• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
My PCOS Kitchen
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Ketogenic Recipes
    • Paleo
    • Gluten Free Recipes
    • Dairy Free Recipes
    • Sugar Free Recipes
    • Low Carb Recipes
    • Nut Free Recipes
  • Start Here
    • How To Start A Keto Diet
    • Macro Calculator
  • PCOS
    • PCOS Facial Hair, Electrolysis & Laser Hair Removal
    • PCOS Meal Plan
  • 日本語
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Ketogenic Recipes
    • Paleo
    • Gluten Free Recipes
    • Dairy Free Recipes
    • Sugar Free Recipes
    • Low Carb Recipes
    • Nut Free Recipes
  • Start Here
    • How To Start A Keto Diet
    • Macro Calculator
  • PCOS
    • PCOS Facial Hair, Electrolysis & Laser Hair Removal
    • PCOS Meal Plan
  • 日本語
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » All Recipes » Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

    August 9, 2018 by Mira 17 Comments

    4.4K shares
    • Share!1.9K
    • Tweet!
    • Yum!
    • Email
    • Print

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure policy for details.

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - Creamy Italian soup in a white pumpkin ceramic bowl from Staub.
    A delicious copycat recipe that uses turnips instead of potatoes!
    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - A healthier take on the famous soup from Olive Garden! This delicious soup has no potatoes, is gluten-free and can be paleo! #lowcarb #zuppatoscana #soup #lchf #glutenfree #grainfree

    This delicious Low Carb Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana tastes just like the original but uses low carb, keto and paleo friendly ingredients. 

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - Creamy Italian soup in a white pumpkin ceramic bowl from Staub.

    Copycat Zuppa Toscana

    This Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana recipe could not be easier!  This soup doesn't require many spices, only uses a couple of vegetables and the flavour mostly comes from the meat and broth.  I used some homemade chicken broth that I had made and finished it with a cup of heavy cream.

    For a paleo Zuppa Toscana, you can switch the heavy cream for almond milk instead.   Actually, any kind of nut milk would work for a dairy free zuppa toscana.  I bet macadamia would taste lovely!  I also think some coconut cream could taste pretty good in this!

    I like my soups to be more hearty than liquid.  I love to add lots of vegetables and meat and just a little liquid.  For this copycat Zuppa Toscana recipe, I added about 7 cups of liquid with a whole lot of ingredients.

    If you like your soups to have a more liquid consistency, then you can up the liquid ratio.  Just be sure to add a little bit more salt at the end.  The homemade chicken broth that I used did not have any added salt so just taste test until it's the perfect saltiness for your palette.

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - An overhead shot of a large Staub white pumpkin cast iron pot with zuppa toscana inside.

    Easy Homemade Italian Sausage

    I used to love buying sausages when I lived back in Canada. My father always used some in pasta dishes, especially the spicy kind, and I used to eat all kinds of different flavoured ones. They aren't very popular so I usually have to make homemade Italian sausages!

    My sausages this time consisted of some paprika, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper and lots of cayenne pepper and chili flakes.  You can decrease this as you wish as I like my sausages pretty spicy.

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - Homemade Italian Spicy Sausage

    I was originally going to do an all-pork sausage,  but I didn't have enough in the fridge so ended up doing half chicken and half pork.  They tasted delicious either way and I bet you could make them into sausage patties to have them for breakfast!

    I have another neat recipe for breakfast sausages where I stuffed them in muffin cups, added an egg and baked them in the oven.  You can check out these Breakfast Sausage Cups right here!

    My version of this soup ended up pretty orange in colour because of all the paprika and cayenne that I added my homemade Italian sausages.  If you use store bought sausages, then you can expect your soup to be a little bit more white in colour!

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - An overhead shot of zuppa toscana soup in a white pumpkin bowl. Fresh crispy bacon, turnips, homemade sausage and kale.

    The Best Low Carb Substitute for Potatoes

    When making homemade soups, I've always loved to add starchy ingredients like potatoes, pasta or beans.  I found that the greatest low carb replacements for those are either turnips, butternut squash or even sliced radishes.

    This low carb Zuppa Toscana uses low carb and keto friendly vegetables with lots of delicious crispy bacon and homemade low carb sausages.

