This easy Zuppa Toscana Soup is an Olive Garden copycat recipe. The rich broth is filled with perfectly seasoned sausage, tender potatoes, and savory bacon.
Serve up my Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks and a side Caesar Salad along with this hearty soup to make it a complete meal!
My favorite parts of the zuppa toscana recipe are the textures as well as the amazing flavors. Kale adds beautiful color and flavor, the potatoes are cooked perfectly, and the bacon and sausage are the star of the show flavoring the soup.
Zuppa Toscana Soup
Zuppa Toscana soup is characterized by its rich and creamy base broth, tender potatoes, vibrant kale, and savory Italian sausage. The sausage and bacon, along with the onion and garlic add the majority of the flavor to this soup.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to make Zuppa Toscana. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below.
- Ground Italian Sausage – I like to use a spicy sausage
- Bacon – thick cut is best
- Chicken Broth – regular or low sodium
- Potatoes – russet potatoes work best
- Kale – adds perfect texture and color to the soup, you can swap with spinach
- Heavy Cream – adds lovely creamy rich flavor
How To Make Zuppa Toscana Soup
This is a super easy zuppa toscana copycat recipe, made in just 30 minutes! I’ll walk you through the step by step process.
Cook Sausage
Heat a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat and brown the sausage until it’s crumbled and cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage to drain on a paper towel lined plate and set it aside.
Turn the heat to medium-high and add the bacon, cooking until the fat is rendered and the bacon is beginning to crisp. Add in the onion and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, and stir in the garlic last, cooking for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add Broth
Return the sausage to the pot and pour in the chicken broth, water, and cubed potatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender when tested with a fork.
Add Kale
Stir in the kale and let it cook for an additional 2 minutes until it’s softened slightly.
PRO TIP: If you’re not a fan of kale, you can swap it out for baby spinach.
Stir in Heavy Cream
Reduce the heat to a simmer before adding in the heavy cream, salt, and pepper to taste and the red pepper flakes. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until heated through.
Enjoy with fresh parmesan sprinkled on top!
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
- Regular sausage can be substituted for the Italian sausage in this recipe, just make sure to add 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the soup.
- You could use ground turkey in place of the sausage, but it will change the taste.
- Try swapping out the potatoes for cauliflower to keep it low carb – RECIPE HERE
Make Ahead and Storage
Copycat zuppa toscana can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and reheated.
Refrigerate: Once cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Freeze: Once cooled, store any leftovers in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Common Questions
This American version is made with Italian sausage, bacon, heavy cream, kale, garlic, potatoes, and spices to taste.
They both have a broth base and vegetables with added meat or sausage, but the Americanized version of Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana has added heavy cream and fewer vegetables.
Translated to English, it means “a soup” or also could mean a chowder.
Zuppa Toscana means “Tuscan Soup” which is a broad term used for it. Another term used for this specific kind of soup is minestra di pane, meaning “bread soup”.
More Delicious Italian Soup Recipes
There are so many easy Italian soup recipes to choose from! If you need a little variety, I have some ideas for you.
- Pasta Fajioli with Sausage
- Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Creamy Tuscan Tortellini Soup
- Quick Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
I hope you enjoy this Olive Garden Toscana soup as much as we do! If you try it let me know how you like it in the comments below.
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 4 slices thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 tsp garlic, minced
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 4 cups russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into bite size pieces
- 1 1/2 cups chopped kale
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper, to taste
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot brown the sausage until crumbled and cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- Turn the pot to medium high heat and add the bacon, cooking until fat is rendered and bacon begins to crisp. Add the onion and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Return the sausage to the pot and pour in the chicken broth, water and cubed potatoes. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Stir in the kale and let cook an additional 2 minutes until softened slightly. Finally stir in the heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste and the red pepper flakes. Simmer for 2 more minutes until heated through. Enjoy with fresh parmesan on top.
Creamy Red Potato Salad
Dennis H. Frost
Ref: your Zuppa Toscana Soup….Will omitting Bacon frrom this recipe…. will ittake away the flavor as my wife is Jewish. Thanking you Dennis
Shawn
You can definitely leave out the bacon and it’ll still taste wonderful. Enjoy!
Dennis H. Frost
Is Bacon essential in your Zuppa Toscanna Soup. I am unable to use Bacon as my wife is Jewish. By not including the Bacon, will it take away the flavor. Dennis
Lois A
I have been doing this soup for several years from a similar recipe. My old recipe does not contain bacon and I think it comes out just fine. I’m comparing it with what I get at Olive Garden. Try it as everyone’s taste is different.
Lois