Sarah’s Low Carb Zuppa Toscana
A loose translation. 😉
I like to keep things simple, and I keep recipes in my head based on what I have on hand. For the most part, I always have these ingredients in my freezer, so I can whip up a batch of Low Carb Zuppa for me and the kids.
I had numerous people ask for my “recipe” so I decided to list it out so you all have a reference! Please do note: this is not exact. It won’t taste JUST LIKE OLIVE GARDEN’S SOUP! But it’s close, it’s chock full of protein and veggies, and it’s GOOD. Also, I like how the spinach wilts and melts into the soup better than kale, but this would work with kale as well.
Ingredients –
1 lb. ground sweet or hot Italian sausage.
1 small onion, diced.
1 tsp garlic powder.
1 bag of frozen cauliflower rice (I use the Trader Joe’s version).
1 bag of frozen spinach (Also… Trader’s).
1 cup heavy cream or half n half.
2-4 cups of chicken stock, broth, bouillon or water.
Salt and pepper to taste.
1 cup Parmesan and then extra for topping.
In a large soup pot, or Dutch Oven, brown the sausage and diced onion until the sausage is cooked through. Dump in the cauli rice and spinach, and sprinkle in the garlic powder. Add in 1 cup of dairy of choice, stir, and let everything simmer together for 10-15 minutes. The reason the broth quantity varies is because sometimes the spinach and cauli rice give off a lot of liquid, sometimes it doesn’t. So you start with 2 cups, stir it through and see how soup-y it gets. I know, I know.. this isn’t how you may do things, but it is how I do them. You’ll just have to take a peek, and add broth until it feels soup-y enough for you. I add about a cup of grated Parm, and then taste it. Here’s the thing. With the Italian sausage, the onion, the broth, and the Parm, it very often doesn’t need any added salt. This is why I wait until the end to check.
Ladle into a bowl, and top with some extra Parm, and you’ve got yourself a delightful bowl of soup with about 5 net carbs per serving. Take that, Olive Garden! 😉
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