    Just like in this Grilled Chicken, Bacon & Radishes recipe here, I replaced the potatoes for radishes.  I love to cook with turnips because they taste exactly like potatoes, but healthier.  They taste amazing in soups and stews and don't require a long cooking time.

    In Japanese cuisine, they're often substituted in beef stews or used in stir-fries.  When you put them to boil, you only need to boil them for about five minutes and they are done.  They get tender real fast and can be overcooked instantly, so you do have to be careful when making soup with them.

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - Turnips are a good substitute for potatoes and sliced pork belly slices instead of bacon.

    When you make this Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup, it's important that you fry your bacon separately and crumble it on top of you bowl of soup at the end  because pork belly tends to get soggy in liquid.  So first, fry it all up until nice and crispy and just top it over your soup when ready to eat.

    Of course, you could add your crispy bacon directly into the low carb Zuppa Toscana if that's the way you like it, but I prefer to keep my bacon crispy.

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - A silver spoon filled with soup

    The carbs in this keto Zuppa Toscana recipe come directly from the vegetables.  Onions, turnips and kale have quite a high amount of carbs, but they also do have a decent amount of fiber so it does equal out for me.

    I think this recipe is more suited towards a low carb diet rather than a keto one, but you could also cut back on some of the onions and turnips to make it less carbs so that it fits your macros.  You can also up the liquid to add more servings.  The bowl pictured above was one serving for me and was quite filling! For another low carb soup, you'll definitely want to try my cheesy taco soup or my keto cauliflower soup.  It's loaded with roasted cauliflower, parmesan and crispy bacon!

    Tips to make this Low Carb Zuppa Toscana

    Make sure to read the following tips to make sure your recipe comes out perfect. The recipe itself doesn't require a lot of cooking time as turnips cook pretty quickly, but depending on what style of soup you want to make, I made suggestions for different low carb or dairy free substitutions you can make for this low carb Zuppa Toscana.

    • If you don't want to make homemade sausages, feel free to use store bought ones. Just make sure they don't have any sugar in them as that might alter the carb count.
    • The sausages use cayenne, paprika and chili pepper, which is why the soup ends up with an orange colour.  You could leave out the paprika if you don't like the colour, but I thought it added some nice flavours to it.
    • The traditional soup uses potatoes, but for a low carb Zuppa Toscana, I used turnips. You can also use radishes, jicama or butternut squash.
    • For a dairy-free version, you can sub the heavy cream for either almond milk or coconut milk.  The coconut milk will give it a slight coconut taste, though, if you're into that. Any other nut milk will also work.
    • Instead of kale, you can use swiss chard, spinach or even watercress.  If you have some mustard greens where you live, that could also be yummy.
    • I used homemade chicken broth, but any store bought ones will do.
    • If you don't have bacon, just use thinly sliced pork belly.
    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana - My PCOS Kitchen - Creamy Italian soup in a white pumpkin ceramic bowl from Staub.
    Print Pin Leave a Comment
    4.82 from 11 votes

    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

    A delicious copycat recipe that uses turnips instead of potatoes!
    Course Dinner, Lunch
    Cuisine American, Italian
    Keyword heathy soup, italian soup, low carb soup, olive garden, zuppa toscana
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Total Time 30 minutes
    Servings 6 servings
    NET Carbs 10.06g
    calories 459kcal
    Protein 22.25g
    Fat 35.68g
    Cook Mira

    Ingredients

    • 5 small (5 small) turnips
    • 3 (3 ) kale leaves
    • 1 (1 ) onion
    • 4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic
    • 190 g (6.7 oz) bacon slices (around 6 slices)
    • 1500 ml (6.38 cups) chicken broth
    • 250 ml (1.05 cups) heavy cream (almond milk for paleo)
    • 1 tsp (1 tsp) salt
    • 5 tbsp (5 tbsp) parmesan

    Homemade Italian Sausage

    • 200 g (7.05 oz) ground chicken
    • 200 g (7.05 oz) ground pork
    • 2 tsp (2 tsp) sage
    • ½ tsp (½ tsp) garlic powder
    • ½ tsp (½ tsp) salt
    • ½ tsp (½ tsp) black pepper
    • ½ tsp (½ tsp) chili flakes
    • ¼ tsp (¼ tsp) cayenne pepper (optional)
    • ½ tsp (½ tsp) paprika

