The BEST Vegan Zuppa Toscana (Prompt Pot Recipe)

At the moment’s vegan Zuppa Toscana (Prompt Pot recipe) is a scrumptious and hearty plant-based copycat model of the well-known sausage and kale soup served at Olive Backyard – a US-based Italian chain restaurant. It is a good weeknight dinner recipe that even choosy eaters will take pleasure in.

Word: As an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. When you make a purchase order by my weblog, I’ll obtain a small fee, at no additional price to you. Thanks!

When you used to love Zuppa Toscana soup at Olive Backyard earlier than going vegan, OR if you happen to’re searching for a dairy free Zuppa Toscana recipe, you’re going to LOVE my vegan Prompt Pot Zuppa Toscana!

My vegan model of this Tuscan soup is more healthy and leaner than its Olive Backyard model, but it boasts all the flavour and heartiness that so many people have grown to like.

I used to work at Olive Backyard a few years in the past – in reality it was one in all my first jobs after I immigrated to the US. On the time, Zuppa Toscana was one of many three soups the eating places supplied on daily basis, and it was by far the preferred soup amongst our guests.

It’s no surprise: Olive Backyard’s Zuppa Toscana is a wealthy, chunky soup with a scrumptious, creamy broth, loaded with spicy Italian sausage, potatoes, and kale.

One might even suppose that this soup is form of wholesome due to the kale. Sadly, this nutritious diet staple veggie doesn’t negate all of the fats and ldl cholesterol of the pork-based sausage and heavy cream ☹️

Fortunately, this doesn’t imply that health-oriented and/or vegan individuals can’t take pleasure in this soup.

At the moment I’m sharing my vegan model of the basic Zuppa Toscana.

It’s simply as scrumptious and hearty as its Olive Backyard model. And because it’s a lot leaner, increased in fiber, and ldl cholesterol free, we will form of, type of name it wholesome ?

Serve with some crusty bread on the aspect, and also you’ll be in consolation meals heaven very quickly.

To make issues even simpler, I’ll present you prepare dinner this basic Italian soup within the Prompt Pot (or the same sort of stress cooker).

No Prompt Pot? No drawback – I’ve included stovetop cooking instructions over right here.

The way to Change Dairy in Vegan Zuppa Toscana

The basic Zuppa Toscana soup is identified for its creamy broth. It’s barely thicker than chunky broth-based soups, but not as thick and easy as blended cream soups.

Olive Backyard achieves this creamy thickness by utilizing heavy cream as one of many components.

There are just a few methods we will change dairy-based heavy cream if we’re making vegan/dairy free Zuppa Toscana:

1. By utilizing cashew cream. 1 cup of uncooked cashews combined with 2 – 2 1/2 cups of water will yield a stunning, creamy liquid that’s good for changing heavy cream.

The draw back: if you happen to don’t have a excessive pace blender, the feel of your cashew cream might keep a bit grainy irrespective of how onerous you mix it.

2. By utilizing canned coconut milk or coconut cream. Texture-wise, the thick and creamy coconut milk is ideal straight out of the can.

The draw back: your dairy free Zuppa Toscana soup will almost certainly have a coconutty aftertaste.

3. By utilizing soy, almond, or different varieties of non-dairy milk. That is fairly easy with one caveat: the milk of your selection must be unsweetened, and positively NOT vanilla-flavored. No person needs to eat vanilla sausage soup ?

Additionally, needless to say some varieties of non-dairy milk are thinner in texture than others. For instance, almond milk is often thinner than soy milk (aside from Silk Further Creamy Almond Milk). Rice milk is the thinnest of all plant-based milks, so it gained’t work very properly on this recipe.

4. By utilizing non-dairy creamer. If non-dairy milk is sweet, then non-dairy espresso creamer needs to be even higher, proper? Sure, however there’s a draw back: it’s actually onerous to discover a dairy free espresso creamer that’s really unsweetened. Belief me as somebody who LOVES unsweetened espresso ?

