Rustic Tuscan Soup with Kale

I made this today, I used fire roasted tomatoes and extra kale (about 4-5 cups). I also substituted organic turkey bacon from whole foods. I made the recipe for 5 serving, but still used 32 ounces chicken broth. It made 5 servings of a litle over 1 1/2 cups each, hearty and loaded with protein and low fat too! Each serving has 3.4 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein, and 29 grams of carbs, and has all the flavor, I topped it with a little parmesan cheese and seasoned garlic and herb low fat croutons!! Yummm......

I knew this would be good when I saw the recipe and it was great! I added 1 1/2 cups of celery, 1 1/2 cups of carrots and 3 cloves garlic to the onions when it was cooking. I also peeled and diced a potato and put it in with the other ingredients. This is a keeper for me and my family!

I made this for dinner tonight and it was outstanding! The only exception was I used Italian diced tomatoes (all I had on hand). It is a great way to incorporate kale, the super-food, into an easy, quick dish. Thanks!

I've just finished making this for supper tonight. I came here looking for a recipe for fresh kale and ham, and so I substituted 1/2" cubes of leftover ham for the bacon. I used 1 tablespoon of garlic-flavored EVOO instead of the bacon drippings to saute the onion in. I decided to use some of my homemade polenta that I had frozen instead of the French bread croutons. After partially thawing it, I cut it into 3"x3"x1" squares and briefly crisped them up a bit in an lightly oiled, hot skillet. When serving the soup, I added one hot polenta square to the center of each semi-filled bowl of soups and garnished each with the reserved chopped kale and grated Parmesan cheese. The result was a rich, delicious main dish soup that was as healthful as it was easy to prepare. I served it with a loaf of crusty Italian bread from the local deli and a great bottle of wine.

Went on this site looking for recipes that use kale. Came across this recipe. Excellent! It is now one of our favorites. Didn't think I would ever like a kale recipe. You proved me wrong!

MAKE IT! You won't regret it! This a wonderfully rich and hearty soup that I would be proud to serve to guests. I made it exactly as the recipe was written and will continue to make this as a family favorite.

This was surprisingly simple to make and very good. The croutons made the soup; the salt from the cheese and the crushed red pepper added to extra flavor to make this a 5 star soup. I did make just a couple of changes because it was what I had on hand; diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, garlic and spinach in place of the kale. Can't wait to try it again with the kale. Definately a keeper.

great easy recipe! I added about a cup of grated potato w/ the onion, to thicken it; used canned seasoned chopped tomatoes, and black beans & red kidney beans, b/c that's what I had. I didn't have croutons or cheese, but it's great without, although I will eat the leftovers w/ crusty bread like another review suggested! I also added a splash of cider vinegar, which gave it the brightness it was missing. this is going into my regular rotation!

Really enjoyed this one. I used turkey bacon and fresh tomatoes to up the healthy ante. Prep time was minimal. Making it again this weekend.

Yummy! I made this soup using a ham bone to make broth instead of using chicken broth. Then I used ham instead of bacon and for the diced tomatoes I used one can with the diced green chilis. I also ommitted the cheese and bread to keep it a little healthier. So Good!

I substituted sour dough bread for the Italian. This is one of the best soups I have ever had. I had two servings. I highly recommend.

No bread in the house so I put half the parm and 1/2t of red pepper flakes in the soup during the bean and tomato step. Delicious! Soup is very thick and hearty. Taste is perfect. Guild the lily and sprinkle parm and bacon on top.

this was very tasty.. i left out the bread part but accidentally added the 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper to the pot.. i threw everything in the crock pot and let this cook all day while i was at work.. cut the recipe in half and used what i had in the house (as always).. maybe 1/8th of an onion and 2 green onions (i'm still laughing about having to use what was left in the crisper).. a can of black beans.. italian seasoned diced tomatoes.. chicken bouillon and almost triple the amount of kale.. didn't have any bacon so subbed cooked italian seasoned ground turkey.. ty for the direction i needed to pull this off

The only change I made was to add the kale after the onions had sauted a few minutes and cooked it for the full time so it was well cooked and soft. Delicious flavor, will definitely make again.

The soup was very good, and a great way to eat the kale that I got from the CSA. I made some changes because I did not have some of the ingredients at home and the soup still turned out well, although it would have been probably better if I had had bacon and parmesan. Basically, my version did not use bacon, and instead of parmesan cheese, it used cheddar.

Made this and whole family loved it! So healthy and full of flavor. Will be making this on a regular basis!

This soup is SO GOOD. I mistakenly put the red pepper flakes in the broth instead of on the bread, but it is fabulous.

so easy to make and wonderfully flavored! I wasn't so sure because I don't eat this kind of food. But this is a keeper and definitely one for potlucks. Thank you for making this busy mom of four look and feel amazing!

This soup was so simple to make and the flavors when all put together with croutons and parmesan cheese are incredible! I baked my bacon in the oven (because there's just no simpler way to cook bacon) and cheated with store bought croutons, otherwise made no other changes to this great recipe. It will now be a go to soup for me this fall and winter!

I halved this recipie since it is only my husband & I and it made the perfect amount for dinner and 2 lunches the next day. I did add 1 TBS of tomato paste to the dish to thicken it just a tad and to add a touch more tomato flavor to the broth. The flavors were even better the next day, serve with crusty bread is a must!

I used smoked chicken broth for this recipe. I added some leftover smoked chicken and followed other reviews by adding diced celery, carrots and potato. I also added salt and pepper. Very nice, hearty soup!

EXCELLENT hearty dish

Incredibly good for so few ingredients. Of course, I tweaked it to suit ingredients I had on hand and our family's needs (dairy-free), but the recipe is forgiving and yummy nonetheless. The bread is very good sprinkled with Italian seasoning instead of cheese.

Good basic recipe but I changed it up by baking my bacon in the oven (350 in the oven on a cookie sheet for approximately 20 min depending on how thin or thick your bacon is - less time for thinner of course). After bacon is cooked, remove from pan and chop it up into pieces. Pour the bacon grease in the sheet into the pot and saute with diced onions and a few cloves of diced garlic. I then added 1/4 cup of flour to make a roux and then added the other ingredients so it'd be a thicker soup. Hope this helps!

Excellent!!! Only thing I added was some seasoning salt: Perfect! Thanks for this one!

One of my go-to soups for weeknight meals. So easy to pull together and my family loves it.

Loved this recipe...didn't change a thing!

Use Italian sweet sausage rather than bacon. DELICIOUS !!!!!!

Outstanding - just like Olive Garden's version. Made this for a gathering and everyone loved it - even those intimidated by the kale. I pulsed the cooked sausage in processor to make it very fine before adding to soup.