This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Love the Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana? It’s so simple to recreate it at home. This creamy sausage, bacon, potato, and kale soup is total comfort food!
Try my Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli, Easy Chicken Gnocchi Soup, or Minestrone Soup Recipe for more restaurant-quality dishes you can replicate in your kitchen.
Why you’ll love it
If you haven’t tried Zuppa Toscana yet, it’s about time you do! It’s immensely popular for a reason. It’s simple to make even for new cooks, very satisfying, and feels like a cozy yet impressive treat that you could easily serve for company.
Our sausage, bacon, potato, and kale soup has everyday ingredients, and you can control exactly what’s going into this robust soup that’s inspired by the Olive Garden favorite. We think this copycat recipe is way better than the original!
What is Zuppa Toscana?
- “Zuppa Toscana” literally means “Tuscan soup”, but from an American point of view, it commonly refers to the soup found at the Olive Garden restaurant with sausage, kale, and bacon. It’s a fairly brothy (not too thick) soup that’s definitely not authentic Italian, but it sure is tasty.
What you’ll need
- Bacon – I chose thick cut
- Sausage – Johnsonville mild Italian is my go-to variety for this soup. Ground sausage meat is good too.
- Onion and garlic – our aromatic base. I like sweet Vidalia onions.
- Broth and water – I prefer using chicken broth, but beef broth works as well
- Potatoes – we like using red potatoes with their skins on
- Italian seasoning – fragrant dried herbs like rosemary and thyme are found in this tasty blend that’s all in a single jar
- Heavy cream – it’s what makes that broth irresistibly creamy!
- Kale – another signature component for a burst of freshness
What’s the best kind of potatoes to use?
- I typically use red, but Russet potatoes, Yukon Gold, or even other varieties will work just fine. I don’t peel them, but you definitely can.
- This soup is pretty forgiving on the quantity of potatoes. I typically use four medium-to-large red potatoes, which I know is really subjective. I’d aim for around 1.5 pounds of potatoes if you’re looking for a specific weight.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Using this garlic press makes it effortless to mince the garlic.
- This is the or Dutch oven I use.
- Cutting up bacon with a pair of kitchen shears makes it fast.
How to make Zuppa Toscana
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Sauté the bacon in your soup pot. Give it a few minutes head start prior to adding the sausage pieces. Cook until the bacon is crispy and the sausage is browned. Meanwhile, prep the remaining ingredients as it’s cooking.
Add the onion and garlic to the pot and sauté for a few minutes, then add the chicken broth and water to the pot, followed by the potatoes and Italian seasoning. Bring the soup to a boil, and cook until the potatoes are done.
Stir in the cream and kale. Cook for another 5-10 minutes or so until the kale is nice and tender to your liking. Season with salt & pepper to taste!
Crockpot and Instant Pot methods
- Want to make it in your Instant Pot? Head on over to my Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana recipe.
- To make Zuppa Toscana in a slow cooker, do steps 1-4 (in the recipe card below) in a skillet, and then transfer to your Crockpot. Add in remaining ingredients except for the cream, kale, and salt & pepper. Cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low, then add in the cream and kale about 20-30 minutes prior to serving. Season with salt & pepper as desired.
Substitutions and variations
- A lot of people like a spicy version, so feel free to use hot Italian sausage if you want a kick, or try 1/4 tsp or more of crushed red pepper flakes for a gentle heat.
- Substituting spinach instead of the kale works fine, but it’ll wilt much faster, so make sure to watch it carefully.
- If you need to, replace the cream with half-and-half, but with recipes like this, I prefer to go all out. You can’t beat real cream, in my opinion!
- Go ahead and grate some fresh parmesan cheese on top for even more luxuriousness.
What to serve with Zuppa Toscana
- I always pair this soup with a big ol’ slice of Extra Cheesy Garlic Bread, but crusty bread, a dinner roll, or breadsticks works great too.
- My go-to salad is always dressed up with this homemade Olive Garden Salad Dressing for OG night at home!
Leftovers and storage
- This soup makes great leftovers. It’ll keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- If you freeze the soup, it can separate a bit when reheating, though, so reheat on a low temperature and stir it well. Alternatively, if you’re planning for a lot of leftovers, just add in the cream when thawing and reheating.
More restaurant-worthy recipes
Have you tried Zuppa Toscana? Leave a comment below. Questions? Let me know! You can also tag me on Instagram #saltandlavender with your beautiful creations.
