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A favorite Italian hearty soup made with sausage, potatoes, and bacon in a rich flavorful cream broth. This is one of the most popular soup recipes! This copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana recipe will be sure to please!
Zuppa Toscana Soup
If you have ever eaten at Olive Garden and tried their Zuppa Toscana Soup, you may have become hooked on it really, really fast. It is such a hearty, comforting, and flavorful soup that is insanely popular. It has such a following that many people go to Olive Garden just for this soup.
When I was in high school and college, every single friend’s birthday was spent at the Olive Garden. It was tradition and we weren’t budging. We always ordered the same thing — salad, Zuppa Toscana Soup, breadsticks, and a raspberry lemonade. It was a place where we could get full without spending a lot of money (we were all on our college budgets back then)!
I fell in love with the Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup and had to figure out a copycat recipe for it.
Fast forward years later, I was living on the same street as my friend, Heidi, who can COOK big time. I loved to go over to her house, chat about our life with kids, and eat all of her homemade food. One of my favorite things she would make is this Zuppa Toscana Soup in the winter. It was always so comforting and helped us get through raising our crazy toddler boys. 🙂 Now, it is time to share the recipe with you!
Zuppa Toscana Soup is made with sausage, potatoes, bacon (did someone say bacon?!), onion, chicken broth, kale, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese. It is so creamy and delicious and you won’t want to stop at one bowl.
This Zuppa Toscana Soup is absolutely perfect for a cozy weeknight dinner at home as the temperatures start to plummet. I mean, we are still 87 degrees and in flip-flops at the end of November but we are pretending that it is actually cold here. The Christmas tree is up, the carols are playing, and we are officially in Christmas mode in our home.
Tips on how to make Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Soup at home:
- Start by sauteeing onion, garlic, and sausage. Browning not only cooks the sausage but also brings out the flavor. When making homemade soup, it is important to develop flavors along the way.
- Use a hearty potato. I tend to use russet potatoes because they stand up against the heat and won’t become soggy. No soggy potatoes! We are going for soft, melt-in-your-mouth potatoes. I leave the skin on the potatoes, cut the potato lengthwise, then cut into thin slices.
- Add the cooked, crispy bacon at the end. I have seen many recipes where the bacon is added at the beginning. I prefer to add it at the end so it stays a little more crispy. I also reserve some bacon for garnish. It just looks pretty and everyone gets excited to see bacon front and center. Feel free to add a few more slices of bacon if you love it.
- Cut the kale into small pieces. Kids (and sometimes adults) may be afraid of green things, such as kale. I found that if I cut it into very small bite-size pieces, kids hardly even noticed it. I tell them to focus on the bacon, people!
- Add heavy cream and parmesan cheese at the end and cook just until simmered. This is what brings it all together and gives the soup and rich, creamy texture.
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Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 Large Onion (diced)
- 2 Garlic Cloves (finely diced)
- 1 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
- 1 lb. Italian Sausage
- 6 Bacon Slices (cooked until crispy)
- 2 Large (or 3 medium Russet Potatoes, scrubbed and cut in half lengthwise, then cut into thin slices)
- 32 ounces 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 2 cups Kale (finely chopped)
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (for garnish or place half in soup)
- Salt to taste)
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add oil, onion, garlic, and red chili flakes. Let cook for 1 minute. Add sausage and cook until browned and cooked through. Remove sausage and onions and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
- Add bacon and cook until crispy –according to package instructions. Remove from pan and set aside. Once bacon is cool enough to touch, crumble or cut into bite-size pieces.
- Add potatoes, chicken broth, and pepper to the pot and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce to medium-low heat. Stir in sausage mixture. Cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add finely diced kale and continue to cook for 5-10 more minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream and half of parmesan cheese, if so desired. Heat for 5 minutes.
- Stir in crumbled bacon, reserving some for garnish.Serve warm topped with parmesan cheese.
Video
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the start of COMFORT FOODS week. Can’t wait to share all of our favorite comfort food dishes starting with this Zuppa Toscana Soup Olive Garden Copycat Recipe. Happy Cooking, my friends!
LOVE this soup!! I make this almost every time it gets cold and rainy. I use hot Italian sausage, just our preference.
FABULOUS!!!!!!!!
Can you possibly give us a good recipe for making our own Italian sausage substitute with ground turkey? I’ve needed this in many recipes as I don’t eat much pork, thank you very much
ABSOLUTELY the best recipe ever! Hands down it is a favorite in my house. If you aren’t a spice fan, then omit the red chili flakes. Thank you Melissa for this creation!
I usually do not love soup but this recipe is AMAZING! It is way better than olive garden’s and is one of my go to recipes!
delicious yes! The chicken broth was only 32 oz (4 Cups liquid). I had to double the liquid to serve 6 people. I must have misread the recipe. Smacking my forehead.
Just made this and YUM. Didn’t have chili flakes so I used a dash of cayenne and used more kale because I wanted to use it up but otherwise to the letter. Glad to add this to my soup rotation-thank you!
I made this for Christmas. I thought I was bringing too much. Turns out everybody loved it and wanted seconds. Next time I better make more. I added some spinach and used sweet and hot Italian sausage. best soup ever. Question? Can I use milk instead of heavy cream.
I love this recipe. Many of the ingredients were items I had in my kitchen. My husband even like it and that is saying a lot. I didn’t want to save it until after I’d made it, but after I’d made it. I was devastated when I went back onto the web to find it again and had to wade through several recipes. I was so thankful when I found it again, I actually printed it out. Thank you!
This is an excellent recipe! I’ve made it with Italian sausage and I’ve made it with AmyLu Andouille chicken sausage I get at Costco. When i use the AmyLu Andouille chicken sausage I just add a little extra fennel, basil, oregano and paprika to make it more Italian sausagey. You can adjust to your taste with the AmyLu. Great recipe–you’ll love it. Thanks Modern Honey–your recipes are fantastic!