In addition to, some non-dairy creamers begin performing unusual and break down into some oily mess when you begin heating them up. Positively not price utilizing in a soup.

5. By utilizing vegan cream cheese. This will likely sound a bit unconventional, however positively price testing.

The caveat: some varieties of non-dairy cream cheese (Violife, Tofutti) have a mix of oils and starches as their base. As soon as heated within the soup, they may almost certainly flip oily as a substitute of creamy.

Nut-based cream cheeses like Miyoko’s or Treeline will work higher since nuts don’t soften into oil.

6. By utilizing unsweetened oat milk – one of the best methodology in my view. I discover that oat milk has the right mixture of creaminess and thickness, plus it doesn’t flip watery like another non-dairy milks. It’s probably the greatest nut-free choices + it’s soy-free = extra allergy pleasant.

Consider: the oat milk you’re shopping for nonetheless must be each unsweetened and NOT vanilla flavored. My favourite model to be used in my dairy free Zuppa Toscana is Chobani Unsweetened Oat Milk that I exploit in my upcoming recipe video.

The way to Change Meat-based Sausage in Vegan Zuppa Toscana

Hearty sausage is one other key ingredient in Olive Backyard Zuppa Toscana recipe. It offers the soup a wealthy, savory, deeply umami taste enhanced by Italian herbs and fennel.

Nonetheless, this sausage is made with pork, so it’s as non-vegan because it will get. Plus, it’s loaded in ldl cholesterol – and so is heavy cream used on this soup.

Fortunately, we dwell within the occasions when the selection of vegan sausage manufacturers available on the market is actually outstanding.

Listed below are just a few meatless sausage manufacturers that work very well in our wholesome vegan sausage soup:

Italian Garlic & Fennel Sausage by Subject Roast

That is my go-to sausage for cooking in varied recipes, from my vegan wild rice and mushroom soup with sausage to my veggie-loaded balsamic pasta and my vegan Prompt Pot jambalaya.

I like that Subject Roast sausages don’t crumble fully throughout cooking, so I can at all times depend on getting just a few sausage chunks in each bowl.

Nonetheless, this sausage is gluten-based, so if you happen to’re gluten-free, you’d wish to use one thing else.

Past Sausage, Sizzling Italian or Candy Italian

One other flavorful plant-based sausage choice for Prompt Pot vegan Zuppa Toscana soup. It’s each gluten-free and soy-free – good for individuals with meals sensitivities.

Nonetheless, raw Past sausages have a really mushy consistency, in order that they should be pre-cooked fairly properly to yield sausage crumbles.

As an alternative of crumbling uncooked Past sausage along with your fingers like I do with Subject Roast sausages, it’s finest to place the entire raw sausage within the preheated Prompt Pot, and break it up into items utilizing a picket spoon.

Inconceivable Sausage

I haven’t tried Inconceivable sausage in my vegan Zuppa Toscana, however I noticed it talked about on-line as a very good choice. It’s gluten-free however NOT soy-free.

This firm sells brat-sized sausages and breakfast sausage patties. However probably the most cost-effective (and best to make use of) choice is their floor sausage packed into 14-ounce rolls. Crumble it up into your Prompt Pot, and voilà!

Vegan Bacon

One other good technique to improve your vegetarian model of Zuppa Toscana with smoky, meaty umami taste and aroma.

There are numerous manufacturers of vegan bacon on the market, and relying on their components they may behave otherwise on this soup.

Whichever model you employ, be certain that to sauté it first, and add it into the soup on the finish.

Complete Meals, Plant-based Choices

When you’re making an attempt to maintain your meatless Zuppa Toscana as wholesome and plant-based as potential, be at liberty to skip the sausage altogether.

Add cooked white beans (cannellini, navy, and so forth.) for a lift of protein and fiber, and sprinkle in some Italian seasoning to boost the flavour.

VIDEO: Vegan Prompt Pot Zuppa Toscana

Watch me make this soup on this video on my YouTube channel:

What Sort of Potatoes are Utilized in Vegan Zuppa Toscana?

