This Olive Garden Copycat Recipe gets a Low Carb Makeover!
Low, Carb Keto Zuppa Toscana Soup is made with all the deliciousness that you love with one exception – cauliflower instead of potatoes!
Filled with Italian sausage, cauliflower, kale, and a creamy base, this low carb soup recipe is a winner!
Keto Zuppa Toscana Soup
Soup season is here and I’m all about it! Give me all the warm, comfort, rich, creamy soups in a bowl from now until Spring.
One thing I don’t need is the carbs. I’m trying to go low carb as much as possible and it really helps – when I stick to it! haha!
So, I decided to change up one of my favorite soups for a low carb, keto version – Zuppa Toscana!
Keto Recipes seem to be all the rage right now and it’s super easy to make all the recipes you love into low carb by adding cauliflower.
Odd- yes. But it works!
Need to replace rice – add cauliflower.
Don’t want to add potatoes – add cauliflower.
It is crazy how it takes on the flavors of your dish and NOT the flavor of cauliflower.
Ingredients Needed:
- Italian Sausage – links with the casing removed. You can use spicy Italian Sausage, too.
- Cauliflower – cut into florets
- Onion – diced
- Bacon – cut into small pieces
- Garlic – smalled dice
- Kale – cut into thin ribbons
- Chicken Broth + Water – for the base of the soup
- Heavy Cream – don’t try to skip this. Trust me
- Red Pepper Flakes – the heat gives this soup so much flavor
How to Make Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana soup:
- Slice uncooked sausage into small pieces and brown in your soup pot with a tablespoon of olive oil
- Remove the sausage from the pot and add onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until translucent.
- Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir well – scraping all the bits of the bottom of the pot.
- Place sausage back in the pot along with the cauliflower and simmer for about 30 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.
- While the soup is cooking, brown bacon in a separate skillet and cut into small pieces
- When the cauliflower is soft, add the kale, and the heavy cream to the pot. Stir well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Top your bowls of soup with the bacon.
- Serve with crusty bread and/or crackers. Leave out if you’d like to keep this dish low carb.
I added a picture of my Keto Zuppa Toscana Soup into my Best Recipes & Meal Ideas Facebook Group the other night and EVERYONE wanted the recipe! (join us there if you haven’t yet!)
Can’t say I blame them! I’ve been eating this soup for two days. It’s sooooo good! Now, remember, if you want to keep it low carb – do not add crackers. Or add very few.
You could make some low carb crackers or cheese crisps instead. But I did add crackers to mine for the pictures. And I actually like oyster crackers with this soup. You could serve it with crusty bread, too. Again, if you weren’t watching your carbs.
Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe FAQS
What side dish goes well with soup?
You can easily serve this recipe with a salad or even some breadsticks as well.
How do you store soup with cooked sausage?
Since this recipe has dairy in it, you’re going to want to keep it stored in the fridge for later. When you’re ready to reheat, just put on the stove over medium heat to warm up.
What other ingredients can you add to this simple soup recipe?
A lot of ingredients go well with the cauliflower florets. You can add in onions, russet potatoes (if you’re not watching your carbs), or even some extra chopped kale as well. Don’t forget to top with Parmesan cheese!
For more low carb keto recipes, try these next!
- Keto Sausage & Egg Bowls
- Bacon & Gruyere Sous Vide Egg Bites
- Crock Pot Sausage Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
Low Carb Keto Zuppa Toscana Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage – casing removed and cut into bite size pieces
- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 strips of thick cut bacon
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups kale – veins removed and cut into thin ribbons
- 32 oz can chicken broth
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Slice uncooked sausage into small pieces and brown in your soup pot with a tablespoon of olive oil
- Remove the sausage from the pot and add onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until translucent.
- Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir well – scraping all the bits of the bottom of the pot.
- Place sausage back in the pot along with the cauliflower and simmer for about 30 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.
- While the soup is cooking, brown bacon in a separate skillet and cut into small pieces.
- When the cauliflower is soft, add kale and the heavy cream to the pot. Stir well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with bacon and serve with crusty bread and/or crackers. Leave out if you'd like to keep this dish low carb.
The trick to making this taste authentic is adding fennel seeds. You can add them whole or crushed; however, they’re that missing ingredient that really brings it together and makes it like what you have at the restaurant. Great recipe!
Thank you, Lauran! We will have to try it out. 😊
I’m not that much of a fan of cauliflower but this recipe is delicious! It took 2 thumbs up from my picky hubby! Thanks, I make this often!
We’re so glad it was a hit! Thank you for trying it out, Sarah. 😊
Could you use spinach instead of kale?
What’s the exact serving size?
I doubled the recipe and used evaporated milk instead of heavy cream to save some money and use what was in my pantry. Turned out excellent! Great recipe, will make again and often.
I love this! Im making this again today except I’m leaving out the onion and using half and half instead. The first time I made it my stomach was not having it. Trying it this way and Adding carrots. Hopefully it’s just as good.
I had a quick nutrition question. When I add all of this top my carb manager it is saying it is 11 net carbs per serving. The only differences I had was using country sausage but the carbs on it are the same. And I used 2 extra cups of kale.
I’m not a dietitian and use an app as well. I think you should use whatever you like and add the ingredients in for accurate results.
Loved this recipe!!! The only thing I changed (because I’m not fond of kale) – was that I substituted spinach. Will be a staple in this house!
This soup tastes amazing! My husband said he didn’t miss the potatoes at all! I am making it for the second time tonight!
Yep! This is pretty wonderful. We love it.
Absolutely amazing!! I made the bacon first, and cooked sausage in back grease, the onions in the sausage bacon grease. I used chicken stock for a little extra flavor. . This recipe is absolutely delicious. My 3 boys and hubby loved it. I didn’t introduce it as low carb, they had no idea other than wow that was such a good soup. This is a keeper!!! Thank you!!
This soup is amazing!! I try to live as keto as possible and this helps me meal prep lunch all week. It’s so tasty and easy!! Thank you!
This was so awesome!!! Definitely will be making this again. The flavor was wonderful.
GREAT! I am happy to hear it!