Hearty Tuscan Soup

Hearty Tuscan Soup

Dinner, Lunch, Nut-Free 27 comments

This one-pot Hearty Tuscan Soup is filling, delicious, warming, comforting, and everything else that you want a soup to be! It is loaded with nutrients from the broth, onion, garlic, kale, mushrooms, and ground beef. It also has delicious and cozy shell noodles with heavy cream and ricotta cheese to make it creamy, but you can also make it dairy-free by omitting the cream and ricotta! It’s still incredible without it.

Nutritional benefits of this recipe

  • Broth is rich in glutamine, collagen, and gelatin and is a superfood for the gut, immune system, skin, hair, nails, and more.
  • Garlic and onion are naturally antimicrobial and antibacterial and are a great defense for the immune system.
  • Ground beef is rich in iron, protein, vitamin b12, and more. It makes this soup satiating and filling.
  • For the healthiest noodles, I recommend buying Italian imported noodles that are organic. The regulations for wheat are much more strict in Italy, so the quality is much better. Nowadays, you can find imported noodles from Italy in most grocery stores.
  • For the healthiest dairy, I always recommend buying grass-fed. Better yet, if you can support a local farm that has grass-fed cows and dairy products, then do that!

Ingredients for Hearty Tuscan Soup

Avocado oil for cooking

Onion – you can use sweet onion, yellow onion, or shallots

Garlic

Sun-dried tomatoes – I used my homemade version!

Mushrooms

Ground beef – Turkey would also be delicious in this!

Broth

Pasta shells – I recommend shells because the ground beef in this soup easy get stuck in the shell opening, which means the ground beef doesn’t fall to the bottom of the soup and you get a flavorful bite with every pasta piece! I used a medium sized shell, as pictured.

Spices – Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper

Heavy cream – For a lighter soup, you can sub with milk or half and half. You can omit if dairy-free, it’s still delicious.

Ricotta – This is an optional addition to make the soup more creamy. It’s still delicious without it!

Hearty Tuscan Soup

Method for Hearty Tuscan Soup

  1. Prep the onion, mushrooms, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes as instructed.
  2. Preheat a 5 quart pot (or larger) to medium high heat with the avocado oil. Once preheated, add the diced onion and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and fragrant. Stir occasionally.
  3. Add the minced garlic and the diced sun-dried tomatoes and cook another minute.
  4. Add the ground beef, 1 Tbsp italian seasoning, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper and cook about 5-8 minutes until no longer pink, stirring and breaking it up to combine everything.
  5. Add the broth and another 1/2 tsp salt and turn the heat to high to bring the broth to a boil. While you wait for it to start boiling, chop the kale up and add to the pot.
  6. Once boiling, add the pasta shells cook about 6-8 minutes until the noodles are al dente, just shy of being done. They’ll continue cooking as it cools down.
  7. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes if you have time, then stir in the heavy cream and ricotta (if using) and stir well to combine. Taste test, add salt if desired, and enjoy!
  8. Please be sure to leave a comment and rating if you try this recipe! I would love to hear your feedback and your engagement on my website means more than you know!
Hearty Tuscan Soup

Modifications

  • For a lighter soup, you can sub the heavy cream for half and half or for milk. If I were to do milk instead, I would use 2 cups milk and decrease the broth to 7 cups. For half and half, I would stick to 8 cups broth and do 1 cup half and half.
  • To make it dairy free, you can simply omit the cream and ricotta! It’ll be less hearty and not creamy, but will still be delicious!
  • Make the recipe gluten-free by using a gluten-free pasta.
  • If you have fresh sage on hand, then feel free to add some to the soup! I would finely chop it up and add it at the same time that you add the heavy cream and ricotta. It would be delicious.

Other recipes you’ll love

Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bowls

Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Easy Veggie Chicken Noodle Soup

I hope you love this Hearty Tuscan Soup! Please be sure to leave a comment and rating if you try it out. I would love to know what you think, and your support helps my website so much!!

