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Home About New Recipes
Balancing Motherhood » Food » Main Courses » Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)

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Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)

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This quick and easy Zuppa Toscana Soup is a creamy and hearty soup loaded with the most of incredible flavors. Everything cooks in one pot to make one comforting and delicious one-pot meals the entire family will love. 

This quick and easy Zuppa Toscana Soup is a creamy and hearty soup loaded with the most of incredible flavors. Everything cooks in one pot to make one comforting and delicious one-pot meals the entire family will love. 

creamy soup with potato and kale poking out of the top

Table of Contents

  • Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe
  • Why We Love This Recipe
  • Recommended Tools
  • What’s Needed to Make this Zuppa Toscana Recipe
  • How to Make Olive Garden Copycat Recipe for Zuppa Toscana
    • Step One: Brown Sausage
    • Step Two: Sauté Vegetables
    • Step Three: Add the Potatoes
    • Step Four: Add the Kale
    • Step Five: Simmer
  • Tips for Making the Best Zuppa Toscana Soup
  • Creamy Zuppa Toscana Recipe Variations and Add-ins
  • More Copycat Olive Garden Recipes
  • Can I Make This in the Instant Pot?
  • Can I Make This in the Slow Cooker?
  • More Amazing Soup Recipes
  • Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
    • Ingredients  1x2x3x
    • Instructions
    • Notes
    • Nutrition
      • Did You Make This Recipe?
    • What’s For Dinner?

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe

Zuppa Toscana is the most popular Olive Garden soup on the menu and now you can make an easy homemade version anytime the cravings hit. It features tender and creamy potatoes, savory browned sausage and tender kale leaves.

While there is nothing better than a piping hot bowl of soup on cold winter nights, most traditional soup recipes are a labor of love and take hours to prepare. Not this recipe! You just chop the veggies, brown the sausage and in just 45 minutes you can have this delicious soup on the table.

If you have a little extra time, you can serve the soup with these Copycat Italian Bread Sticks and some Alfredo Sauce for the whole Olive Garden experience.

Though soup is always a hit during the winter months, we love it all year round. From the all-time popular Broccoli and Cheese Soup to this Creamy Tomato Soup served with a simple grilled cheese sandwich, soup is ultimate comfort food that always hits the spot.

Why We Love This Recipe

  • This super easy hearty and creamy soup recipe is a complete meal all in one pot.
  • Tuscan soup is loaded with tons of flavors and great texture that’s always a family favorite to serve in a cold day.
  • Only takes a handful of ingredients to make a homemade soup that’s even better than the restaurant version.

Recommended Tools

  • Large soup pot or dutch oven
  • Sharp kitchen knife
  • Measuring cup
  • Measuring spoon

What’s Needed to Make this Zuppa Toscana Recipe

Ingredients for olive Garden zuppa toscano soup on a white table. These includes Italian sausage, garlic, onion, butter, chicken broth, water, potatoes, kale, heavy cream, salt, black pepper, crushed pepper flakes and cheese for garnish.
  • Italian sausage (you can use spicy Italian sausage or mild Italian sausage)
  • Garlic, minced
  • Onion, finely diced
  • Unsalted butter
  • Unsalted chicken broth (or chicken stock)
  • Water
  • Medium to large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
  • Fresh kale, large stems removed and chopped
  • Heavy cream
  • Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Crushed red pepper flakes (if you use spicy sausage, you may want to omit)
  • Optional garnish: shredded parmesan cheese, extra crushed red pepper

How to Make Olive Garden Copycat Recipe for Zuppa Toscana

Step One: Brown Sausage

One process of preparing Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup is to brown the sausage on the skillet.
  • In a large pot or dutch oven on medium heat, crumble and add Italian sausage. As the sausage cooks. use a wooden spoon to break it apart into small pieces. Cook sausage until nice and browned.

Step Two: Sauté Vegetables

Another process for Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup is to add garlic to it.
  • Add the onion to the cooked sausage and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until tender and translucent.
  • Add butter and stir until melted.
  • Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.

Step Three: Add the Potatoes

After adding the garlic, potatoes should be added next to the mixture for Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup recipe
  • Add potatoes to the pot followed by chicken broth and water. Stir to combine.
  • Increase heat to medium-high heat until the soup comes to a low boil for 5-6 minutes.

Step Four: Add the Kale

Next process in preparing Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup is to add kale to the mixture.
  • Add the kale leaves that you can trimmed.

Step Five: Simmer

A closer look on Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup
  • Cover and decrease heat to allow the soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes on medium low heat or until potatoes are fork tender.
  • For the creamy broth, just stir in heavy cream carefully so you don’t break up the tender potatoes too much.
Adding heavy cream to make Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup delicious

Taste and season with a little salt and pepper if desired.

