Low Carb, Keto Zuppa Toscana with Cauliflower (Paleo and Whole30)
With this Creamy Keto Zuppa Toscana with Cauliflower, you can have your soup, stay low carb + eat it too! Dairy free, gluten free, Whole30, Paleo, low-carb. The whole nine yards. Only 6 net carbs per serving!
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I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited to share a recipe with you guys! My Dairy-Free and Whole30 Zuppa Toscana is hands-down the most popular recipe on the blog right now, and it’s one of my favorites as well. So yummy and creamy and cozy on a cold winter day.
But it’s not exactly low carb. Yes, yes. It’s still amazing and healthy. Gluten free, dairy free, Whole30 and all that jazz. But lately I’ve been really watching my carbs, and white potatoes are on the naughty list.
If you’re looking for the original Dairy-Free and Whole30 Zuppa Toscana, go for it! It’s still super-healthy and packed full of nutrients. But if you want something with fewer carbs, this Low Carb, Keto Zuppa Toscana with Cauliflower is going to knock your warm, fuzzy socks off!
It has the exact same flavor as the wildly popular original recipe with a surprisingly similar consistency and texture. I don’t miss the potatoes one bit, and you won’t either if you’re looking to go low carb or Keto. Trust me. It’s Zuppa Toscana bliss.
Creamy, coconutty, sausage-and-kale-with-crushed-red-pepper-bliss.
Low Carb, Keto Zuppa Toscana with Cauliflower (Paleo and Whole30)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. ghee
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 6 c. chicken broth
- 10 oz. or about 3 1/2 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 5 oz. fresh kale chopped
- 14.5 oz. can full-fat coconut milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the Italian sausage and cook for 5-7 minutes until browned. Use a wooden spoon or Mix 'n' Chop to keep it nicely ground.
- Add the chicken broth, cauliflower,Italian seasoning, garlic powder and red pepper flakes, and mix well.
- Bring your soup to a boil.
- Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the kale and coconut milk, and simmer an additional 5 minutes until the cauliflower can be easily pierced with a fork and the kale is tender.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Be sure to Pin this Low Carb, Keto Zuppa Toscana with Cauliflower (Paleo and Whole30) Recipe for later!
Just trying to get an idea of how much 5oz of kale would be roughly?
About 2 cups of chopped fresh kale.
This recipe is SO good! I rarely comment on websites, but have to thank you for perfecting this recipe – delicious!
Thank you! That means so much to me! ☺️
To echo another post, I don’t often seek out a recipe online to post feedback but this was amazingly delicious. Unexpectedly so. It was also easy. Thank you!
Thank you so much! ☺️
Hi can’t wait to try it! I noticed there was no fiber labeled in the nutritional content. I count all my macros so can you give me that info?
Hi Trisha! I will get you this info when I get home this evening.
1.4g fiber. I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner, and thanks for pointing this out. I didn’t realize it, but fiber wasn’t showing on any of my nutrition labels.
So Yummy! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this, as I am the only one in the house that eats cauliflower and kale – I get the whole batch to myself. 🙂 <3
I’m so glad you liked it! I’m kind of in the same boat. My husband will eat a bowl of soup once, but he isn’t a fan of leftovers. And that’s completely fine with me! 🙂 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! I was unable to find Ghee in my store, so I will have to use grass-fed butter…I hope that won’t change things too much. Also, this is the first time using coconut-anything! I too count my macros and would love to know what the fiber count is. Thank you for your beautiful site!
Thank you so much! Grass-fed butter will work just fine. The ghee is to keep it Whole30-compliant, and it has a higher smoke point than butter. You can also use coconut oil, avocado oil, or beef tallow. The fiber count is 1.4 grams.
This is amazing and so simple! This is our second time making it and will definitely keep it in the recipe box for next time.
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorites! ☺️
Would this freeze well?
Sure. Your kale will be a little softer when you reheat it, but I love it as leftovers.
Love this soup! I can’t seem to find the nutrition facts,would you please share them with me.
Sorry about that! The nutrition labels are back now.
So glad you like it! ☺️
Is there something I can use instead of Kale, like maybe spinach or cabbage. I don’t eat kale but the soup looks amazing.
Cabbage should work following the recipe. Spinach I would add at the very end because it will wilt more quickly than kale. Either one should work just fine. ☺️
can i use something other thank coconut milk? like heavy cream but less of it?
Definitely. I usually use heavy cream but was going for a dairy free recipe. Just start with 1/4 cup and add more until you get it the way you want it.
My sister made this for dinner tonight and it was so good! I’m looking forward to making this for myself. However I’d like to know what’s considered a serving and also what the macro breakdown is.
Hi! I’m so glad you liked it! My nutrition labels were down, but they’re working again. I divided it into 8 servings. 29g fat, 4.7g net carbs, 11.7g protein.
324 calories per serving.
could you use heavy cream instead of the cocnut milk? not sure I’d like the coconut flavor in my soup and I’m a big fan of the regular zuppa soup, but using cauliflower make sense. just not sure about the coconut milk.
Absolutely. This recipe was dairy free, but I would use heavy cream if not going to dairy free. Start with a small amount and add more to your liking.
