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Olive Garden is one of our favorite restaurants! Which is why I created many Copycat recipes like the Olive Garden Breadsticks, their house Alfredo sauce, and Ravioli di Portobello. I get many rave reviews for these, including this Ziti.
This Italian sausage, potato, bacon, and fresh kale soup is made in one pot and comes straight from Olive Garden Restaurant!, I didn’t need to do much creating here…
Zuppa Toscana
Zuppa Toscana is the Italian soup from Olive Garden that we all love! This Tuscan Soup is often referred to as “sausage, potato, and kale soup” because that’s exactly what it is!
What’s not to love about this easy, hearty, nourishing soup!
It’s a good way to introduce kale to your family, and often, more times than not, my children beg for it!
At the Olive Garden Restaurant, Chefs would make this soup early in the morning in large batches and serve it throughout the day for unlimited lovers! You can make this very same soup at the convenience of your home!
Our Favorite Zuppa Toscana Recipe:
My brother-in-law actually worked at the Olive Garden Restaurant years ago in his teen years. He started off as a Busser/host employee, working his way to a server, and eventually helping line cooks with prep cooking, including the salad bar. Years later, he came home with the written recipe for the Zuppa Toscana Soup that was shared by the head chef!
The recipe was for a big batch of soup, but my mother-in-law ended up converting it to make a family-sized serving of this Italian soup!
It’s really easy to make, and I often make this in one pot. Allow me to clarify, my children usually make it (it’s that easy)!
If I spy Italian sausage on sale, I’ll pick up a few packs and freeze them. This recipe works with the sausage links (just remove the meat from the casings) and ground Italian sausage.
It’s super versatile, and turns out delicious using Canadian bacon, gold potatoes, russet, you name it. The key ingredient is cayenne pepper, which is important to add if you’re not using the hot sausage. It adds that kick and zippy flavor, making the soup lively and fresh!
We love this Zuppa Toscana soup!
FAQ:
Is it Gluten-Free?
Yes! Zuppa soup is made in a creamy broth with potatoes (skins on), Italian Sausage, Fresh kale, and bacon! There is no flour or gluten in this recipe.
Ingredients:
- Water- this recipe calls for water and bullion. If you wish to add chicken broth or stock, simply swap out 1 liter of water (4 cups) for chicken stock and skip the bullion powder.
- Golden potatoes- leave the skins on!
- Mild sausages- ground sausage is hard to come by, so I like to remove the casings from 2 1/2 sausage links and use them as ground sausage without casings.
- Six slices of bacon- use chopped bacon or diced ham. Ham is faster to slice, but if you’re like me and pre-cook your bacon for freezer oven-baked bacon, then use it! Raw bacon is the best as it imparts more flavor from the grease.
- Onion- I like to use a medium-sized yellow onion.
- Garlic- crush two cloves of fresh garlic when sauteing the onion.
- Chicken bouillon powder- really gives this soup more umami flavor. You can omit it if using chicken stock, but I’d use both. You might need to adjust the salt if using both.
- Salt- seasons the soup and is a must. If using the bouillon powder, I’d still use the same amount of 1 Tbsp of salt only, maybe add a teaspoon or two of chicken bouillon powder.
- Cayenne pepper- adds a nice kick to Zuppa Toscana without using Hot Sausage.
- Heavy cream- gives Zuppa its signature creamy white look.
- Kale- Use one small bunch of chopped fresh or frozen kale.
How To Make Zuppa Toscana Like Olive Garden?
Here are three easy steps to make this Italian Soup:
- In a 4-quart pot, sauté the onion, Italian sausage, bacon, and crushed garlic for 7 minutes.
- Add the water, salt, (broth if using), and chicken bullion powder. Stir in the diced potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
- Next, stir in the cream, chopped kale, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
Before serving, freshly grate Parmesan Reggiani Cheese over each bowl of freshly ladled soup using a Parmesan grater.
Russet or Golden Potatoes?
Olive Garden uses Russet potatoes for Zuppa. However, golden potatoes work just as well. I’ve used both, and either always turns out!
Can I Use Frozen Kale?
Kale freezes very well, so definitely pull it out of the freezer for soups like this!
To Freeze Kale: Wash and pat dry your kale. Strip the kale leaves from the stem and chop coarsely with a knife. You can also tear off the kale leaves. Place into a freezer bag and freeze. One small bunch of kale is typically used for one recipe.
How to store Zuppa Toscana?
Keep up to 4 days in the fridge.
Bacon or Ham?
Since bacon and ham are both cured and made from pork, the two different meats can easily be swapped out for each other. If I have ham or Canadian bacon, I’ll use it instead. Since I almost always try to keep a stash of my oven-baked freezer bacon, I can use that too.
Serving Size:
Each ladle of soup is equivalent to 8 oz per serving. My soup ladle is big!
Tips:
- Skip the extra pots and fry the sausage, bacon, and onion in One-Pot!
- I often use Canadian bacon or regular bacon, chopped!
- Leave the skins on the potatoes. Olive Garden does, and it makes it easier to prep!
- Got a big bunch of Kale? Freeze half and then add the frozen kale to the pot of soup.
How To Make Zuppa Toscana (Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial:)
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Zuppa Toscana Recipe (Olive Garden Copycat)
Equipment
- 4-quart pot
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, diced
- 10 oz mild or sweet Italian sausage, (ground or 2 1/2 sausage links with casings removed)
- 6 slices Hickory-smoked bacon , (or Canadian bacon, chopped)
- 2 garlic cloves, (crushed)
- 1 quart chicken broth, (see notes for chicken bouillon powder)
- 8 cups water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 6 medium Russet potatoes, cut into 1/4" thick half-moon slices , (skins on and washed)
- 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 bunch kale, (small bunch with leaves stripped and chopped)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
How to make Zuppa Toscana:
- In a large pot, saute one diced onion, 10 ounces of mild sweet Italian sausage, bacon, and garlic for 7 minutes.
- Add 8 cups of water, 1 Tbsp salt, 1 quart of chicken broth, and 2 tsp of chicken bouillon powder, (if using). Bring to a boil, then add six sliced potatoes and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Stir in 1 1/4 cups of cream, one small bunch of kale, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn off the soup.
- Garnish soup in soup bowls with freshly grated Parmesan, if desired!
Notes
- Add two teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder for more umami flavor in the soup.
- One small kale bunch is approximately 5-6 cups of chopped kale.
- Feel free to add up to a head of garlic, crushed.
- If your potatoes are large, use five russet potatoes.
- Sausage: If using Hot Italian Sausage, omit the cayenne pepper. Italian sausage can come ground or in sausage links. Remove casings if using links. Can also use one pound of Italian mild or sweet sausage if you don't feel like freezing the rest.
- Bacon or Ham can be used; if using ham, dice six slices of thick Canadian bacon. I also like to keep a stash of my oven-baked freezer bacon for recipes like these.
- Don't have chicken broth? No problem swap out 1 liter of water for chicken broth. Adjust the salt to taste.
Nutrition (per serving)
Tried this recipe?
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