Zuppa Toscana

At a glance

What stands out: Based on the popular soup at Olive Garden, Zuppa Toscana is so creamy and loaded with Italian sausage, russet potatoes, and dark green kale. This soup is a treat, reliable for special occasions.

How long it takes: 55 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: large pan, stove, sharp knife, measuring utensils
Servings: 8

Zuppa Toscana

A family favorite. Zuppa Toscana is wonderfully rich, with sausage, kale, bacon, potatoes, and a broth bolstered with heavy cream and Parmesan cheese. It’s one of our family’s favorite soups and we often make it for guests, too. In fact, we have it every Christmas Eve for our family celebration, along with Dutch oven bread and mandarin orange salad.

A hearty soup. Zuppa Toscana is a meat and potatoes soup, a “stick-to-your-ribs” kind of meal (according to Idioms Online, that phrase was first recorded in 1603!). If you think soups aren’t filling, you haven’t tried zuppa Toscana, with sausage, bacon, and potatoes!

Olive Garden at-home. If you’re a fan of the soup that Olive Garden serves, you’ll love this version. We rather immodestly think our recipe is way, way better. Give it a try and let us know how you like our Zuppa Toscana!

Looking for more restaurant-style soups? Try from-scratch French onion soup, at-home Panera squash soup, pasta e fagioli, chicken tortilla soup, or Instant Pot minestrone. Another favorite is lasagna soup: all the pleasures of lasagna without the hassle.

What goes in

• Bacon: You’ll need six ounces of bacon, which is about six slices.
• Italian Sausage: Buy bulk sausage if you can. If you buy links, squeeze it out of the casing. Turkey or pork sausage is fine, whatever you prefer.
• Onion and Garlic: Lots of chopped onion and garlic! It doesn’t matter which type of onion you use: yellow, white, red, or sweet. We usually use regular yellow cooking onions for soups and stews.
• Russet Potatoes: You’ll need about three medium-sized potatoes. Substitute red or Yukon gold potatoes if you like.
• Chicken Broth: Choose unsalted or low salt chicken broth so that you control the amount of sodium in the soup.
• Kale: A bunch of kale (6 cups!) provides lots of green goodness. Chop it up into pretty small pieces that fit onto a spoon when cooked. It’s so awkward when you spoon up a long dangling piece of kale that doesn’t quite make it into your mouth.
• Heavy Cream: A cup of cream gives this soup a luxurious texture.
• Parmesan Cheese: Sharp and salty, a little Parmesan goes a long way.
• Red Pepper Flakes: Just a bit of spicy heat prevents this soup from becoming too cloying.
• Cornstarch/Water: A slurry of cornstarch thickens the soup making it taste like it’s loaded with cream when it’s not. Just a little trick!
• Fresh Parsley and Basil: Fresh green herbs provide the finishing touch.

How it comes together

You’ll need a good sized soup pan or Dutch oven. Plan on an hour to prepare and simmer this soup.

Prep the vegetables. Cut up the onions and mince the garlic. Scrub the potatoes or peel them, and chop into half inch pieces. Wash and chop the kale. Assemble the rest of the ingredients.

Cook the bacon. Fry the bacon pieces in the pan until they’re crispy. You’ll be using those for a garnish. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Discard the excess grease in the pan, reserving one tablespoon or so.

Cook sausage and onions. Add the Italian sausage and onions to the pan, breaking up large chunks, and cooking until the onions are softened and the sausage is longer pink. Add the garlic and cook just briefly, one to two minutes.

Simmer potatoes. Next in the soup is the potatoes, broth, and water. Simmer the potatoes until they are nearly fork tender.

Add kale. Right near the end of the cooking, throw in the kale. Cook until the kale is soft but still a nice dark green.

Make it creamy. Stir in the heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes. The heat should be pretty low so the cream doesn’t curdle.

Here’s how to thicken the soup so it appears even more creamy (without adding calories). Make a cornstarch slurry (water and cornstarch) and stir it into the soup. Cook gently for a few more minutes to give the cornstarch a chance to thicken the soup.