Tips for Making the Best Zuppa Toscana Soup

  • Be patient: Layering the flavors is the key to super tasty soup. The fat from browning the sausage will season the veggies. So don’t skip of rush the steps.
  • Use fresh aromatics: It may be a short use to use powdered garlic and onion powder but using fresh gives the soup the depth of flavor it needs to give that homemade flavor.
  • Chopping the kale: Kale has a rib that is bitter and tough. They do not cook down in the time it takes for the soup to be done, so always remove it. That is easily done by holding the end of the stem and gently stripping the leaves away.
  • Keep watch: Even though this soup is super easy to make, you don’t want to walk away from it. Because of the starch in the potatoes, it can cause them to stick and burn on the bottom of the pot. Giving it a stir frequently will keep this from happening. 
  • Store properly: To keep it fresh for longer, store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge. You can also freeze it in a freezer-safe container. The potatoes may break down some when its frozen, making it a creamier broth, but it will still taste amazing.

Creamy Zuppa Toscana Recipe Variations and Add-ins

  • Potatoes: For this recipe we used russet potatoes. For another option you can use other creamy and buttery potatoes like Yukon Gold. You can even use baby red potatoes in you are in a pinch for time and do not have time to peel larger potatoes.
  • Toppings: I love to add crispy bacon on the top of this soup to give it a nice smoky flavor. You can add freshly sliced green onions or a dollop of sour cream if you prefer.
  • Sausage: My personal preference is a mild sausage in this recipe. But you can use other types like breakfast sausage, turkey sausage, ground pork spicy or hot sausage. Hot Italian sausage works great as well.
  • Greens: If you are not a big fan of kale, you can always use baby spinach. It has a milder flavor than kale and works great with potatoes and sausage.
  • Low carb version: Wanting to lighten this recipe up a little? Instead of making this a potato soup, you can use chunks of cauliflower instead.
A spoonful of Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup

More Copycat Olive Garden Recipes

  • Olive Garden breadsticks
  • Olive Garden alfredo sauce
  • Chicken Alfredo Pasta

Can I Make This in the Instant Pot?

This is a quick stove top recipe but if you want to cook it in the pressure cooker to keep from heating the kitchen up, you certainly can. Just use the sauté function to brown the sausage and vegetables. Then add the other ingredients, seal it and cook it on high pressure for 18 minutes. Allow it to naturally release for 10 minutes followed by a manual release.

Servings of Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup on a wooden counter with linen and ingredients on the side

Can I Make This in the Slow Cooker?

This is a super versatile recipe. Just like the Instant Pot, you can make this soup in the crockpot as well. If you do not have a sauté function on your slow cooker, you will need to sauté the onions and sausage before adding it to the slow cooker. Then, just cook on high for about 4 hours or until the kale has wilted and the potatoes are fork tender.

More Amazing Soup Recipes

  • Crack Chicken Soup
  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Hamburger Soup Recipe
  • Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
  • Loaded Potato Soup
  • Corn Chowder
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscano Soup recipe thumbnail
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Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana


Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes minutes
Total Time 45 minutes minutes
Servings 8 servings
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Make this amazing zuppa toscano soup at home with our Olive Garden copycat recipe.
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 1 ½ Tablespoons garlic minced
  • ½ onion finely diced
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 4 cups unsalted chicken broth
  • 5 cups water
  • 4 medium russet potatoes peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 1 bunch kale large stems removed and chopped
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • shredded parmesan cheese optional

Instructions

  • In a large pot on medium heat, add Italian sausage. Use a wooden spoon to break apart sausage and cook until browned.
  • Stir in onion and saute for 3-5 minutes or until tender and translucent.
  • Add butter and stir until melted.
  • Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
  • Add potatoes to the pot followed by chicken broth and water. Stir to combine.
  • Increase heat to allow the liquid to come to a low boil for 5-6 minutes.
  • Stir in kale leaves.
  • Cover and decrease heat to allow the soup to simmer for 10 additional minutes or until potatoes are tender.
  • Stir in heavy cream.
  • Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Notes

 If using “hot” Italian sausage, you may consider leaving out the crushed red pepper and tasting before deciding if you want it spicier. ● If using salted chicken broth and/or salted butter, taste before adding the salt to see if it’s needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 561kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 24g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 776mg | Potassium: 792mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1803IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 2mg
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Alicia, author of Balancing Motherhood.

Hi, Im Alicia!

Welcome to Balancing Motherhood where I share easy recipes for busy families.

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