Easy Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 5 strips of bacon (thick cut works best)
- 1 pound Italian sausage see note
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups chicken broth (beef works too)
- 4 cups water
- 4 large red potatoes diced (leave skins on)
- 1/4 teaspoon 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 a pot. Cook for 5 minutes over medium-high heat to give the bacon a bit of a head start before adding in the sausage.
- Add the sausage meat to the pot.
- Allow the sausage and bacon to get nicely browned and crispy (this can take 15+ minutes). Stir occasionally. There may be quite a lot of fat in the pot (especially if you're using thick cut bacon), so you may want to spoon some out and discard it, but be sure to leave a few tablespoons in there as it adds flavor.
- Stir in the onions and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, water, potatoes, and Italian seasoning to the pot.
- Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat to simmer.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
- Add in the cream and kale, and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the kale is soft and wilted. Season with salt & pepper as needed.
Notes
- To save prep time, I chop the onion and potatoes while the bacon and sausage cook.
- For the sausage, either use ground sausage meat or a pack of Italian sausages (I use a 5-pack of Johnsonville mild Italian sausages that’s 500g/17.6 oz. here in Canada) and take the meat out of the casings. A little more than a pound is totally fine!
- Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes would work if you don’t want to use red potatoes. Aim for approx. 1.5 pounds of potatoes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This post was originally published on September 23, 2015. I’ve updated it with new photos, text, and a better written recipe!
Delicious recipe! To cut some of the fat, I used fewer slices of bacon (2 instead of 5). I also tried Johnsonville Brats instead of the Italian sausages. Equally delicious. Lastly, as noted, it’s not a thick soup. To thicken it up a bit, I stirred in a cup of Hungry Jack potato buds. Makes for a creamier and thicker soup but still has that potato taste!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jay! I like the potato buds tip!
Made many times over with vegetarian italian sausage. For vegetarians: The trick is to cook the “sausage” in the pan first, remove and set aside to add at the very end before serving. Otherwise the sausage gets soggy and not super great in my opinion. This soup is one of my go-tos in winter time!
Thanks for the tips!! XO
Made it with spicy italian sausage and added a knob of goat cheese at the end to cool it a bit. Very nice!
Awesome!!
This recipe was so delicious! I used Italian ground sausage instead of Johnsonville Mild Italian sausages but did everything else as directed in your recipe. It was a hit! Thank you!
Wonderful! 🙂
Just made this tonight in the UK. Used toulouse sausages and adapted cups for ml! My soup is quite a bit darker than yours as the bacon and sausages really browned my pot. If I make again, I think ill do them in a pan and transfer to a clean pot. Tastes great though!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Tons of flavor in there. No worries on the color… taste is what matters. 🙂
I tried it 2 years ago when i went to visit my Oldest son in Phoenix Arizona and his wife made it for New Years Eve.MAN O MAN!!!!! HOOKED. I will make a pot today while um home today.
I’m so glad you like it, Sheila!! I’m making it this week for my husband haha. It’s his fav.
I absolutely dislike kale and it’s bitter taste, however I made this soup many times and it is absolutely amazing in taste. The kale breaks down so you really don’t even know it’s kale, unless of course you are the cook. Delicious!!!! I have shared with family and friends many times.
That’s great! I’m glad kale works for you in this soup, but you could definitely sub it for spinach (I’d just add it in right towards the end). Thanks for sharing the recipe! XO
Delish
🙂
How?? How do you always nail it?? This is so incredibly delicious and SPOT ON to Olive Gardens version. Made a huge batch and just finished today! I am never disappointed in your recipes. Thank you so much for them!
Aww you’re very welcome!! I’m so glad it hit the spot for you. 🙂
Recipe is simple, easy to follow, and very tasty. I used a slow cooker (4.5 hours on high and then another 45 minutes after adding kale and cream), and it was perfect. I did brown the garlic and onion on the side with some butter & olive oil before throwing in the slow cooker. I also added a little cut corn with the kale to give it a sweet crunch. As the recipe showed, it doesn’t need a lot of seasoning, just a little salt & pepper at the end, and I did add some of the sausage grease, good call!
Most of all I chose this recipe to try because it didn’t have anything out of a can. Cooking from scratch takes an extra few minutes, but you really can taste the difference.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, David! Thanks for the slow cooker tips.
This has become a family favorite of ours. My husband constantly asks for it and my picky 3 and 9 year old lap it up with some yummy warm bread. It’s also my go-to dinner for when we have family visit. Thank you so much for sharing such a delicious recipe!
That’s wonderful!! 🙂 You’re welcome!