    Instructions

    • Peel and dice the turnips. Chop the kale into bite-size pieces.  Dice the onion.  Mince the garlic.  Slice the bacon into 1cm slices.
    • In a bowl, add the sausage ingredients and mix well with your hands.
    • In a large pot, cook the bacon rashes on medium heat until nice and crispy.  Do not drain the excess oil.  Transfer the bacon to the side.
    • In the same pot, add the sausage and cook until browned, 3-5 minutes.  Set aside. Again, do not drain the leftover oil.
    • Add the chopped onion and garlic to the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender.  Add the chicken broth and turnips.  Turn the heat to high and put to boil for about 5-7 minutes.  The turnips will soften very quickly.  Pierce with a fork to check from time to time.
    • Once the turnips are soft, turn the heat down, add the kale and cook until wilted, around a minute.  Add the heavy cream, salt and stir.  Add the cooked sausages to the pot and stir.  
    • The soup is now done.  If you think it's not salty enough, just add a bit more.  
    • Serve and sprinkle the crispy bacon and parmesan over each serving bowl.

    WATCH THE RECIPE VIDEO (must disable adblocker)

    Tried this recipe?Mention @mypcoskitchen or tag #mypcoskitchen!
    Follow me for more Low Carb Recipes!Mention @MyPCOSKitchen so that I can see all of your goodies!!
    Nutrition Facts
    Low Carb Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
    Amount Per Serving (1 serving)
    Calories 459 Calories from Fat 321
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 35.68g55%
    Saturated Fat 13.91g87%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 3.17g
    Monounsaturated Fat 13.09g
    Cholesterol 123mg41%
    Sodium 1472mg64%
    Potassium 514mg15%
    Carbohydrates 12.36g4%
    Fiber 2.3g10%
    Sugar 4.57g5%
    Protein 22.25g45%
    NET CARBS 10.06g20%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutritional information is provided through calculations made on fatsecret.com. They are approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on mypcoskitchen.com. Sugar alcohols are included in the fiber count. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber (which include sugar alcohols).

     

    All text, pictures & videos are copyright protected © by Mira Richard-Fioramore for My PCOS Kitchen.

     

    Shares are very much appreciated, just make sure to share a link and not a screenshot.

     

    Copy/pasting full recipe text to websites and social media is prohibited. Excerpts, single photos, and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.mypcoskitchen.com with appropriate link back to the original content.

    « Almond Flour Keto Tortillas Recipe
    Keto Paleo Gluten Free Potstickers »
    4.4K shares
    • Share!1.9K
    • Tweet!
    • Yum!
    • Email
    • Print

    Mira

    Food Blogger | Beating PCOS through diet and lifestyle | Healthy Food Enthusiast | Amateur Photographer | Animal Lover | Based in Saitama, Japan

    Subscribe

    for your weekly recipe fix.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Missy

      April 06, 2021 at 11:40 pm

      4 stars
      This soup was delicious! But we found we couldn’t eat it all before we leave on a trip. Have you tried freezing as is?

      Reply
    2. Christina

      January 28, 2020 at 4:56 am

      5 stars
      Made this tonight. Substituted coconut milk (can) instead of heavy cream. This is the first time I have cooked with parsnips and they tasted like potatoes to me. My hubby who isn't gluten dairy free like me said it was good but he wished I used regular potatoes instead of parsnips because he said it had a little after taste. I didn't notice though and will definitely make this again. Yum! Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    3. Susan

      January 05, 2020 at 1:31 am

      Have you tried chayote squash instead of potatoes or radishes?

      Reply
      • Mira

        January 05, 2020 at 5:10 am

        I have not, but chayote squash is really good in soups so should work 🙂

        Reply
    4. Gayle

      May 25, 2019 at 2:49 pm

      5 stars
      Made this vegetarian, subbing beans for the animal ingredients. Thank you!