Relying on their sort, potatoes might behave otherwise when cooked within the Prompt Pot (and even on stovetop).

The perfect sort of potato for cooking within the Prompt Pot must maintain its form properly but stay good and tender as soon as it’s cooked.

How do we all know if the potatoes we selected keep collectively or flip right into a mush when stress cooked?

In brief, the upper the starch content material is within the potato, the better it can crumble throughout cooking.

An instance of excessive starch potato sort is russet potatoes. The starch makes them good and fluffy when mashed or fried, nevertheless it’s additionally the rationale why they crumble so simply when stress cooked and/or boiled.

“Waxy” potatoes (new potatoes, red-skinned, fingerling potatoes, and so forth.) have a decrease starch and better moisture content material, which helps them maintain their form higher throughout cooking.

These are good for roasting or cooking in a soup, however not so nice for mashing or baking.

Lastly, there’s the “golden center” of the potato spectrum: all-purpose potatoes. These mix “one of the best of each worlds”: starchy sufficient for mashing, but agency sufficient for boiling in a soup.

Yukon Gold potatoes are an instance of an all-purpose potato. These potatoes are my selection for utilizing in my vegan Zuppa Toscana soup.

I like utilizing them in most of our household’s favourite soups like Vegan Prompt Pot Minestrone, or Vegan Mushroom-Barley Soup with Chickpeas.

Yukon Gold potatoes launch some starch into the broth throughout cooking, which helps thicken the soup. But they maintain their form properly with out falling aside so long as they aren’t overcooked.

I choose to not peel Yukon Gold potatoes on this recipe to provide the soup much more texture. Be at liberty to peel them although if you happen to like.

The way to Thicken the Broth of Vegan Zuppa Toscana

Conventional Zuppa Toscana isn’t as thick as, say, cream of mushroom soup, but it’s a bit thicker than most broth-based soups.

The oldsters at Olive Backyard get this texture because of heavy cream, fats from the pork-based sausage, and starch from the potatoes.

Clearly we don’t have the primary two of these going for us in our vegan Zuppa Toscana recipe. To repair this, we’re going to “lean into” the starch.

There are two methods of doing this that don’t contain any extra components.

METHOD #1: Utilizing a Countertop Blender

As soon as the stress cooking section is over, launch the steam and open the lid.

Take away about 2 cups of soup and add them into the bowl of a blender together with the non-dairy milk. I choose utilizing unsweetened oat milk.

Any blender will do: if you happen to don’t have a high-speed one like Vitamix or Blendtec, simply use no matter’s out there.

Mix the soup and milk combination till easy, then pour again into the Prompt Pot. Comply with the remainder of the recipe within the recipe card beneath.

METHOD #2: Utilizing an Immersion Blender

Similar to within the Methodology #1, launch the steam out of your Prompt Pot as soon as the stress cooking section is over, and open the lid.

You don’t have to take any soup out of your stress cooker. Utilizing an immersion blender (I like this one by All-Clad), give the soup a pair fast pulses.

IMPORTANT: Be certain that to actually do only a couple pulses! It’s very easy to over-blend this soup with an immersion blender. Higher to under-blend after which mix a bit greater than to over-blend and lose all the feel.

After that, add the non-dairy milk, and comply with the remainder of the recipe (see recipe card beneath).

The way to Make Vegan Zuppa Toscana Gluten Free

Making vegetarian Zuppa Toscana recipe gluten free is simple. All now we have to do is to look at two components: plant-based sausage and non-dairy milk.

Plant-based sausage. Out of the three veggie sausage manufacturers I talked about above – Subject Roast, Past Sausage, Inconceivable Sausage – the final two include no gluten in line with their producers.

(When you’re looking ahead to soy: Subject Roast and Past Sausage are soy free.)

When you use a special model of meatless sausage, be certain that to learn the label.

Alternatively, skip the sausage and use some canned white beans for complete meals, plant-based protein.

Non-dairy milk. Most varieties of non-dairy milk are naturally gluten free.

