Vegan Zuppa Toscana Recipes

20 March 2020 Bookmark • 1

Vegan Zuppa Toscana may be a rich, creamy, and hearty soup made with vegan sausage, potatoes, kale, and topped with vegan bacon bits! It’s simply the last word vegan comfort food! you'll commit it to memory from the menu at The Olive Garden. Although their version is way from vegan, my copycat version is totally plant-based and may be made gluten-free as well!

What you'll got to make vegan Zuppa Toscana…

Olive Oil – to fry the sausage and kale.
Sausage – you'll use any vegan Italian style sausage product that you simply like otherwise you can make your own Italian sausage using my gluten-free vegan sausage crumbles recipe.
Garlic – for flavor.
Kale – an outsized bunch of fresh kale washed and ripped into small pieces with the hard stems began.
Potatoes – About 4-5 medium potatoes washed, peeled and cubed. Any sort of potatoes will work, however, the red and yellow potatoes with thinner skin won't got to be pealed.
Broth – vegetable broth or vegan “chicken” style broth works best. i prefer the Not Chick’n brand broth cubes.
Italian Seasoning – to flavor the soup. Any Italian herb mix will work otherwise you can add your own mixture of basil, thyme, and oregano.
Plant-Based Milk – any PLAIN non-dairy milk will work. i prefer soy, but you'll also use rice, oat, or the other plant milk.
Salt and Pepper – for flavor. (The amount of salt you'll need will depend upon the sort of broth you use).
Oil or Vegan Butter – to form a roux to thicken the soup. you'll use any neutral flavored fat like vegetable oil , refined copra oil , or my vegan butter recipe.
Flour – to form the roux. you'll use regular white flour or a gluten-free flour mix. (If using GF flour, avoid the mixes with sorghum flour and/or tapioca starch for best consistency). (You can use potato or corn starch mixed with cold water rather than the flour and oil if you wish).
Bacon Bits – to sprinkle on top of your soup. Most store-bought bacon bits are literally made up of soy protein and are vegan. However, it's super easy to form your own vegan bacon bits and avoid red dye and preservatives.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups potatoes washed, peeled, and cut into small cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
4 links vegan sausage cut up or 2 cups of vegan sausage crumble
1 large bunch kale or an 8 oz. bag of pre-washed kale
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp Italian herbs
8 cup Not Chick'n broth or any other vegetable broth
2 cups plain soy milk or any other PLAIN plant-based milk.
salt and pepper to taste (use a few shakes of cayenne pepper for spicy soup).

For the roux:

1/3 cup vegan butter or any neutral-flavored oil
1/2 cup flour or GF flour mix (without sorghum)
To thicken with starch instead of a roux:
1/3 cup potato starch or corn starch
1/2 cup cold water
1 cup bacon bits to sprinkle on top or mix in the soup at the end

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cooking the potatoes:

Bring 8 cups of salted water to a boil in a medium-sized pan.
Wash, peel (optional) and dice the potatoes into bite-sized pieces, about 1/4 inch cubes.
Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just soft, then drain and set aside.

Making the soup:

Chop up the vegan Italian sausage links into small bite-sized pieces or make your own sausage crumbles.
Wash a large bunch of fresh kale and rip it up into small pieces pulling the large stems off.
Saute the sausage in olive oil for about 3 minutes.
Add the kale and garlic and saute kale for about 3-5 more minutes until it gets dark and shiny.
Sprinkle in the Italian herbs and stir well.
Add the broth and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the cooked potatoes and soy milk and continue to simmer while you make the roux.

To thicken the soup with a roux:

Heat oil and flour in a separate soup pan and stir with a whisk.
Ladle out spoonfuls of the broth out of the soup and pour it into the oil and flour mixture stirring well between each spoonful.
Continue to add the broth 1 ladle at a time until most of the broth is mix with the roux and has become thick and bubbly.
Pour the remaining soup into the 2nd soup pot with the thickened broth.
Stir well and serve with bacon bits sprinkled on top.

To thicken with corn or potato starch instead of a roux:

Mix 1/3 cup of starch with 1/2 cup of COLD water and add it to the soup at the end of cooking.
Stir well while you bring the soup to a slow boil and then turn off the heat.