 kcal

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
    • 4 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 lb. vegan sausage we love Beyond Meat Orignial Brats
    • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika optional
    • 2 Tablespoons flour use gluten-free if necessary
    • 5 cups vegetable broth
    • 4 medium potatoes washed and cubed
    • 1 15 oz. can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
    • 2 stalks kale chopped
    • ½ cup raw cashews soaked
    • 1 cup water
    • pepper and lemon juice to taste

    Instructions 

    • In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 1 minute. Add in the vegan sausage and cook until the sausage is browned on all sides. I like to cut up the sausage before I add it to the pot to speed up this process. Once browned, drain off any excess oil from the sausage.
    • Sprinkle over the flour and smoked paprika. Stir to coat the sausage in the flour and allow the flour to cook for a couple minutes.
    • Slowly add in the vegetable broth, stirring constantly to incorporate the flour. Add in the cubed potatoes and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and then allow the potatoes to cook until fork tender, about 10-15 minutes.
    • Add in the white beans and kale and allow those to cook for about 5 or so minutes, until the kale is wilted and the beans are warmed through.
    • Will the soup is simmering, blend the soaked and drained cashews with the 1 cup of water until a smooth, cream forms. Pour this in the soup and warm through. Taste and add some more salt as needed as well as some fresh pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve warm!

    Notes

    • We love Beyond Meat Original Brats in this recipe.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 346kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 20gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 1300mgPotassium: 768mgFiber: 7gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 536IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 19mg
    Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

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