      Reply
    5. Tiaza

      April 29, 2019 at 2:00 am

      4 stars
      I’ve been looking for pcos friendly recipes that don’t taste terrible for quite some time now. I’m so glad I came across your site. This is the best pcos friendly recipe I’ve had yet! I look forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you so much! I really appreciate what your doing!

      Reply
    6. Mim

      February 10, 2019 at 2:09 am

      5 stars
      I made this tonight and it was delicious!

      Reply
    7. Jenni

      November 10, 2018 at 4:26 pm

      Is 1 serving size approximately 1 cup?

      Reply
      • Mira

        November 11, 2018 at 4:05 am

        There's about 6 cups of liquid in there + the ingredients so a little bit more than 1 cup. Probably 1.5-2 cups.

        Reply
    8. Serenity Simpson

      October 05, 2018 at 3:23 am

      5 stars
      I love this recipe. Reminds me of Italian wedding soup. So delicious!!

      Reply
    9. Kit

      September 20, 2018 at 9:57 pm

      5 stars
      Hi Mira,
      I made this tonight for dinner and it was excellent! I used spinach and coconut cream as my substitutes. We’ll be adding this to our rotation.
      Thanks,
      Kit

      Reply
    10. Urshula

      August 10, 2018 at 10:32 pm

      5 stars
      Made this today. Absolutely delicious. Always loved this soup now I have it with low carbs. I think I’m winning

      Reply
      • Serenity M Simpson

        September 13, 2018 at 3:07 pm

        Hello! I am excited to try this recipe now that fall is arriving soon! Is there a substitute for the turnips that I could use?

        Reply
        • Mira

          September 15, 2018 at 12:46 am

          Hi Serenity, I mention in the post that you can sub the turnips for cauliflower, radish, jicama or butternut squash.

          Reply
    11. Steph

      February 01, 2018 at 4:39 am

      5 stars
      Thank you!

      Reply
    12. Pauline

      January 29, 2018 at 1:39 am

      5 stars
      I love the texture of the soup
      fill me up when I eat it good soup

      Reply
    13. Hélène Nicole

      January 26, 2018 at 11:06 pm

      5 stars
      Wow, quelle bonne soupe Mira!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    About Mira

    Mira from My PCOS Kitchen

    A self-taught home cook, originally from Montreal, Canada, that was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) as a teenager. Realizing the only way to thrive with PCOS was to change her lifestyle, Mira decided to go on a culinary journey to heal herself. By eating gluten-free, sugar-free, low-carb and keto meals, her PCOS symptoms all disappeared. Blessed with a daughter born in August 2020 and currently pregnant with baby #2, this blog is dedicated to all the women out there who want to heal themselves the natural way, learn how to cook healthy delicious food, and take control of their symptoms. Read More…

    Recipes to check out

    Latice pie crust with a keto pie crust recipe

    Perfect Cream Cheese Keto Pie Crust

    My PCOS Kitchen - Paleo Keto Napa Cabbage Rolls - These delicious gluten-free rolls are simmered in an Asian citrus broth!

    Keto Paleo Napa Cabbage Rolls

    Maple Low Carb Oatmeal - My PCOS Kitchen - An overhead shot of chia seed paleo oatmeal with blackberries and almond slices in a blue bowl over a linen cloth.

    Low Carb Oatmeal ~ Maple Flavoured

    More Recipes →

    Footer

    About Mira

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

    A self-taught home cook, originally from Montreal, Canada, that was diagnosed with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) as a teenager. Realizing the only way to thrive with PCOS was to change her lifestyle, Mira decided to go on a culinary journey to heal herself.

    My Favorites

    A keto gluten free swiss roll filled with pumpkin cream and chocolate frosting decorated with halloween props.
    Soft and Chewy white chocolate macadamia nut cookies made with almond flour and keto friendly ingredients.
    Cinnamon oatmeal cookies with cranberries.

    Copyright

    Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Mira Fioramore and My PCOS Kitchen with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

    Affiliate Notice

    My PCOS Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

    Copyright © 2022 My PCOS Kitchen · Privacy Policy
    The photos on this blog are copyright protected. If you wish to share this recipe, simply provide a link back to my blog.
    [footer_custombacktotop]

    4.4K shares
    • 1.9K