This easy vegan Zuppa Toscana soup recipe is the perfect weeknight dinner, make ahead lunch, or company treat. It’s a warm, savory, vegetable soup recipe with kale, white beans, and potatoes with Tuscan herbs for added flavor.
Thank you Sacla for sponsoring this post. The content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
Zuppa Toscana, made famous by the Olive Garden restaurant chain, simply refers to any soup made with Tuscan spices. It was originally a light, creamy soup packed with nutrient dense vegetables and herbs and often paired with a rustic, crusty bread.
This easy Tuscan vegetable soup freezes well, reheats well, and is easy to make for your next large gathering as well as perfect for a single or couple. It only requires 30 minutes of your time and one pot, so you can’t go wrong with this simple vegetarian kale soup.
Vegan Zuppa Toscana Nutritional Benefits
This vegan kale soup has a plethora of health benefits.
Kale is a nutritional powerhouse, packed with vitamins and minerals. With the addition of Vitamin C from the lemon juice, it also becomes an excellent source of iron.
This Tuscan soup (just like creamy wild garlic soup) is made with white cannellini beans which are great for plant-based fiber and protein. Potatoes are also healthy and filling, adding to this easy vegan comfort food recipe.
Onions and garlic are well known for their immune boosting properties…not to mention the tremendous flavor they add to this savory potato and kale soup.
Ingredients
- olive oil
- yellow onion
- yukon gold or russet potatoes
- sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- oregano
- thyme
- vegetable stock
- unsweetened almond milk
- kale
- cannellini beans
- nutritional yeast
- parsley
- red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper
- vegan pesto
- crusty bread
Tips For Making The Best Vegan Zuppa Toscana Soup
One of the beautiful things about this kale soup recipe is how incredibly simple it is.
When using kale in a fresh salad like this kale pumpkin salad, you have to massage it.
However, when using kale in a soup, the cooking does all the hard work for you. In fact, one of my favorite things about this simple soup recipe is how quickly you can make it.
First, prep your veggies so they are ready to use.
Use a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat to sautée onions for a few minutes until translucent. Add diced potatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, minced garlic, oregano and thyme. Scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan and get that rich flavor from them.
Next, simply follow the recipe instructions below, adding the ingredients a few at a time, to layer in the flavors (make sure to watch my Zuppa Toscana web story to quickly see the cooking process).
Serve it with Sacla vegan basil pesto for the last layer of flavor. Pair your veggie soup with your favorite whole grain crusty loaf of bread.
How To Store And Reheat Vegetarian Zuppa Toscana Soup
You can make this kale and potato soup up in a big batch and save it for later, if you’d like, too.
Simply let it cool and store it in your fridge or freeze it in your favorite freezer containers or ziploc freezer bags.
To reheat the soup when you’re ready to enjoy it, you’ll just microwave it, stirring it frequently to keep the milk well blended and avoid any scorching, or reheat it on the stovetop (also stirring often).
The veggies will noticeably soften if you freeze and reheat this soup, but the flavor will be every bit as savory and comforting and you’ll still enjoy it.
Serving Options
- Pair this one-pot potato kale soup with your favorite crusty bread loaf, focaccia, garlic knots, vegan potato pancakes or even croutons.
- Serve it with a salad like this kale pumpkin salad, vegan fall harvest salad or a simple garden salad for a complete dinner meal.
- Another option would be to serve this kale Tuscan soup alongside this filling savory sweet potato casserole, vegan pot pie or vegan quiche.
Top Tips
- This vegetarian Tuscan soup is an easy one-pot creamy soup packed with nutrients and flavor. It’s a perfect comforting meal for a weeknight dinner, make ahead lunch, and fancy enough to serve at a dinner party.
- This potato soup with kale is perfect for meal prep. Make it in a big batch and freeze it in freezer containers or ziploc freezer bags for up to 3 months.
- The soup can be stored in the fridge for about 5 days. To reheat it, microwave it in a bowl or warm in on the stove, stirring often.
- Serve it with crusty bread loaf, focaccia, garlic knots or croutons. You can pair it with a salad, casserole, savory pie or quiche for a filling dinner meal.
Recipe Variations
- To make this vegetable kale soup oil-free, instead of sautéeing veggies in oil, add a bit of hot water or veggie broth to the vegetables to steam them.
- Use any of your favorite Italian herbs for the soup. Substitute fresh basil for parsley if you wish.
- Substitute any nut milk or oat milk for almond milk.
- To make the soup gluten-free, serve it with gluten-free bread.
- Use homemade vegan pesto as an alternative to Sacla vegan pesto or consider adding kale pesto, wild garlic pesto or roasted garlic to jazz up your soup.
- Leftover kale can be used in this delicious kale smoothie.
Vegan Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3-4 medium yukon gold or russet potatoes peeled and diced
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil drained and finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cups almond milk unsweetened
- 3 cups kale leaves ribs removed, chopped
- 1 14 oz can cannellini beans
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes or to taste optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon vegan pesto per portion to serve
- Crusty bread to serve
Instructions
- Preheat a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and onion and sautée for a few minutes until translucent. Add diced potatoes and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add sun-dried tomatoes, minced garlic, oregano and thyme and sautée for one more minute. Scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cook for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes are softened. Add unsweetened almond milk and bring to a boil.
- Add kale and cook for 5 minutes. Add cannellini beans, nutritional yeast, parsley and lemon juice (if using).
- Sprinkle with chili flakes (optional), salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of vegan pesto and crusty bread on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
Top Tips
- This vegetarian Tuscan soup is an easy one-pot creamy soup packed with nutrients and flavor. It's a perfect comforting meal for a weeknight dinner, make ahead lunch, and fancy enough to serve at a dinner party.
- This potato soup with kale is perfect for meal prep. Make it in a big batch and freeze it in freezer containers or ziploc freezer bags for up to 3 months.
- The soup can be stored in the fridge for about 5 days. To reheat it, microwave it in a bowl or warm in on the stove, stirring often.
- Serve it with crusty bread loaf, focaccia, garlic knots or croutons. You can pair it with a salad, casserole, savory pie or quiche for a filling dinner meal.
Recipe Variations
- To make this vegetable kale soup oil-free, instead of sautéeing veggies in oil, add a bit of hot water or veggie broth to the vegetables to steam them.
- Use any of your favorite Italian herbs for the soup. Substitute fresh basil for parsley if you wish.
- Substitute any nut milk or oat milk for almond milk.
- To make the soup gluten-free, serve it with gluten-free bread.
- Use homemade vegan pesto as an alternative to Sacla vegan pesto or consider adding kale pesto, wild garlic pesto or roasted garlic to jazz up your soup.
- eftover kale can be used in this delicious kale smoothie.
