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Dear husband has been battling some serious sinus symptoms lately. Now, he’s not fully low-carb, but he enjoys the ketogenic recipes I create and is willing to try each recipe at least once. One caveat–he doesn’t eat pork (I know, how does a bacon lover date such a man? But we manage with the ideology of ‘more bacon for me!’).
When he mentioned symptoms of stuffy nose and sore throat, I knew that soup would be perfect on the menu. I thought back to a big warm bowl of Olive Garden’s ever-famous Zuppa Toscana, and how the hint of spice always helps when I’m not feeling 100%. But how to keto-fy it without the potatoes and without pork?
After searching several recipes and using my own cooking knowledge of “good fats” swaps, I came up with the below recipe. Because turkey is much leaner than pork, I’ve added in some butter to keep the fat contents up and make this soup stay hearty.
Instead of potatoes, we’re going to use cauliflower here–a classic substitute for any potato need in a low carb meal. I saw recipes with summer squash, but that can get mushy, and although radishes may also be a good sub, I was going for as quick and easy of a recipe as possible.
I do hope you enjoy it, and let me know how it turns out! I’d love to hear your feedback. Bon appetit!
Low Carb, Pork-free Zuppa Toscana
Equipment
- Skillet
- Stew pot
- Garlic mincer
- Microplane grater
Ingredients
- 1 small onion about 3/4 cup, diced
- 1 package hot Italian turkey sausage 4-5 links
- 1 32-oz package chicken bone broth*
- 2 cups water
- 1 gluten-free chicken bouillon cube**
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 head cauliflower chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 bunch kale chopped into bite-size pieces
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 dash crushed red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan Reggiano for garnish, microplane grated
Instructions
- Place a medium skillet over medium heat. Take the sausage out of their casings and break up on skillet. Cook over medium heat until browned and done. Put on back burner to cool.
- While the sausage cooks, place the onions with the butter in a stewpot and cook on medium until clear and tender, stirring frequently.
- Add in the garlic and cook for one minute, or until garlic is fragrant.
- Add in the chicken bone broth, water, and bouillon cube and turn the heat to medium-high.
- After the bouillon cube dissolves and the water is simmering, add the cooked sausage and the cauliflower.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and breaks easily with a fork.
- Add in the heavy cream, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add in the kale, stir to combine, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until the kale becomes a bright green and wilts a little.
- At this time, remove from heat and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve in large bowls topped with freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano. Bon appetit!
Notes
- A Microplane grater is such a handy tool for grating parmesan. It finely shreds the cheese into fluffy mounds that will melt quickly and look beautiful on the plate. Bonus is that this tool is great for zesting citrus, as well!
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