Zuppa Toscana Soup is a copycat recipe of the Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana soup that is perfect for a chilly night. Made with spicy sausage, bacon, tender potatoes, and kale…this Zuppa Toscana copycat is a hearty soup that is perfect for dinner.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

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ZUPPA TOSCANA RECIPE

Apparently it’s really cold and snowy everywhere in the country while we are sweating our cakes off here in Florida. I can’t say that I miss the cold. I grew up in Arizona and never even owned a real coat until college.

In college, when it would snow I would try as hard as I could to not go anywhere. Somehow, I managed to slide my car off the road a couple of times and was traumatized by it. I can’t even walk in the cold. I’m like Bambi on ice.

But there are a couple of things that I love about the cold. I love snowboarding and I love curling up with a big bowl of soup that takes the chill out of your bones.

INGREDIENTS

  • ITALIAN SAUSAGE – you can use spicy or mild Italian sausage. A hot Italian sausage gives it a lot of flavor.
  • CRUSHED RED PEPPER – a pinch of red pepper flakes adds some spice.
  • BACON – crispy bacon adds a salty crunch.
  • ONION
  • GARLIC
  • CHICKEN BROTH OR CHICKEN STOCK
  • POTATOES – I like to use Russet potatoes but any will do.
  • HEAVY CREAM – to lighten this up you could substitute half and half, almond milk, or coconut milk.
  • FRESH KALE OR SPINACH
  • PARMESAN CHEESE – we like to serve this with a sprinkle of cheese.

browned sausage

Start off by browning the sausage with the crushed red pepper flakes until no longer pink.sliced potatoes

Add some broth and your sliced potatoes.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Add your broth and boil the potatoes on the stove top until soft. Add some heavy cream, kale or spinach, and simmer.

If you’ve ever been to Olive Garden you’ll recognize this Italian soup. It’s a version of Zuppa Toscana. It’s spicy, filling, and full of flavor. Forget the restaurant version, this delicious soup that the whole family loves is just as good if not better.

WHAT IS ZUPPA TOSCANA?

Zuppa Toscana means Tuscan soup. It’s made with bacon, spicy Italian sausage, kale, potatoes, onion, and garlic.

HOW TO MAKE ZUPPA TOSCANA

  1. Cook the hot sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven (or large pot with a lid) over medium heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, remove from pan, and set aside. The purpose of removing it from the pan is to not boil it in the broth.

  2. Add the bacon and cook until browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon, drain on a paper towel and set aside for later.

  3. Add the onions and garlic the the same Dutch oven; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

  4. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the kale and bacon into the soup a couple of minutes before serving.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

I have a low carb version of this here – Keto Zuppa Toscana.

OTHER SOUP RECIPES:

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Zuppa Toscana

4.55 from 22 votes
Zuppa Toscana Soup - a copycat version of the Olive Garden soup that is perfect for a chilly night. Made with sausage, bacon, potatoes, and kale...it's a hearty soup that is perfect for dinner.
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8 -10 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, (more to taste)
  • 6 slices bacon, cooked and cut into pieces
  • 1/2 large onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 8 cups chicken broth, (I like better than Bouillon chicken base)
  • 3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced (see Note)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 5 cups kale, coarsley chopped (spinach can be substituted)

Instructions
 

  • Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven (or large pot with a lid) over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, remove from pan, and set aside. The purpose of removing it from the pan is to not boil it in the broth.
  • Add the bacon and cook until browned. Remove from pan and set aside for later.
  • Add the onions and garlic the the same Dutch oven; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  • Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the kale and bacon into the soup a couple of minutes before serving.

Notes

You can control the thickness of the soup by the amount of potatoes you put in it. The original soup isn't extremely thick but is chunky.
Source: adapted from Allrecipes
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Course
Author: Christy Denney
Zuppa Toscana Soup
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Christy Denney
Christy is the voice behind The Girl Who Who Ate Everything! She is no stranger to making meals that kids and adults will love. She grew up in Mesa, Arizona as the youngest of ten kids. She can always be found in her kitchen with music playing and cooking with her kids. She published her first cookbook in 2014. She loves party food that gets the conversations going!
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