Zuppa Toscana Soup

Our easy Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe is made with Italian chicken sausage, turkey bacon, kale, red potatoes, Parmesan cheese and cream. This Tuscan soup is super easy to make and the flavor is AMAZING!

If you love the Zuppa Toscana soup served at Olive Garden, we think you’ll enjoy this soup even more! Its a quick and easy one-pot soup to make any night of the week. And leftovers, if you’re lucky enough to have any,  are even better the next day!

Why We Love This Recipe

• Quick and Easy. This one-pot soup is quick and easy to make, coming together in about 30 minutes with little cleanup. One-pot soups make perfect weeknight meals, especially during the chilly winter months.
• Flavor. So much flavor! This soup has an incredible combo of flavors that your whole family will love! If you love the Olive Garden version, we think our version tastes even better. 
• Fresh Ingredients.  We use budget friendly ingredients for this recipe.  It’s always good to make homemade soup so you can control the quality of ingredients, as well as the amount of fat and sodium added. We use chicken sausage and turkey bacon for this soup so it has less fat.

What Is Zuppa Toscana?

In Italian, “Zuppa” means “soup” and “Toscana” means “Italian”.  Zuppa Toscana (Tuscan Soup) is a classic creamy Italian soup that’s loaded with Italian sausage, potatoes, kale and lots of garlic all simmered in a richly flavored broth.

Zuppa Toscana Recipe Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil. We use extra-virgin olive oil to cook the turkey bacon and sausage with.
• Butter. Butter is used to cook the onions and garlic with. 
• Aromatics. We use one whole onion and 4-6 large cloves of garlic. 
• Sausage. We use sweet Italian chicken sausage for this recipe keeping things low-fat.
• Turkey Bacon. We use about 6 slices of turkey bacon cooked in olive oil until its nice and crispy.
• Kale. Dinosaur kale (also called Tuscan kale or lacinato kale) is added to this soup.
• Seasoning. This soup is perfectly seasoned with Italian seasoning, fennel seeds and red pepper flakes.
• Parmesan Cheese. We add a small wedge of Parmesan cheese that melts into the broth as it simmers, which adds to the already addictive flavor of this soup.  
• Potatoes. We use red potatoes, but you can use russet or Yukon potatoes if you like.
• Broth. We use low-sodium chicken broth for this soup.
• Cream. We add about 1 cup of cream to this soup which makes it deliciously creamy.

Find the printable recipe with the measurements below.

How To Make Zuppa Toscana

1. Cook Bacon. Cook the turkey bacon in a little olive oil until it is nice and crispy, and then chop it to add to the soup.
2. Cook Sausage. Remove the outer casing and fry the sausage until browned, breaking the links up with a wooden spoon or spatula. 
3. Add Aromatics. Saute the onions and garlic in butter. 
4. Add Seasoning. Stir in the seasoning.
5. Add Broth. Return the sausage and bacon to the pot and stir. Pour in the broth, potatoes and  Parmesan cheese wedge. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and place lid on the pot. 
6. Add Kale. Simmer for about 15 minutes.
7. Add Cream. Add the kale and cream and cook another 2-3 minutes until heated through.
8. Enjoy. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

Variations

• Use hot Italian chicken sausage instead of sweet sausage. If you use hot sausage, then you may not need to add the pinch of red pepper flakes that is mentioned in the recipe card. 
• Add 1/2 cup more cream if you want a creamier soup.

How To Store Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, leftover soup should last up to 3-4 days. 

Serving Suggestions

• Salad. Try our Lemon Parmesan Lettuce Salad, Garden Salad, Lemon Arugula Salad, Everyday Mediterranean Salad, or our Italian Salad.
• Bread. Try our Italian Garlic Bread, or simply serve it with a fresh baguette or French bread to sop up the broth.

More Soup Recipes

• Italian Sausage Soup
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Sausage Lentil Soup
• Chicken Rice Soup
• Tuscan White Bean Soup
• Italian Lentil Soup

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Yield: 6 servings

Zuppa Toscana Soup

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Our easy Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe is made with Italian chicken sausage, turkey bacon, kale, red potatoes, Parmesan cheese and cream. This Tuscan soup is super easy to make and the flavor is AMAZING!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 6 slices turkey bacon
• 1 pound Italian chicken turkey sausage, casings removed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Pinch fennel seeds
• Pinch red pepper
• 1 1-inch piece Parmesan cheese wedge
• 4 large red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups Tuscan kale, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon to the pan and cook both sides until nice and crispy. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel.

Add more oil to the pan if needed, then add the sausage to the pan (make sure the outer casings are removed first) and break the meat up using a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a bowl and set aside.

Add the butter to the pot and stir in the onions and sauté for approximately 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the seasoning.

Return the sausage and chopped bacon to the pot and stir. Pour in the broth, water, potatoes and Parmesan cheese wedge and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and place lid on the pot. 

Simmer for about 15 minutes, then add the chopped kale and cream and cook another 2-3 minutes.  The potatoes should be fork tender.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Variations

1. Use hot Italian chicken sausage instead of sweet sausage. If you use hot sausage, then you may not need to add the pinch of red pepper flakes that is mentioned in the recipe card. 
2. Add 1/2 cup more cream if you want a creamier soup.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 659Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 19gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 1266mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 6gSugar: 7gProtein: 18g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.