This easy Vegan Zuppa Toscana is a delicious twist on one of Olive Garden’s most popular menu items. Rich and creamy broth with tender potatoes, vegan sausage, and kale makes for the perfect comforting bowl of soup. Serve with crusty bread for a cozy meal that everyone is sure to love!

vegan zuppa toscana

Happy first day of Fall! It’s ✨officially✨ the start of my Soup Season Series, and we’re kicking it off with the highly requested Zuppa Toscana.

This soup was made popular by Olive Garden, and is one of the most well-known items on their menu! Their version (and the one this recipe is based off of) is made with Italian sausage, crushed red peppers, diced onion, garlic, chicken broth, heavy cream, potatoes, and kale. It’s richer than the original, which is typically made with a lot more vegetables and water, instead of cream — basically far from any Zuppa Toscana you’d probably see in Tuscany. That said, because “Zuppa Toscana” is such a broad term, it’s hard to find its exact origins, and I’d bet that ingredients varied by region or what was available seasonally.

Grab a drink and let’s get to cookin’ the best Vegan copycat Zuppa Toscana!

what goes in vegan Zuppa toscana

Just a few fridge and pantry staples are all you need for this delicious and cozy Olive Garden copycat. Here’s everything you need to make it:

• Vegan butter: or sub a neutral oil such as avocado, grapeseed, or vegetable oil
• Aromatics: onion, celery, carrots, and garlic
• Vegan sausage: I like to use Impossible because I find it’s the most “realistic”, and it’s often times on sale at my local grocery store. That said, feel free to use any vegan sausage you’re able to find, as long as it’s not a breakfast-style sausage.
• Smoked paprika: not sure if Olive Garden actually has bacon in their version, but almost every copycat recipe I found online does. The smoked paprika lends a nice smokiness that the bacon would otherwise provide, but feel free to omit it.
• Red pepper flakes: y’all know I love a touch of heat, but leave it out if you’re not a fan of spice!
• Potatoes
• Parsley
• Vegan chicken broth: I typically buy this in powder, cube, or paste bouillon form, then mix it with water to create a very flavorful broth. I can find artificial chick’n powder or bouillon at my local Asian market, specialty health food stores such as Whole Foods and Sprouts, or on Amazon. If you can’t access it, you can substitute it with mushroom powder, or vegetable bouillon. If using vegetable bouillon, I highly suggest using a powder or paste, as these are highly concentrated and will produce a much more flavorful broth.
• Unflavored and unsweetened soy milk
• Cornstarch
• White wine vinegar
• Kale
• Vegan parmesan shreds: or nutritional yeast

how to make it

One pot and 30 minutes are all that stand in the way of you and a delicious bowl of this soup! Here’s how to make it:

1. saute:

Heat some butter in a stockpot or Dutch Oven. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant. Add the vegan sausage, season with the smoked paprika and red pepper flakes and continue to cook, breaking the sausage up with the back of a wooden spoon, until heated through.

2. simmer:

Add the potatoes, parsley, and broth. Give it a good mix to combine and increase the heat to medium-high. Once it reaches a light boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are nearly fork tender. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium, and add the soy milk and cornstarch slurry. Continue to simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are fork tender and the soup has thickened.

note: at this point, you can also add the kale to the pot, but I prefer to add the kale at the time of serving … I hate when it gets soggy after reheating!

3. serve and enjoy:

Off the heat, stir in the white wine vinegar, mixing to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Serve immediately over chopped kale and garnish with vegan parmesan and parsley, and enjoy!

more soups to try:

• Cheesy Chipotle Chick’n and Rice
• Birria Ramen
• Pesto Italian Wedding
• Beer ‘n’ Broccoli Cheese with Smoked Paprika Croutons
• Chick’n Tortilla

soup season is the best season

I hope you love this Vegan Zuppa Toscana as much as I do! If you try this dish and enjoy it, I wanna know! Snap a photo, take a video, or make a story and post it to Instagram or TikTok, and tag me at @eat_figs_not_pigs and #EatFigsNotPigs. I love seeing your recreations of my recipes!

Til next time, friends!

xo!

5.0 from 1 reviews

Vegan Zuppa Toscana

 

Save Print

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

This easy Zuppa Toscana is a delicious vegan twist on one of Olive Garden’s most popular menu items. Rich and creamy broth with tender potatoes, vegan sausage, and kale makes for the perfect comforting bowl of soup. Serve with crusty bread for a cozy meal that everyone is sure to love!

Author: Ashley

Recipe type: Vegan

Cuisine: Italian-Inspired

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients

• • 1 tablespoon vegan butter
• • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• • 1 cup diced celery
• • 1 cup diced carrots
• • 10 cloves minced garlic
• • 1 pound vegan sausage
• • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
• • 2 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ - inch cubes
• • ⅓ cups chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
• • 8 cups vegan chicken broth
• • 2 cups unflavored and unsweetened soy milk
• • ¼ cup cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup water
• • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• • Salt and pepper, to taste
• • 1 bundle of kale, stems removed and roughly chopped (about 6 cups)
• • Vegan parmesan shreds, for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat the butter in a stockpot or Dutch Oven over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add the vegan sausage, season with the smoked paprika and red pepper flakes (if using), and continue to cook, breaking the sausage up with the back of a wooden spoon, until heated through, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Next, add the potatoes, parsley, and broth. Give it a good mix to combine and increase the heat to medium-high. Once it reaches a light boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are nearly fork tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium, and add the soy milk and cornstarch slurry. Continue to simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are fork tender and the soup has thickened, 5 to 8 minutes (note: at this point, you can also add the kale to the pot, but I prefer to add the kale at the time of serving … I hate when it gets soggy after reheating!)
5. Off the heat, stir in the white wine vinegar, mixing to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
6. Serve immediately over chopped kale and garnish with vegan parmesan and parsley, and enjoy!

3.5.3251