Print

Hearty Tuscan Soup

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 12 reviews

  • Author: Christine Manes
  • Prep Time: 8 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 28 minutes
  • Yield: 56 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner, Lunch
  • Method: Stovetop (one pot)
  • Cuisine: Tuscan

Ingredients

Scale

2 Tbsp avocado oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 lb ground beef

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 1/2 tsp salt, divided

1/4 tsp black pepper

8 cups chicken broth – I use Bonafide

8 oz (1/2 lb) shell pasta – large sized shells work great here!

3 cups chopped kale leaves (stems removed)

1 cup grass-fed heavy cream

8 oz ricotta (optional, makes it creamier, but it’s still great without it!)

Instructions

  1. Prep the onion, mushrooms, garlic, and sun-dried tomatoes as instructed.
  2. Preheat a 5 quart pot (or larger) to medium high heat with the avocado oil. Once preheated, add the diced onion and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and fragrant. Stir occasionally.
  3. Add the minced garlic and the diced sun-dried tomatoes and cook another minute.
  4. Add the ground beef, 1 Tbsp italian seasoning, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper and cook about 5-8 minutes until no longer pink, stirring and breaking it up to combine everything.
  5. Add the broth and another 1/2 tsp salt and turn the heat to high to bring the broth to a boil. While you wait for it to start boiling, chop the kale up and add to the pot.
  6. Once boiling, add the pasta shells cook about 6-8 minutes until the noodles are al dente, just shy of being done. They’ll continue cooking as it cools down.
  7. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes if you have time, then stir in the heavy cream and ricotta (if using) and stir well to combine. Taste test, add salt if desired, and enjoy!
  8. Please be sure to leave a comment and rating if you try this recipe! I would love to hear your feedback and your engagement on my website means more than you know!

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27 Comments

  1. Amazing! It’s hard to find recipes that my kids will eat and this one was a hit! I used Jovial gluten free egg noodles – I suggest undercooking them so they’re not overcooked when you serve it. I had some homemade cottage cheese and I used that instead of ricotta. It was perfect!

    • So happy your kiddos enjoyed it! And love your tip for the gluten-free noodles!! Homemade cottage cheese sounds wonderful, YUM!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try!! 🙂

  2. One of the best things of my week! It was so good, so full of flavor and it’s such a great recipe I loved it so so much. 11/10

  3. This soup is delicious. It has great flavor and texture. Try it. You won’t regret it.

  4. The hearty tuscan soup is very delicious! It is a great combination of flavors and is very creamy. The ricotta is a great recommendation!

  5. Really enjoyed how delicious this soup was. It’s perfect for cold nights when you need something to warm you up.

  6. Yummy yummy yummy! Even my picky husband likes it!

    Love that it’s all in one pot

  7. Such a delicious and easy healthy meal! We loved making it for the cozy rainy weather. Your meals are always a hit!

  8. Absolutely delicious soup!! It saves really well and makes a lot of servings. Definitely going to be making it again

  9. Loved how warming this soup is! The broth tastes nourishing and might be my favorite part of the soup.

  10. Absolutely delicious…such a hearty, simple recipe and perfect comfort food for a cold or rainy night!

  11. Husband approved ✅
    Tween approved ✅
    Toddler approved ✅
    A hit with the whole fam and soo yum for a cold winter night!!

  12. Oh my…this soup is over-the-top delicious and hearty. It’s packed with flavor in every bite and has enough substance, it’s really more like a meal than a soup. I love how the pasta shells hold the broth and meat. Super tasty!

  13. Georgia Stewart

    This soup recipe is outstanding. So much flavor and very healthy. As a diabetic, this recipe has the perfect amount of carbs and protein. Just love your creations Christine!

  14. Pingback: Recipe of the Month *Giveaway* » Home Cooked Living

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