Cook this Dairy-Free Recipe Quickly in the Instant Pot
If you’ve already heard me rave about the Instant Pot, don’t worry I will keep this short and sweet! I’ve already explained why I love it in my ribs recipe here, so check that out if you want to see why I’m so obsessed. 🙂 I’ve linked my favorite 2 below.
This week I am making Zuppa Toscana in the IP, which is a creamy sausage and kale soup. This recipe hits all of my dinner requirements mentioned here: Family-friendly, gluten free, little to no dairy, few ingredients, quick AND healthy. No wonder I make it almost weekly. It also freezes well. BOOM.
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can easily make this recipe in a stock pot or dutch oven. You will just have to simmer the ingredients for about 20 or 30 minutes to get the potatoes fork tender.
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Perfect for a Weeknight Dinner!
How to use your Instant Pot to make Zuppa Toscana:
Start the Instant Pot on saute and add 4 to 5 slices of bacon to cook up and add to the the soup as a crispy topping. Once cooked, take it out to crisp up on a plate lined with a paper towel while the soup cooks. Drain the grease before starting the sausage.
Get some pre-made ground sausage. I typically use Jimmy Dean All Natural sausage, but we are in pandemic times and sometimes you get what you get from your grocery pickup order. So use your favorite sausage, it can be mild or spicy. If you are on a Whole30, be sure you are using compliant sausage or make your own. Danielle Walker from Against All Grain has a great recipe for sausage using ground pork in her book Meals Made Simple!
Turn the IP on to Sauté, and brown the sausage. Tip: The lid fits in the side handle when not in use. Took me 2 years to figure that out!
Once browned, throw in (or toss causally, whatever mood you’re in) the onions and sauté just a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute or so. Turn off the sauté mode now so nothing burns.
Add the chicken broth to de-glaze the bottom of the pot. It won’t come to pressure if there are burned on bits on the bottom, but by adding the broth while it is still hot this helps all those good tasty parts come up.
You can use store bought chicken stock, but making it at home is super simple, uses up leftover food, and is so flavorful! And using a pressure cooker means it is done in 2 hours 🙂 Here’s my easy bone broth recipe.
To make this meal go even quicker, I recommend a mandolin slicer. In about 15 seconds you can have perfectly even thin potato slices for your soup. Use russet potatoes because they hold up better, and you don’t even have to peel them! #winning
Slice your potatoes and add them to the pot. Add salt, pepper, and a few dashes of cracked red pepper flakes for heat. It doesn’t make it too spicy, but it enhances the flavor of the sausage.
Now for the best part and don’t get scared: Put the lid on and turn it to seal your IP. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. It will take little time to come up to pressure since the ingredients are already pretty hot!
While your soup is cooking, slice up the kale into thin strips. You can do this easily by rolling the kale up and slicing it as a bunch, julienne-style.
Once the IP beeps, give it 10 minutes to naturally release the pressure before you open the valve to let out the rest of the pressure. Don’t ever put your face near the steam vent. When I first used my pot I opened the vent with a wooden spoon! Now I’m less cautious but always aware of where the steam will come out.
Open the lid and add the kale and your dairy or non-dairy “cream” of choice. I used 2% Lactaid, but for Whole30 I use either coconut milk or cashew milk. You just need that creaminess to round out the soup. Heavy cream works if you aren’t avoiding dairy!
Give it a few minutes for the kale to wilt slightly, and then you are ready to serve! It will be piping hot so don’t burn your tongue, as I’ve done in the past because it is too good to wait for.
If you aren’t gluten free, serving this with some crusty bread or garlic bread would be heaven. Yum, bread. I need to perfect a gluten free crusty bread recipe next!
To make the Zuppa Toscana ahead of time
This Zuppa Toscana is great to prepare in advance to either serve later in the week, to freeze, or to take as a pre-made camping meal. Follow the above instructions up until letting the pressure naturally release. Pour all the ingredients together in a sealable container and either freeze or refrigerate for a few days until you are ready to serve. Once you are ready to reheat the soup, pour everything into the Instant Pot (or a regular large pot) and cook on sauté mode until it is nice and hot. Add the kale and dairy/non-dairy cream of choice, and once the kale is wilted the soup is ready to serve.
Alternatively you could add the cooked soup into a slow cooker and reheat on low for a few hours, adding the kale and cream at the very end.
Other favorite Instant Pot recipes that are quick and easy:
Zuppa Toscana in the Instant Pot
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
- Mandolin slicer
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage, can be mild or spicy
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves or 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 3 large russet potatoes sliced thin
- 2 cups fresh kale sliced thin
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1-3 dashes crushed red pepper flakes
- ¾ cup heavy cream or non-dairy milk of choice, like cashew milk or coconut milk
- Fresh parsley or bacon crumbles as a garnish
Instructions
- If you want to add bacon crumbles to the soup, start by crisping up 3 to 4 pieces of bacon on sauté in the Instant Pot. Drain and set aside on a plate lined with paper towels.
- With Instant Pot on sauté, brown sausage until fully cooked. Drain out most of the grease, leaving sausage in the pot.*If you are on a Whole30, use compliant bacon and sausage!
- Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook on sauté for another minute or two. Turn off pressure cooker.
- Add chicken broth to deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add sliced potatoes, salt and pepper.
- Close and seal pressure cooker lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Let the Instant Pot naturally release pressure for 10 minutes, then do a quick release to open the lid.
- Add red pepper flakes to your taste, from one to several dashes. Stir in kale until wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Add cream or non-dairy option of your choosing. If you are on a Whole30 plan, use compliant cashew or coconut milk. Give it a quick stir and serve hot! Enjoy!
Soooo delicious!! Husband had seconds and said it was better than OG! Thanks Erin!! First thing made in my instant pot.
I’m so glad you liked it!! 🙂