Healthy Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana

If you love Zuppa Toscana soup, you'll love this Healthier Slow Cooker version of The Olive Garden's famous soup! Made with spicy turkey Italian sausage, kale, potatoes, and parmesan cheese, and without cream, it's a hearty and delicious crockpot soup. It's also Weight Watchers friendly.

This Healthy Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana soup is perfect for a busy weeknight and popular in the fall and during the colder months, but great for any time of the year because making it in the slow cooker won't heat up your house. I love to lighten up slow cooker soup recipes. Both my Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup and my Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup are delicious lighter and healthier versions.

Jump to:

• 🥘Ingredients
• 🔪Instructions
• 📖Variations & Substitutions
• 👪 Serving Size
• 🔢WW Points
• 🌡️Storage
• 💭Top Tip
• 🥖Pairing
• 🦺Food safety
• ❔What to do with leftover condensed milk
• ⭐ Comments & Reviews
• 📋Healthy Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana Recipe
• 🥣More Healthy Soup recipes

Zuppa Toscana means Tuscan soup, but Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup is not the traditional Tuscan soup - it's a popularized American version. My copycat version of this soup is different from the original soup in that it's lighter. I don't use heavy cream, so it's less calories and fat. Instead, I use milk and instant mashed potatoes to create a creamy broth for this potato soup.

🥘Ingredients

This soup is spicy, so use mild Italian turkey sausage and ½ the crushed red chili pepper, if you like it less spicy. You will need the following ingredients for this Crockpot Zuppa Toscana:

• 1 pound Italian ground turkey sausage - use mild or medium * (see TOP TIP)
• 1 medium white onion - diced
• 3 tsp minced garlic - 2-3 cloves
• 8 cups chicken broth (affiliate link)
• 4 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces * I use red potatoes
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 cups 1 % milk
• 4 cups chopped kale
• 113 g pkg instant mashed potatoes or potato flakes * I use Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Instant mashed potatoes
• 2 tbsp light or fat-free grated parmesan
• 1.5 tbsp  sweetened condensed milk (affiliate link) *I use Eagle brand as it has fewer WW points
• Garnish
• chopped turkey bacon and additional crushed red pepper flakes

🔪Instructions

📖Variations & Substitutions

• Spicier- add additional chili pepper flakes
• Less Spicy - use mild Italian turkey sausage and cut the crushed red pepper in half
• Milk - you can use skim milk, 2 % milk, or whole milk instead of 1 %
• Chicken broth - you can use chicken stock or a premade chicken broth or chicken bouillon mixed with water (*I use this because I can control the taste and add more bouillon if I need to at the end).
• Potatoes - you can use whatever potatoes you have on hand (russet potatoes, red, white, yukon gold potatoes etc. )
• Lactose-free - you can use lactose-free milk and a lactose-free mashed potato such as Idahoan Smart Smash
• Instant Mashed Potatoes (or Potato Flakes)- * I use Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Instant mashed potatoes because I like the buttery flavor and then I don't have to use butter. If you use another type, you may want to add a little butter or light butter
• Sausage - you can use regular hot Italian sausage, if you're not concerned about the additional fat or calories
• Kale- you can substitute Swiss Chard

👪 Serving Size

This Crock pot Zuppa Toscana recipe makes 12 servings, as there are 12 cups of soup in the recipe and each serving is 1 cup.

🔢WW Points

This slow cooker recipe is 4 ww points per serving, including the turkey bacon garnish (2 slices), which is HALF the ww points for regular Zuppa Toscana soup! Each serving is 1 cup. *I use Eagle brand condensed milk, as it's less WW points*

🌡️Storage

Store this leftover soup in an sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. This soup freezes well in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Let your soup cool for at least 20 minutes before putting it in the fridge or freezer. This prevents it from going sour.

🥖Pairing

These are my favorite dishes to serve with this creamy soup (the cloud bread is 0 ww points) :

🦺Food safety

• Cook turkey sausage to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
• Wash hands after touching raw meat
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
• Never leave cooking food unattended
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
• Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

❔What to do with leftover condensed milk

You will have quite a bit of leftover condensed milk after you make this recipe. Fortunately, condensed milk will last up to 3 weeks in your fridge (in an airtight container)!

You can also freeze it in an airtight container or Ziploc freezer bag. Condensed milk will not actually freeze solid because of the sugar content. You can thaw frozen condensed milk overnight in the refrigerator. And it can be frozen for up to three months without any noticeable flavor or texture changes, as long as the container is tightly sealed. Whisk the milk if there is any separation, and note that thawed condensed milk should not be re-frozen. You can read more about freezing condensed milk HERE.

You can use leftover condensed milk to make my Healthy and WW friendly Butter Chicken or indulge in Bread pudding, Rice Pudding or my Coconut Lime Tres Leches Cake.

So if you're looking for a delicious soup that's lighter and will keep you on track, you'll love this one!

🥣More Healthy Soup recipes