Italian Sausage, potatoes, bacon, and fresh kale come together in one pot to make the most popular Italian Olive Garden Soup called Zuppa Toscana! Make it right at home for an Easy Lunch or Dinner to feed a crowd and enjoy this Zuppa Toscana Copycat that came straight from Olive Garden!

 

how to make Zuppa Toscana like Olive Garden

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Zuppa Toscana is one of our favorite soup recipes! It’s best served with our Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe! Craving another soup from Olive Garden? Try my other favorite Pasta Fagioli Soup (also from Olive Garden.)

Zuppa Toscana

Zuppa Toscana is an Italian soup that simply means Tuscan Soup. Today it’s known as the poplar Olive Garden soup that is made in the kitchen at an Olive Garden Restaurant. Chefs will make this soup early in the morning in a large batch and serve it throughout the day for unlimited lovers! Yes, they have soup and salad for an unlimited rate so you can eat all the breadsticks, salad, or soup you want!

Zuppa Toscana recipe made with Italian Sausage, fresh kale, bacon, cream, and potatoes.

Zuppa Toscana Recipe:

My brother-in-law actually worked at the Olive Garden Restaurant years ago. 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 in bulk and my mother-in-law ended up converting it to make a family-sized serving of this Italian soup!

Search no more folks this is the ONLY way I make Zuppa Toscana Soup (for years), it’s simply the BEST! This easy one-pot dinner is great for serving leftovers for lunch the next day (if you get any) and has the perfect kick without being too spicy! Our children even love this soup! Warning: refills are likely to occur so ladle BIG!

 FAQ:

What is Zuppa Toscana?

Zuppa Toscana is an Italian soup that simply means Tuscan Soup. In Italian Zuppa means soup. Classic Zuppa Toscana soup is made with additional veggies like tomatoes, zucchini, and celery and served with white beans and Tuscan Bread. However, today Zuppa Toscana is recognized as the popular menu soup from the Italian Restaurant called Olive Garden.

Is it Gluten-Free?

Yes! The soup is made in a creamy broth with potatoes (skins on), Italian Sausage, Fresh kale, and bacon!

Ingredients:

ingredients for Zuppa Toscana: potatoes, bacon, heavy cream, cayenne pepper, chicken bouillon, salt, water, fresh kale, onion, Italian pork sausage, and garlic

  • 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 it as ground sausage without casings.
  • 6 slices of bacon- use cooked and chopped bacon or diced ham. Ham is faster to slice but if your like me and pre-cook your bacon for freezer oven-baked bacon then use it!
  • onion- dice one onion.
  • garlic- crush two garlic cloves.
  • chicken bouillon- omit chicken bouillon powder (or better than bouillon chicken base) if using chicken stock. Please salt to taste if using store-bought chicken broth. You can also use chicken bouillon cubes.
  • salt- seasons the soup.
  • 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 bunch of chopped fresh or frozen kale.

Can I Make Vegan Zuppa Toscana?

To Make Vegan Zuppa Toscana: Simply use Vegan sausage and Bacon bits with a heavy alternative such as almond milk.

How To Make Zuppa Toscana Like Olive Garden?

Here are 3 easy steps to make this Italian Soup:

how to make Zuppa Toscana in one-pot. Step 1: fry the onion, Italian sausage, bacon, and garlic first.

How to make Zuppa Toscana in one-pot. Step 2: Add the water, salt, chicken bouillon, and potatoes. Simmer for 25 minutes.

How to make Zuppa Toscana in one-pot. Step 3: Stir in the cream, kale, and cayenne pepper; bring to a boil and remove from heat.

  1. In a 4-quart pot, sauté the onion, Italian sausage, bacon, and crushed garlic for 7 minutes.
  2. Add the water, salt, and chicken bullion powder. Stir in the diced potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25 minutes.
  3. 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.

Russet or Golden Potatoes?

Olive Garden uses Russet potatoes for Zuppa. However, golden potatoes work just as well.

Can I Use Frozen Kale?

Kale freezes very well so defiantly pull it out of the freezer for soups like this!

