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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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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is awesome. Thanks for the recipe. Just like the Olive Garden version. MMM
So happy you enjoyed it, Tom! 🙂
Delicious recipe!!! I will definitely make and share this again
Glad to hear it, thank you Christina! 🙂
I just made this and it’s actuall still cooling down in the pot. It is AMAZING! I’ve made this on the stove and doing it in the InstaPot is so much better. This is the first full meal I’ve made in there and I’ve had my pot for over a year now.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it!! 🙂 Love it when new IP users have success with one of my recipes.
This is such a fast, easy and delicious recipe. I’ve had a instapot for forever and this is, by far, one of my favorite recipes. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear that 🙂
This is one of my family’s favorite soups and omg I made it and what a hit. This will be a go to soup recipe from now on thank you. Love it
Wonderful! 🙂 So happy to hear that.
Great flavor! Doubled recipe
Wonderful!
This was a great and cozy soup, but I had to make changes to just use what I had on hand. My changes were: 13 oz. hot turkey sausage, 3 oz. cubed pancetta instead of bacon, more like 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning, 4 cups low sodium chicken broth, 2/3 cup leftover tomato puree and 3/4 cup water, frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed) instead of kale, no cream. Everything else was the same with the same cooking timings. I promise, someday I will buy all of the ingredients and try a recipe just like you present it…but maybe not for a few more months. Thanks so much!!
I’m glad you were able to tweak it! sounds delish! 🙂 Haha it’s all good.
Loved it! Great flavor! I added a little grated Parmesan at the end!
Wonderful! Thank you, Diane.
Im a complete newbie at instapot meals as i only got it for christmas… best day ever… also you know youre an adult when an insta pot makes you litterally jump for joy 😂…. my kids and i love this soup and are making it for the first time (second meal made in the insta pot) but it smells amazing and if i had known that the press button needed to be up we might be eating now rather then waiting for the next 6 minutes hahaha trial and error i guess Thanks for the recipe 🙂 i really hope i did it right… do you have any newbie tutorials on how to actually use it hahaa 8 have the insta pot duo crisp and air fryer model
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Haha yup, I get excited for new appliances too. I don’t have any IP tutorials unfortunately, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough. 🙂
Made this for my love today for Valentines day. It’s his favorite soup,It was FANTASTIC!! He devoured it!!
Thanks SO Much! 😊
Aww so glad to hear it!! 🙂 XO
Did you cook the bacon by itself for a few minutes before adding the sausage, or just all together? My bacon did not get crispy at all while trying to cook them together.
Hi! I just do them at the same time, but you can definitely start the bacon first if you prefer.
I’m finding it takes a long time to get bacon to brown w sausages. It’s happening but slow and meanwhile lots of burning on the bottom. Next time I will probably cook bacons for a bit before adding sausage.
I’m currently at this exact step and thinking the same thing – that this thick cut, fatty bacon definitely needed a few minutes along to sizzle before adding the sausage. Will do next time. Otherwise everything seems (and smells) wonderful!
I have a 6qt IP as well. Could I double this recipe and still have enough room in my pot? I’ve got some big appetites to feed tonight.
Hi! I don’t think straight doubling it will fit. I just looked at the photos in the post, and it’s definitely more than half full. You could try my stovetop version (linked within the post) and double that if you have a pot that’s large enough.