Love this copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Soup – tastes exactly like the real thing!
Zuppa Toscana Soup
Many years ago, my little brother found a recipe for Zuppa Toscana soup from Olive Garden. This soup is a family favorite whenever we visit Olive Garden and is something we all look forward to. After a few tweaks I think this soup tastes just like the real thing.
My older sister sends me a box of organic produce once a month. Last week it arrived and had a gorgeous bunch of kale in it and I knew just what to make. This is the perfect meal for a cool fall or winter day – sure to warm up your belly!
Directions:
Crumble the sausage onto a baking sheet. Bake the sausage in the oven at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes or until no longer pink. Place on paper towels to drain.
Cook the bacon and crumble into small pieces. I baked my bacon. Slice the potatoes between 1/8″ and 1/4″. I used the thick setting on my mandoline. Just make the slices about the same size so they cook evenly. Dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Throw the potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, and water into a large pot on medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through.
Prepare the kale by chopping into bite sized pieces. Kale is wonderful for soups because it holds up to the heat so well. It’s also delicious! Add the sausage, bacon, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian Sausage spicy if you prefer more heat
- 5-7 slices of bacon
- 5 medium russet potatoes
- 2 cups kale chopped
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 qt water
- 28 oz chicken broth
- ½ large onion
- 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Crumble the sausage onto a baking sheet. Bake the sausage in the oven at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes or until no longer pink. Place on paper towels to drain.
- Cook the bacon and crumble into small pieces. I baked my bacon. Slice the potatoes between ⅛ inch and ¼ inch thick. I used the thick setting on my mandolin. Just make the slices about the same size so they cook evenly. Dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Throw the potatoes, onion, garlic, chicken broth, and water into a large pot on medium heat until the potatoes are cooked through.
- Prepare the kale by chopping into bite sized pieces. Kale is wonderful for soups because it holds up to the heat so well. It’s also delicious!
- Add the sausage, bacon, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- During this time the potatoes will start breaking apart into smaller bite sized pieces because they are so tender. Turn the heat to low and add in the kale and heavy cream. Let the soup heat through and serve. We like to serve this soup with some grated Parmesan cheese on top. Delicious!
Nutrition
More dinners to love:
Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
20 Minute Skillet Chicken and Spinach Parmesan
Shannon Fox says
This looks ahh-mazingly yummy! Featuring on the blog tomorrow afternoon 🙂 Thanks for linking up. It’s a wonderful post!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Thank you sooo much Shannon! Have a great weekend!
Renee says
I was wondering what size cans you use for the chicken broth?? The recipe looks Amazing and would love to make it tonight!!
Thanks for Sharing!
kelly arent {copper roof interiors llc} says
I use this recipe ALL the time…even the kids love it. The one this I will change to how you make is….I’m leaving the potatoes much larger. I cut them too small….love how big your are. Stopping by from Debbie’s pinning share….am your newest follower.
Kelly
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Isn’t it awesome how the kids will eat this soup? My husband was just asking for it this weekend so I will definitely be making it again soon 🙂 Thank you SO much for following!
Lora says
How many servings does this make?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
6 servings Lora – thanks!
Jordan Breeden says
This was delicious! Taste just like the restaurant. The only thing that I would suggest to anyone is not to use as much red pepper IF you are not a spicy person. Mine was a bit too hot for my taste. I also suggest a little garlic powder for taste! But I did love it! Thank you for sharing!
Donna says
It really did taste identical. I loved it and will be making this very frequently. Thank you very much for sharing it.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
You are so welcome Donna! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Kristin G says
This is AMAZING!!! I doubled the recipe because we have a bigger family (well… 5 people, but two teens) and it is exactly like olive gardens version! I’m SO happy I found this recipe thanks to my good friend!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe Kristin! Have a great week!
paola says
YUM! Soo good! Just made it right now. I chose spicy sausage so I opted out the pepper flakes. Love the texture of the kale in this soup. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Brittney Brown says
Can I use regular whipping cream instead of heavy?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Yep. I’ve even used half & half. It just cuts down on the richness 🙂
Jen says
I’ve never eaten Kale, could I use spinach as a sub?
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Kale is great and it holds up really well in this soup. Spinach would get soggy and doesn’t have the same flavor at all. Try to give kale a try first 🙂
Mary Jane says
I use spinach all the time. It’s wonderful. I also use twice the amount it calls for because I like the added veggies.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Excellent! We like to double the kale too 🙂
leah says
i just used this recipe and doubled it and can i say how great it came out thank you !
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Lisa! My hubby has been bugging me to make it again soon…on my list for next week 🙂
Carrie says
fabulous!
I made the soup leaving bacon out (forgot it) and it was still great!
Thanks for sharing!
Sandra says
So I saw this on pinterest and about had a heart attack. This is my FAV dish at Olive Garden which is my FAV restaurant but I moved to a new city and they don’t have one here 🙁 :'( So you can imagine I was SUPER excited!
So I made it last night with my boyfriend! Turned out FANTASTIC! Although the 2 tsp red pepper flakes (like i’ve seen others post) was a bit much for me… boyfriend loved it… it was at my max haha but it was still a success! I LOVED it 😀 Thank you so much for posting this!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I am SO glad you enjoyed the soup Sandra! Maybe next time cut the red pepper flakes to 1 tsp. Thank you so much for letting me know 🙂 Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!
DeidraJ says
You’ve forgotten the secret ingredients that give it it’s distinct flavor. About 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar and a tsp or two of vanilla. Finish with a 1/4 stick of butter. You’ll be amazed, I promise. If you’re squeamish about it, put a bowl to the side add a little balsamic and vanilla and you’ll see. I hope u let us know what you think. 🙂
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
I’ll definitely give it a try Deidra but I think this recipe tastes EXACTLY like the original 🙂
Michelle W. says
Delicious soup!
I experimented a little and found that you can use Oscar Meyer bacon bits and get the same flavor with a little more ease!
Thanks for sharing the awesome recipe!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
My little brother does that now too! Anything to make it a little easier right? Thanks for stopping by Michelle!