To Freeze Kale: wash and pat dry your kale. Strip the kale leaves off of the stem and chop coarsely with a knife. You can also tear off the kale leaves. Place into a freezer bag and freeze. One 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:

  1. Skip the extra pots and make them in One-Pot!
  2. Use ham or bacon!
  3. Leave the skins on the potatoes. Olive Garden does and it makes it easy to prep!
  4. Got a lot of Kale? Freeze it and use it for making soup later!

 

 

How To Make Zuppa Toscana (Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial:)

Zuppa Toscana Recipe (Olive Garden Copycat)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 10 bowls
Author: Alyona Demyanchuk
Italian Sausage, potatoes, bacon, and fresh kale come together in one pot to make the most popular Italian Olive Garden Soup called Zuppa Toscana! Make it right at home for an easy Lunch or Dinner to feed a crowd and enjoy this Zuppa Toscana Copycat that came straight from Olive Garden!

Equipment

  • 4-quart pot
  • wooden spoon

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 onion diced
  • 10 oz mild sausage (2 1/2 sausage links casings removed)
  • 6 slices pre-cooked bacon (chopped)
  • 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
  • 12 cups water
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
  • 6 potatoes, chopped (skins on and washed)
  • 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 bunch kale (leaves stripped and chopped)
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

How to make Zuppa Toscana:

  • ingredients for Zuppa Toscana: potatoes, bacon, heavy cream, cayenne pepper, chicken bouillon, salt, water, fresh kale, onion, Italian pork sausage, and garlic
    In a large pot; saute the onion, sausage, bacon, and garlic for 7 minutes.
  • how to make Zuppa Toscana in one-pot. Step 1: fry the onion, Italian sausage, bacon, and garlic first.
    Add the water, salt, and chicken bouillon powder: bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and simmer for 25 minutes.
  • How to make Zuppa Toscana in one-pot. Step 2: Add the water, salt, chicken bouillon, and potatoes. Simmer for 25 minutes.
    Stir in the cream, kale, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and turn the soup off.
  • How to make Zuppa Toscana in one-pot. Step 3: Stir in the cream, kale, and cayenne pepper; bring to a boil and remove from heat.
    Garnish soup with freshly grated parmesan cheese before serving!

Notes

  • Sausage: If using Hot Italian Sausage omit the Cayenne Pepper. Italian sausage can come ground or in sausage links. Remove casings if using links.  
  • Bacon or Ham can be used. If using ham simply chop 6 slices of Canadian or off-the-bone ham. I also like to keep a stash of my oven-baked freezer bacon for recipes like these.
  • Chicken Broth: can be used. Swap out 1 liter of water for chicken broth and skip the bouillon powder. Adjust the salt to taste. 

Nutrition per serving

Serving: 1(8 oz) bowlCalories: 256kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 7gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 998mgPotassium: 203mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1804IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 1mg

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15 comments

    • lindsey

    I’ve made this a few times, love it! instead of using just water i used half chicken broth for the liquid.

    😀

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      Good idea, Lindsey!

    • Tolii

    First soup I ever made. Really great & straight forward to the tee step by step instructions! Thank you Alyona! It was delicious even though I used a full tsp of cayenne pepper instead of the 1/2 tsp it said on instructions. Oh well it’s ok I like spicy!

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      Thank you for your feedback Tolii!

    • Teri

    Is the bacon supposed to be pre-cooked or raw when I add it?

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      The instructions are for pre-cooked bacon. I try to keep a stash of my oven-baked bacon in the freezer as much as I can for easy meals.

        • Teri

        Thank you. It was delicious. Thank you for sharing!

          • Alyona Demyanchuk

          Wonderful, Terri!

    • nathan

    perfect just perfect
    taste amazing

    • Inna

    Love this version of the zuppa toscana. It’s faster to make and tastes even better!

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      It’s my go-to recipe, Inna! Thanks for sharing!

    • Olga

    How big are your packets of bullion? I’m using chicken base so would like to keep the same amount. One t. Of base is for 1 cup of water. How many should I use?
    Thanks! Olga

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      If you’re using the better than bouillon chicken base you can just use a heaping teaspoon of that instead when bringing water to a boil.

    • Lorrie

    Thank you so much! Great recipe! I’ve given it to 4 other people now so far.

      • Alyona Demyanchuk

      Thank you for the feedback, Lorrie

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