Italian Tofu Zuppa w Air Fried Alfredo Shrimp

About

This full Keto meal is going to become one of your favorite recipes! Enjoy this Italian restaurant-inspired dish as a hot lunch or decadent dinner. First, start your meal with a bowl of Italian Zuppa Toscana, Keto style! This savory soup is made with low-carb cremini mushrooms, celery, and spinach. Although traditional Zuppa Toscana uses sausage, you don’t want to have too much protein in your Keto meal. Instead, you’ll be using crumbled tofu, which absorbs all the flavor in the soup. Next, you’ll be eating fried jumbo shrimp made in your air fryer. The shrimp are plump with a thick, crispy Keto-friendly breading. Served on the side is a super-simple alfredo sauce that you can dip your shrimp into.

Serving Sizes

To make sure you’re getting the correct macros in your meal, each serving of this recipe needs to be portioned correctly. For the most accurate macros, it’s best to weigh the components of your meal instead of guessing. All you need is a simple, low-cost kitchen scale. A bowl of soup should weigh about 210 grams. The shrimp with alfredo sauce should weigh about 75 grams.

Make The Soup Vegetarian

Although the Keto zuppa includes tofu, it is not a vegetarian recipe. If you would like to make the soup vegetarian, you only need to substitute the beef broth. Choose your preferred brand of vegetable broth to substitute with, but make sure to check the label that it hasn’t been made with animal products. If you remove the cream cheese and heavy cream from the recipe, you will have a vegan zuppa made with only broth.

Ingredients

3 ½ oz brown mushrooms
2 ½ oz celery
¾ oz spinach
1 ½ tablespoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon oregano, dried
⅛ teaspoon thyme, dried
¼ teaspoon basil, dried
⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon mustard powder
1 tsp, chopped garlic
1 tsp, chopped scallions
1 oz cream cheese
1 tablespoon cream heavy whipping
1 cup beef broth
3 oz tofu
8 large raw shrimp
1 dash salt
1 dash black pepper
½ teaspoon paleo baking flour
1 large raw egg, yolk
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoon almond flour
1 tbsp, grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon peel or zest raw
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon italian seasoning
½ teaspoon parsley, dried
1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
3 ½ teaspoon cream heavy whipping
3 tbsp, grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

You’ll want to get the soup started first so it has time to cook while you make the remainder of the recipe. Chop mushrooms into quarters or bite-sized pieces, and chop the celery and spinach. Pour the olive oil into a soup pot and heat it over low heat. Add the chopped ingredients to the hot oil, and stir them as they cook down. Season the pot with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, basil, red pepper flakes, mustard powder, and minced garlic and green onion.
Place a lid on your soup pot and allow the vegetables to cook down for a few minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to avoid burning. When the vegetables have cooked down, turn the heat down to its lowest setting. Add cream cheese and heavy cream to the pot. Stir the ingredients until the cream cheese is melted, free of lumps, and coating all the vegetables. Pour your broth into the pot and stir the ingredients to combine. Place a lid on the pot and bring the soup to a simmer.
Leave the lid on your soup pot and adjust the heat as necessary to continue simmering the soup. Let the soup simmer as is for 5-10 minutes to develop flavor. Meanwhile, prepare the tofu by patting it dry with a paper towel and then crumbling it into small pieces. The crumbled tofu is to mimic crumbled sausage, like what you’d find in typical ‘Zuppa Toscana’. Add the crumbled tofu to your soup pot, and increase the heat so the soup can bubble without a lid. Allow the soup to bubble over low heat until it reduces to a thicker broth and the tofu absorbs the liquid.
While the soup is cooking down, you can start paying attention to the alfredo shrimp. Prepare the shrimp by peeling and deveining them. Use a paper towel to dry off the shrimp, and place them in a mixing bowl. Toss the raw shrimp with salt, pepper, and paleo flour until all the pieces are dusted with seasoning. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and water. Now, turn on your air fryer to start preheating to 350 degrees.
On a clean plate, combine the almond flour, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, pepper, garlic powder, italian seasoning, and parsley to make the breading. One by one, dip the seasoned shrimp in the egg mixture, let the excess egg drip off, then roll in the almond flour breading. Make sure each shrimp is fully coated in breading before arranging it on your air fryer tray. Cook the shrimp in your air fryer for 12-15 minutes or until your see the breading has turned golden brown and crispy.
To make the alfredo sauce, melt the butter in a small pot over low heat, then stir the heavy cream in. Stir and heat the two fats until they emulsify in the pot. Then, stir the parmesan into the pot. Stir until the cheese is melted and you have a thick and creamy alfredo sauce. You can turn the heat up as needed to melt the cheese, but don’t let the sauce simmer and separate. Each serving includes about 7 ½ ounces (by weight) of soup, 4 shrimp, and about 1 ½ ounce (by weight) alfredo sauce.