Nonetheless, it’s at all times finest to learn the label. Generally the amenities the place this or that milk is produced may also course of different components, together with ones that include gluten, so cross-contamination might occur.

Rule of thumb: if the field prominently says “Gluten Free”, you’re almost certainly within the clear.

I discussed above that I like utilizing oat milk in my plant-based Zuppa Toscana. Word that with oats, issues can get tough.

Generally wheat grains make their method into oat crops. As soon as these wheat-contaminated oats are processed into oat milk, some gluten might stick round.

This is the reason if you happen to resolve to go the oat milk route, be certain that tat you select a gluten free model. Manufacturers like Oatly, Chobani Oat, Califia, Easy Fact all point out that they’re gluten free.

Alternatively, skip the plant-based milk and use a special creamy element like home made cashew cream, canned coconut milk, nut-based vegan cream cheese, and so forth. (See all choices right here.)

The way to Make Vegan Zuppa Toscana on Stovetop

If an Prompt Pot or the same sort of stress cooker is unavailable, my vegan Zuppa Toscana recipe can simply be made on stovetop.

(For ingredient quantities and the Prompt Pot model of this recipe, see the recipe card beneath.)

Prep the components. Crumble up the plant-based sausages into small items. Chop the onion. Mince the garlic. Slice the potatoes (I maintain the skins on, however be at liberty to peel them if you happen to’d like).

Preheat a big pot on stovetop over medium warmth. Add 1-2 Tbsp avocado oil/veggie broth/water.

As soon as the liquid is scorching, add all the crumbled sausage. Sauté 4-5 minutes, stirring usually, till the sausage is browned. Take away and put aside.

Add 1 Tbsp oil/veggie broth/water. Sauté chopped onion till translucent, 3-4 minutes.

Add minced garlic, floor fennel seeds, oregano, thyme, pink pepper flakes, bay leaf, sage, salt and pepper to the sautéed onions, combine properly.

Within the meantime, grind fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle (or buzz them just a few occasions in a clear espresso grinder). This may assist them launch extra taste into the soup.

Add sliced potatoes and 5 cups of water/low sodium veggie broth. Cowl with a lid, and produce to a simmer. Cook dinner 10-12 minutes, or till the potatoes are tender however nonetheless maintain their form.

Whereas the soup is cooking, get the the remainder of the components prepared.

Rinse the kale, take away its thick stems, tear the leaves into bite-sized items and therapeutic massage them to melt. Drain and rinse cannellini beans (if utilizing).

OPTIONAL STEP to thicken the broth: As soon as the potatoes are tender, take away about 2 cups of soup and add them into the bowl of a blender together with the non-dairy milk (I exploit unsweetened oat milk).

Mix till easy and add again into the Prompt Pot.

ALTERNATIVELY, use an immersion blender: maintain all the soup within the Prompt Pot, and quicky pulse it a pair occasions. Add again into the soup together with the non-dairy milk.

Combine within the massaged kale, crumbled sausage, and beans (if utilizing) into the soup. Carry again to a simmer, and prepare dinner 1-2 min to heat up. Flip off the warmth.

Sprinkle in dietary yeast (if utilizing). Style and regulate the seasoning.

To retailer this vegan Zuppa Toscana, refrigerate it in an hermetic container for 3-4 days, or freeze it in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag (I like these reusable ones) for as much as 2 months.

Extra Olive Backyard Copycat Recipes from the Weblog:

Simple Vegan Minestrone Soup (Prompt Pot or stovetop)

Simple Capellini Pomodoro Pasta (a.okay.a. Angel Hair Pomodoro, Bruschetta Pasta)

I hope you take pleasure in this scrumptious vegan Prompt Pot Zuppa Toscana as a lot as we do in our household!

When you’ve loved this put up, share it with your folks on social media! And stick round for extra awesomeness – subscribe to Vegan Runner Eats to obtain the most recent posts (I’ll ship you a free copy of my vegan dinner recipe e-book as a thanks), or comply with the weblog on Fb, Pinterest, and Instagram.