Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)

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. 

 

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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Add the kale leaves that you can trimmed.

Step Five: Simmer

• 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.

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.

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.

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