You will not miss the potatoes in the comforting low carb zuppa toscana soup. Cauliflower makes a nice replacement!
This Low Carb Zuppa Toscana Soup can be ready in as little as 30 minutes! It's got super versatile cauliflower in place of the potatoes, flavorful sausage, and kale, all in a creamy broth. This is a veggie packed low carb dinner!
Have you ever had the Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup? It is super yummy and it really isn't bad carb wise at 13 net carbs for a bowl. It would be a good option if you were at Olive Garden and you were trying to stay in your carb budget. Pair that soup with some salad and you would be all set!
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I wanted to make the soup a little more carb friendly for my friends who like to keep their carbs lower than 30 grams per day so I subbed out the potatoes for cauliflower. You all should notice my obsession with cauliflower by now. It is one of the most versatile veggies in my opinion!
Home Cook Tips
We are not Martha Stewart and we are not cooking for the Food Network. Let me tell you my favorite shortcuts to getting this low carb cauliflower soup finished in under 30 minutes. I am not about to chop a bunch of veggies when I don't have to. I use already minced garlic that has been freeze dried, frozen diced onion, and frozen chopped kale. The only thing I had to chop was my cauliflower! I didn't use frozen cauliflower for this recipe, but you definitely could!
I wanted some crispy crumbled bacon to top off my soup, so my first order of business was to saute' 4 slices of chopped bacon in my 6 quart dutch oven. Look at all of those browned bits on the bottom of the pot. That is flavor! After we remove the cooked bacon from the pot, we will add the onion and garlic and scrape all of that yummy brown stuff off of the bottom.
while the bacon is cooking, you can chop up your cauliflower. I used a whole head minus the core...I just chopped the cauliflower with a big knife. No need to keep them in perfect florets because I want them to be smaller pieces so they are easier to eat and they cook quicker.
So we just throw things in the pot in stages. First cook the bacon and remove it, leaving the fat. Then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, then add the sausage and cook it until no longer pink. Then add the cauliflower, kale, broth, and let it simmer until the cauliflower is cooked through. I then finished it off with some heavy cream.
This Low Carb Zuppa Toscana soup really does com together super fast! To serve, ladle into large bowls, and top with crispy bacon and some freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Check out my recipe for Low Carb Cauliflower Soup or Low Carb Chicken Noodle Soup. I love soup!
Low Carb Zuppa Toscana Soup
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Ingredients
- 4 slices Bacon, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion (fresh or frozen), diced
- 1 lb ground turkey sausage (or your favorite kind)
- 6 cups Low sodium chicken broth
- 1 head Cauliflower, chopped
- 2 cups chopped kale, fresh or frozen
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- kosher salt to taste
- fresh grated parmesan for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the diced bacon until crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside, leaving the bacon fat in the pan.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pot and sauté until the onion is translucent - about 5 minutes.
- Add the sausage to the pan and break apart with a wooden spoon until crumbled and cooked through - about 5 minutes
- Add chicken broth, cauliflower, kale, and pepper. Let cook until the cauliflower can be pierced with a fork, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt to taste. Serve in bowls with crispy bacon and fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- I used frozen diced onion, already minced garlic, and frozen chopped kale to make the prep for this meal easier!
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy only. Please re-calculate on your own with the ingredients and amounts you used for the most accurate data.
⭐️ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Melissa Davis says
Is 1/6 of the recipe a cup or 2 cups or what
Jennifer Banz says
It would really depend on how many cups your total batch turns out to be. That can vary depending on the size of your vegetables and how much liquid evaporated during cooking. You can measure out how many cups you made and then divide by 6.
Marylu Rossow says
Made this soup today with mild Italian sausage and spinach it was amazing.
Alicia says
We've made this multiple times over the last two years, my youngest calls it's his favorite soup, the cauliflower soup. His comment warms my heart, the soup fills us all!
We top with mushrooms and nearly double the kale, again my boys request, especially the teenager.
Magenta says
I want to make this, it sounds so good! But it looks like 1/6 of the recipe has 9 carbs? How is there that many carbs in this? What are suggestions to cut the carbs by a lot?
jenniferbanz says
It would be 7 net carbs. If you want less carbs you could leave out the kale
Beth Perrone says
Wow! I have made this soup 3 times already. My daughter and I love it this recipe.
Theresa says
So dang good!
Lori says
I absolutely love making this version of the zuppa Tuscano. I did half the batch and it tasted amazing! I have made a few of your recipes Jennifer and I absolutely love all of them! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Parrot says
Most delicious low carb meal I have ever enjoyed. I subbed evaporated milk for the heavy cream to make it a tad more healthier. My husband didn't even know the cauliflower was in it and he dislikes cauliflower immensely!
Madison says
This soup is AMAZING! I stored the left overs in the freezer (because it's a big portion for just one). But finished the first portion in two days and had to defrost the other half. Just as good when reheating! I already shared this recipe with all my friends, it's a new favorite!
Michelle says
This soup was delicious! It tasted better than what you get at the restaurant. It makes a lot so I packed some up and delivered it hot and fresh to my next door neighbor she couldn’t believe it was cauliflower! This reheated well in the microwave for a quick lunch for the week. I’ll definitely be keeping this recipe handy. Thank you for another delicious recipe but one that is also easy!
Linda A Singer says
Delicious. Could I sub cream cheese for the heavy cream? How much should I use?
jenniferbanz says
Cream cheese would work perfectly! I would add the same amount. It may take a while to incorporate but be patient and it will, I promise!
Carly Delora says
This soup came out fantastic. I’m definitely going to make it again.
How long does this soup last in the fridge?
jenniferbanz says
I think it would last up to a week
DianeZ says
This soup is what brought me to your website! It's so amazingly good that I've made it several times and passed the recipe link on to my sister. She loves it as much as I do.
jenniferbanz says
This makes me so happy!
Olivia says
How many cups of cauliflower do you end up with in this recipe? I have frozen riced cauliflower and want to know for comparison. Thanks!
jenniferbanz says
I would say around 3-4 cups