I love this soup! I make it like once a week while doing whole 30. My only problem has been finding compliant Italian sausage. Even the kinds at Whole Foods have sugar or soy! I made it once with ground chicken and currently using fully cooked Italian chicken sausage. What kind do you use? Also, I always use the frozen riced cauliflower from Trader Joe’s—so easy! Thanks for such a yummy recipe, my husband and I love it!!
Here is a link to Pederson’s Farm Italian Sausage. https://pedersonsfarms.com/2016/12/09/no-sugar-italian-ground-sausage/ You can type in your zip code and see if it’s available near you. Since making it for the blog post, I have just used ground turkey and added my own spices to it because my husband doesn’t eat pork. I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
My entire family loved this! I doubled sausage, veggies, and seasoning with 8 cups of chicken broth and one can of coconut milk to make it really hearty. I also added a yellow onion and sautéed it with sausage! Fantastic recipe thank you for sharing!
Hi:
This recipe is great!
Can you use sweet Italian sausage or do you suggest hot Italian sausage? I made it with hot Italian sausage the first time (from Whole Foods). This time, I was going to order from Fresh Direct, and they have either sweet Italian sausage out of the casing, or hot Italian sausage in the casing. Is it difficult to remove from casing?
I usually go for the hot sausage. Just check the carb content of the sweet sausage to make sure it’s not filled with sugar. I’ve used both the packaged ground sausage and the links, and the links are easy to remove. Just hold an end with one hand and use the other hand to squeeze it out. Kind of messy but super easy!
This recipe is awesome! I have been keto for 6 months now and have seen Keto Zuppa Toscana in general recommended many times in the Keto Facebook groups I follow. I finally chose this recipe and made it for the first time recently (and another time this past weekend). I added bacon both times. The first time I made it I used bone broth instead of chicken broth and used turkey sausage and turkey bacon. The second time I used half bone broth and half chicken broth with regular pork sausage and real bacon. It was fantastic both times.
I also sprinkled some xanthan gum at the end to help thicken it. Not sure if it really helped or if it would have thickened anyway without it after cooling.
5 stars! Thanks for the recipe!
SO DELICIOUS! Made this last week and am making it again this evening. Thanks so much for sharing!
Whole30 here. Allergic to coconut. Can I sub cashew cream or almond milk?
I used a blend of coconut and almond milk and it was delicious so I’m sure you’d be fine with either!
OMG, I NEVER COMMENT ON RECIPES ONLINE, BUT HD TO COMMENT ON THIS ONE. DELICIOUS!
Made a few tiny amendments just based on personal taste.
I don’t eat beef or pork so I used a pack and a half of Lilydale Turkey Sausage with the casings removed. I did add a chopped onion to the turkey sausage as it was browning, just because I thought it would be a nice addition. I love kale so I doubled that and used frozen chopped just because it’s so much easier. I also really love Garlic, so I used two tsp of powder instead of one. I used an entire head of cauliflower chopped into really small pieces. My VERY fussy 11-year-old daughter even loves it.
THANK-YOU so much for this wonderful recipe.
Made this exactly as the recipe specified and it was SO delicious. Even my toddler loved it. I made it in the instant pot, using the sauté function for the sausage and then adding all other ingredients (except coconut milk which I added at the end) and set it for “soup” at ten minutes with natural release. The kale and cauliflower were so tender!
This is a delicious rendition of one of my favorite soups! I am so excited to know that I can have it again! I had been so bummed when I needed to switch my diet to avoid dairy. It was a little spicy for my kids, however I loved it 🙂 I will probably look into halving the peppers in the future for their sakes. I will be saving this aside for the future.
This is on regular rotation at my house. Even my husband, who turns up his nose at me putting coconut milk in my coffee, inhaled this soup. I end up adding more cauliflower (16oz frozen bag) and kale than the recipe calls for and it’s delicious.Thanks you!
I will admit, I wasn’t really expecting much, it seemed like an odd combination, but…this is DELICIOUS!! I didn’t have full-fat coconut milk on hand so I used a blend of almond and coconut milk in its place (Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla…again odd, but what I had), but this is a keeper for sure!! Very tasty and surprisingly filling I really enjoyed this soup!
HI, if I subed kale for collards or swiss chard would there be a difference in carbs per serving? I’m asking because kale is high in carbs
Probably. You can look the carb count up online for whatever you use.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but wanted to point out that Olive Garden doesn’t put the Kale in until the soup goes in the container to be served from. And the last batch of the day servers put the kale in the bowl individually so that the soup will keep better. So if you are going to freeze some, just leave the kale out until you are reheating it! Can’t wait to try this
Hi Vanessa,
I worked at OG years ago, and it was already in the soup when we served it. That being said, this isn’t a “copycat” recipe. I don’t know what ingredients they used, and I think my healthier version tastes better. Most people won’t want to let the kale cook too long, though, or it will be wilted and mushy.
Thanks,
Kristi
This was delicious. I substituted spinach for kale because I don’t like kale. It was a bit too spicy so I would definitely cut back in the red pepper flakes next time and use more cauliflower and use heavy whipping cream to make it thicker. But overall it’s a great soup!! Thank you for sharing a low carb version of one of my favorites!
Love it – thanks for your comment! I usually double or triple the listed pepper flakes, so it’s really just a judgment call based on your spice tolerance. 🙂
This is one of my favorite recipes, several years running Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much!
Could you do this in a slow cooker?