Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana soup is a classic Italian-American dish that is enjoyed by many of its diners. It’s creamy, savory, and packed with the delicious flavors of sausage, potatoes, kale, and spices. If you’re a fan of this soup and are looking for a way to recreate it at home, you’re in luck my friend. With this copycat recipe, you can now enjoy this soup in the comfort of your own home and dare I say, it’s just as good as the one served at Olive Garden.
What is Zuppa Toscana Soup?
Zuppa Toscana soup is a traditional Tuscan soup that’s typically made with a combination of vegetables, beans, and meat and served with a piece of Tuscan bread. However, Olive Garden has put its own spin on this classic dish by creating a creamy soup that features Italian sausage, potatoes, and kale. The soup is seasoned with a medley of seasonings and spices. It’s a hearty soup that’s perfect for colder months when you need something warm and comforting.
How can I make Zuppa Toscana kid-friendly?
With a few minor adjustments, Zuppa Toscana can be a kid-friendly meal. Use sweet Italian sausage instead of spicy and omit the red pepper flakes from the seasonings. You may also want to chop the kale into smaller pieces as younger kids especially tend to prefer everything bite-sized. **Full disclosure, I cannot get my children to eat this soup for various reasons, mainly the kale and potatoes (I must have the only children in America who don’t like potatoes).
Is Zuppa Toscana spicy?
The only sources of spice in this Zuppa Toscana copycat recipe include the red pepper flakes and sausage (if you are using spicy instead of sweet Italian sausage). I find that the cream and potatoes offset most of the spice, making this a relatively mild dish, but if you are sensitive to spice or making this for children, I recommend omitting the red pepper flakes and using sweet Italian sausage.
https://olivia-yi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Zuppa-Toscana-Spices.m4v
What kind of broth do I need?
I like to use homemade chicken bone broth, which I always keep stocked in my freezer. You can find my recipe for homemade chicken bone broth here. Regular chicken broth, whether homemade or store-bought work just fine for this recipe. I recommend using low-sodium chicken stock if you can so you can season to taste accordingly.
https://olivia-yi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Broth-for-Zuppa-Toscana-Soup.m4v
Tips and Tricks
Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind when making this Zuppa Toscana soup recipe:
- Prep your vegetables and meat beforehand. Doing so will make the entire cooking process much easier as the ingredients will be ready to go into the pot when needed. Chop the onions, garlic, and potatoes. Prepare your meats by slicing the bacon into thin strips and removing the casings from your sausages.
- Store your bacon in the freezer. The bacon is easier to slice when frozen. Since we are not using the entire pack, you can place the rest of the bacon in a ziploc bag and store in the freezer to use for your next recipe.
- Use hot Italian sausage instead of mild. If you prefer a little more heat in your soup, opt for spicy instead of sweet Italian sausage. You can also adjust the amount of red pepper flakes accordingly.
- Easily remove the kale from the rib without any special tools. Hold the bottom of the stem with your non-dominant hand then simply tear the leaves by pulling upward with your dominant hand. Save the ribs to use for vegetable stock at a later time.
- If you want to make this soup ahead of time, simply prepare it up to the point where you add the heavy cream. Refrigerate the soup and add the cream, kale, and remaining ingredients when you’re ready to serve.
- Add the bacon at the end. This will ensure the bacon stays nice and crispy. The crunch of the bacon will provide a pleasant overall texture to the dish.
https://olivia-yi.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Adding-Bacon-to-Zuppa-Toscana-Soup.m4v
- Serve with crusty bread. You can try your hand at making Olive Garden’s signature garlic bread to enjoy with this soup. Otherwise, simply drizzle olive oil over sliced Italian bread and bake for a few minutes in the air fryer or oven.
https://youtu.be/iWoqRXamdpU
Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 medium potatoes, chopped into 1/2" cubes about 2.5 cups
- 6 oz bacon, thinly sliced about 5 slices
- 24 oz sweet or spicy Italian sausages 3 large links
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp salt additional to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper additional to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 4 stalks kale
- 2 tsp fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Chop your onions, garlic, and potatoes. Thinly slice your bacon and remove the casings from your sausages.
- In a large pot, cook the bacon until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove all the bacon from the pot. Place in a small bowl and set aside.
- Remove all but about 1 tbsp of the rendered bacon fat from the pot. Add Italian sausages and cook until browned. Use the end of your wooden spoon to break up the sausages until they are bite-sized crumbles. Remove the sausages and place in a separate bowl. Set aside.
- Add the onions and cook until they are translucent. This may take about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for just a minute, then add potatoes and the sausage you cooked earlier and mix.
- Add chicken broth and water. Mix and bring the light boil then simmer with lid closed for 15 minutes.
- While the broth is simmering, wash and chop your kale and get your seasonings ready (salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, red pepper flakes).
- Remove the lid and add heavy cream, seasonings, and kale. Pop the lid back on and allow to simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes, then turn off the heat.
- Add grated parmesan and fresh parsley and stir until well mixed. Add additional salt and pepper if needed to taste.
- Ladle the soup into individual bowls and top with additional parmesan and about 1.5 tbsp of the cooked bacon from earlier.
Hello, the recipe never says when to add the sausage back in or when to add the potatoes. Can you clarify? Thanks!
Sorry about that, recipe has been updated! The potatoes and cooked sausages are added in right after the garlic.
The instructions are missing some steps: when are the potatoes added; when is the bacon and sausage added back.
Apologies, the recipe has been updated! The potatoes and cooked sausages are added in right after the garlic.