Vegan Zuppa Toscana

A few years ago, when I would frequent Olive Garden, I loved ordering the soup and salad combo. It was always a toss up between the Minestrone and Zuppa Toscana. Usually Zuppa Toscana won out, and just recently a thought flickered into my head telling me to recreate the soup. Just a lot healthier and of course, vegan. It was actually really easy to put together, but is definitely not a "healthy" soup. Save this one for when you are feeling indulgent or when you want a really hearty soup that will leave you satisfied.

I chose to use this homemade veggie sausage recipe from Yumuniverse, feel free to use your favorite.

You'll need:

2 c cooked veggie sausage
4 russet or yellow potatoes, cubed
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 c veggie stock
1 c thick nut milk, I used homemade cashew
1/2 package veggie bacon, cooked (optional, but worth it, can use tempeh bacon for a gf option)
5 stalks de-stemmed and roughly chopped fresh kale (spinach would be great, too)
coconut oil for sauteeing

Cook your veggie bacon and sausage (large crumbles) in a large stock pot, seperately in the coconut oil. Set aside. Saute the onion, in the pot, until translucent then add in the garlic and saute for an extra minute. Deglaze the pot with the veggie stock then add in your potatoes. Cook on medium until potatoes are almost tender, then add in the veggie sausage, half of the bacon and the kale. Add in the cashew milk and season with salt and pepper. Once the soup is ladled into bowls, top with the extra veggie bacon. Enjoy! 

Hearty Vegetable Soup

In the winter, I make soup 4-5 times a week. It's my favorite go-to meal and with a little help from the slow cooker, it makes my nights a bit less busy. I've been making this soup for years, but recently cut out chunks of tomato in favor of adding just tomato paste. My kids enjoy it much better that way. For some reason the chunks of tomato were not appealing to them. This recipe is very easy, yet flavorful, I hope you enjoy it.

To make life simpler, grab a bag of organic mixed veggies instead of cleaning and chopping fresh.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

You'll need:

1 jar of tomato paste, such as Bionaturae

1 c chopped carrots

1 c chopped celery

1/2 c peas

1/2 c corn 

4 c vegetable broth, or more

1 chopped bell pepper

5 cloves garlic, pressed or smashed

1 c green beans

1 medium onion, chopped

4 red potatoes, quartered

Option: add in your favorite beans

Let's get started!

For stove top

Throw your onions, garlic, celery and bell peppers in a pot ( medium heat) with 1/2 c of water and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add in the rest in the rest of the veggies, tomato paste and broth, and let boil for 10 minutes. Lower heat and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until everything is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

For slow cooker

Throw all ingredients into a slow cooker and set for 6 hours. That's it!