Recipe Redo: Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Made Healthy

- April 04, 2017

One of my favorite lunches out has always been the "all you can eat" soup, salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden. As long as I got a second helping of salad, I would delude myself into thinking that I was eating healthy. In actuality, Zuppa Toscana or their Tuscan Soup is full of heavy ingredients including bacon, heavy cream, white potatoes, parmesan cheese and pork Italian sausage. The one healthy part of this soup was the fresh kale and that's the good news. The freshness of the kale was one of my favorite parts of the soup! It adds texture to the heavy soup.

So how would one lighten up this soup? One word--cauliflower! By substituting cauliflower for most of the potatoes in the soup, the health benefits are greatly increased (I still add one small russet potato for the starchy quality).

The next substitution is using fat free evaporated milk instead of the heavy cream. Since the traditional soup is a thin broth, the heavy cream isn't necessary for creaminess or flavor.

Another substitution is possible my favorite ingredient to sub out in recipes--turkey Italian sausage. I use the turkey version in all of my favorite Italian dishes. The spices give the turkey a great flavor. And forget the bacon! The turkey has enough flavor so it's not necessary.

How to make it? First brown the turkey sausage with one chopped onion in a little olive oil. Next add chicken broth and bring to boil.

Chop half a head of cauliflower in chunks along with one small pealed potato and add to the broth. Cook until the cauliflower is soft.

While the cauliflower is cooking, remove the bulky stems from the kale and chop into 1-2 inch pieces.

Add the kale to the soup and season to taste with salt, pepper, thyme and garlic powder.

Once the kale is wilted, add the evaporated milk. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. If desired, serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

This soup is so full of flavor, that anyone who loves Zuppa Toscana will love this version!

Healthy Zuppa Toscana

(Italian Tuscan Soup with Kale and Cauliflower)

Serves 6

Weight Watchers Smart Points: 5

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 links turkey Italian sausage, casings removed

1 small onion, chopped

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped into chunks

1 small russet potato, pealed and cubed

3 cups chopped fresh kale

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 10 ounce can fat free evaporated milk

*garnish with parmesan cheese (optional)

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil and brown the turkey sausage with the chopped onion.
Add chicken broth and bring to boil.
Add the cauliflower and potato to the broth.
Cook until the cauliflower is soft.
Add the kale to the soup and season to taste with salt, pepper, thyme and garlic powder.
Once the kale is wilted, add the evaporated milk. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
If desired, serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.