Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana - Lighter Version

A friend of mine was making Zuppa Toscana as a meal for a new mother and the name was so cool I had to find out about this soup.

Apparently, I am totally out of the loop, because I have never heard of Zuppa Toscana. After researching, I found that it is an Olive Garden favorite.

I decided to make this soup a little different from the original. I substituted sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes and did not use heavy cream. My family thought it was great, but than again we have never had the original.

I made this soup on Halloween night so we were so busy rushing around that I forgot to put one of the main ingredients in the soup, spinach/kale. I am sure it would have been even more delicious if I would have remembered to add the spinach (see picture above).

Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana - Lighter Version

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Italian sausage
1/2 Tsp crushed red pepper
1 Large onion, diced
3 Slices bacon or turkey bacon, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, minced
5 Cups chicken broth
1 Cup water
1 Cup skim milk
1 Large sweet potato, diced small
1 Cup spinach, chopped

Cook sausage in large pot with red peppers until done. Remove from pot and set aside.

Add bacon pieces, onion and garlic and cook until bacon is done. Add broth, water, milk, sweet potatoes and cooked sausage mixture and transfer to crock pot.

Cook in crock pot for 4-6 hours or until potatoes are soft. Add spinach just before serving. Enjoy!

*If you want to make this soup creamier or thicker you can probably add half and half as a replacement for the milk.

**Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Pacific Natural Foods.