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This easy Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana recipe is sure to become a family favorite! It’s a classic Olive Garden soup that has Italian sausage, bacon, potatoes, kale, and cream.
Try my Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli or Easy Chicken Gnocchi Soup next.
Why you’ll love it
Readers love my stovetop Easy Zuppa Toscana recipe, so I figured I’d also make an Instant Pot version of this beloved Olive Garden soup. The irresistible flavors meld in such a short time, but it tastes like it was simmering for ages! It also frees up your stove.
The rich flavors in this Olive Garden copycat soup recipe really can’t be beat when you’re craving comfort food that tastes restaurant quality. The creamy broth has so much savory goodness, and it’s all made with easy-to-find ingredients. It’s easy, cozy, and fast!
What you’ll need
- Bacon – I prefer thick cut
- Italian sausage – use bulk meat, or remove the sausage from the casings. I like Johnsonville mild.
- Garlic and onion – my go-to is sweet (Vidalia) onions, but yellow is fine
- Chicken broth – for the base of the soup
- Potatoes – I like using red potatoes (skins on)
- Italian seasoning – this is a great all-purpose blend of dried herbs that comes in one jar
- Heavy cream – real cream makes the broth super silky and taste amazing!
- Kale – the signature leafy green
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- This is the Instant Pot pressure cooker model that I use.
- Garlic cloves are really easy to mince with a garlic press. It saves so much prep time vs. mincing by hand. And kitchen shears are great for the bacon!
- Dice the potatoes with a quality chef’s knife.
How to make Zuppa Toscana in the Instant Pot
This is an overview, and full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Start by sautéing the bacon and then the sausage in the Instant Pot until browned and crispy.
- Add in the onions and garlic and cook until fragrant, followed by the chicken broth, water, potatoes, and Italian seasoning.
- Cook on high pressure, then do a quick release and stir in the cream and kale. Close the lid again, and let it sit for a few minutes until the kale wilts. Season with salt & pepper.
Substitutions and variations
- This soup isn’t particularly thick. It’s meant to be quite brothy, but you could always whisk in a cornstarch slurry if you want to thicken it up a little bit or even mash some of the potatoes to give it more of a chunky texture.
- I wouldn’t recommend swapping the heavy cream out for something lower fat. It’ll change the texture and intended flavor.
- Use hot Italian sausage, or add some red pepper flakes if you want a bit of spice!
What to serve with Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
- It’s a hearty soup that’s complemented by a large slice of my Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread.
- You can also recreate the best salad using my Olive Garden Salad Dressing to round out the meal. It’s zesty and delicious. Another great option is my Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- Leftovers of this Zuppa Toscana will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge in a covered container.
- I’d warm it up on the stove slowly over a low heat.
- If freezing a big batch, I would wait to add in the cream until thawing and reheating it since dairy doesn’t freeze well.
More easy Instant Pot soup recipes
If you made this Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana, please leave a star rating and review below! I would love to hear from you. Or tag me in your photos on Instagram.
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 5 strips bacon (thick cut works best) cut into small pieces
- 1 pound Italian sausage crumbled
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cups chicken broth (beef works too)
- 4 cups water
- 4 medium-to-large red potatoes roughly diced (leave skins on)
- 1 dash Italian seasoning
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 1 small bunch of kale torn into bite-size pieces (remove stems)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Using kitchen shears (or a knife), cut the bacon into small pieces and add it to your Instant Pot. Press the sauté button and start frying the bacon (give it about a 5 minute head start before adding the sausage so it crisps up more).
- Add the sausage meat to the Instant Pot and break it up as it cooks. Cook until the sausage and bacon are crispy and browned.
- While the sausage and bacon cook, chop the onion and potatoes, making sure to stir the bacon and sausage occasionally.
- When the sausage and bacon are nicely browned and crispy, stir in the garlic and onion and cook for about a minute.
- Pour in the chicken broth and water. Scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add the potatoes and Italian seasoning.
- Give the soup a stir and close the Instant Pot's lid. Make sure the valve is set to "sealing".
- Set the timer to cook for 8 minutes on high pressure. The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes or so to come up to pressure.
- One the countdown has finished, do a quick pressure release and take off the lid.
- Add the cream and kale. Close the lid again and let the soup sit for another 5 minutes or so until the kale wilts (keep the Instant Pot off or on "keep warm").
- Season with salt & pepper as needed and enjoy immediately.
Notes
- You can use Russet or a different variety of potatoes if you prefer.
- I use this 6-quart Instant Pot.
- Inactive time indicates the time it takes the Instant Pot to get up to pressure.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I know you can use your Insta pot like a crockpot I was wondering if you could make this and just press the slow cooker button
Hi! If you use it like a Crockpot, I would still do the searing step. Then slow cook but wait to add the cream and kale until the last 30 min or so of cooking.
Wow, I was surprised how good this was!! It has so much flavor. Subbed sweet potatoes for russet and used spinach instead of kale. I will definitely remake this.
Wonderful!! 🙂
Could I make this soup in my crockpot?
Hi! You could… I would do the initial browning steps in a skillet, then transfer it to a Crockpot. Add the cream about 30 minutes prior to serving. It’s probably easier to just do it on the stove unless you want it to cook while you’re at work all day. The stove top recipe is linked within the post in case you didn’t see it.
I believe that OG uses red pepper flakes if you don’t have hot Italian Sausage.I added 1/2 tsp. with the broth.Came out great.
That makes sense! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Paul!
can I use bulk Italian sausage?
Not sure what that means. You’d have to like use a similar quantity to what I recommend so the soup isn’t too greasy.
I used russet potatoes and half and half. This was amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Yay so glad you liked it!!
OMG!!! So good!!!
Used Russet potato since didn’t have red potatoes. Made Hatch chili cornbread to go with it. I’m in love!!!!! Thank you!!!!!
So happy you enjoyed it, Margot! Thanks for letting me know!
Can I use half & half instead of heavy cream? Planning to make this tonight, and I don’t have heavy cream on hand….
Hi! I think that should work!
Am making this right now and cannot wait to try it! Noticed, tho, that the directions do not state when to add the dash of Italian? I am hoping it’s along with the cream and kale? Either way, this smells delicious!
Whoops… just updated the recipe – thanks for pointing it out! I usually add it earlier, but what you did works too! 🙂 How did you like the soup?
LOVED it!! Will definitely be making this again!
That’s what I like to hear! Thanks, Jen! 🙂
So good! Recipe was super easy, took less than an hour from thought to finish, and used up all the random things I had in my fridge I didn’t know how to really put together. Thank you!
I am so pleased to hear you liked it! thanks for letting me know 😀
Very tasty!
Great! 🙂