Garnish. Right before serving, stir in the fresh herbs. Garnish with the bacon you saved and additional Parmesan.

Serve. Serve this hearty soup in stoneware bowls with warm Texas toast garlic bread or from-scratch cheesy bread. A simple salad is a great go-along too. The endless salad served at Olive Garden is straightforward to mix with crisp romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, Kalamata olives, and pepperoncini, dressed with Italian dressing, and topped with from-scratch croutons.

Is Zuppa Toscana Italian?

Translated as “soup from Tuscany”, the original soup hails from Tuscany, Italy, and differs from the North American Olive Garden version. Tuscan soup isn’t creamy, doesn’t include sausage, and contains additional ingredients: vegetables, tomatoes, and cannellini beans. It’s served on toasted Tuscan bread. This Italian sausage stew with white beans and kale is somewhat similar and it’s straightforward to mix.

Straightforward Recipe Variations

Make it vegetarian. Omit the bacon and sausage. Substitute white mushrooms, which have a meaty texture and are lovely in this Tuscan soup. Sauté sliced mushrooms (16 oz.) and onion in a tablespoon of olive oil, and continue with the recipe as directed.

Make keto or low carb zuppa Toscana. Omit the potatoes and substitute mushrooms. Sauté sliced mushrooms (16 oz.) with the sausage and onion, and continue with the recipe as directed.

Substitute spinach for the kale. Since spinach is much more tender than kale, stir it in right before serving.

Make-Ahead Ideas

We have a few suggestions for getting a head start on this soup:

• Chop the onions up to a day ahead, storing them in an airtight container in the fridge.
• Wash and chop the kale up to 3 days in advance, storing in a plastic bag in the fridge.
• Scrub and dice the potatoes up to a day in advance. Cover with cold water and drain well before adding them to the soup.

Keep Warm Tip

We like to make Zuppa Toscana on the stove, and then keep it warm in a crockpot until we’re ready to eat. It’s reliable for when you’re having guests. This soup can be prepared a couple of hours in advance and kept on Warm in a slow cooker until you’re ready to serve it.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Zuppa Toscana is great leftover. We're always so excited when we have leftover soup! It makes a wonderful lunch or another dinner. Store cooled soup in a covered container in the fridge for up to three days.

Freeze: This soup does not freeze well. The potatoes get a mushy texture and the soup may separate.

Reheat: Warm leftover zuppa Toscana in a saucepan on the stove over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the soup is hot. Try not to boil it. You can use your microwave to reheat individual portions, in 30 second increments, stirring once or twice.

• Yield: 8
• Prep: 20 minutes
• Cook: 35 minutes
• Total: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 ounces bacon, chopped (about 6 slices)
• 1 pound ground Italian sausage (or 19 oz. links, casing removed)
• 1 ½ cups diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups unsalted or low salt chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 3 medium russet potatoes, scrubbed or peeled and cut into ½ -inch pieces (about 1 ½ – 2 pounds)
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed, chopped (about 6 cups tightly packed or 6 ounces)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional (more to taste)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pot, cook bacon over medium-low heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Remove all but about 1 tablespoon of bacon grease.
2. Increase heat to medium and add Italian sausage and onion and cook, breaking up sausage, for 6 to 8 minutes or until onions are translucent and sausage is cooked through. Add garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant, stirring constantly.
3. Add broth, water, and potatoes and increase heat to high to bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer (medium-low heat) and cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.
4. When potatoes are done or almost done, add kale and cook until kale leaves are tender.
5. Slowly stir in cream, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes if using.
6. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water with a fork or whisk. Pour into soup and simmer until thickened.
7. Stir in parsley and basil. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
8. Serve garnished with bacon and additional Parmesan, if desired.

Notes

Keep it warm: The soup can be prepared a couple of hours in advance and kept on Warm in a slow cooker until you’re ready to serve it.

Vegetarian option: Omit bacon and sausage. Substitute sliced mushrooms. Sauté them with the onions. Use vegetable broth. Continue with recipe as directed.

Substitute spinach. If you don’t care for kale, substitute fresh spinach leaves. Stir in right before serving.