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
Jessica says
I just made this for dinner for my fiance and he loves it! Thank you for this recipe, we will be making it again!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Jessica! Have a great weekend!
Tiffany says
Hi! This is going to sound really dumb if someone’s already asked, but what size cans of broth do you use. I’m absolutely terrible at “winging” recipes; the very thought tends to leave me in a cold sweat. My boyfriend just loves this soup, and I would really like to make it for him.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s a great question Tiffany! They are 14 oz cans – just updated the recipe too! Thank you 🙂 So glad you’re giving this a try – you really can’t mess it up!
pmarieoc says
low fat options, evaporated 2% canned milk… all the creaminess less than a quarter of the calories and spicy italian turkey sausage…. lean and low fat! been making this version for a couple of year atleast once a week for some picky teenagers. i never have leftovers even though the recipe is doubled! good stuff!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Those are some seriously awesome substitutions – can’t wait to give them a try! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Zipzish says
My recipe is pretty much the same except I use skim milk. It works just as well. I did the cream the first couple of times, then wanted to make it one day and had everything but the cream, so I used the skim milk and liked it better. It also drops the calorie count significantly.
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
That’s great Karen! I’ve tried it that way too a couple of times just to cut out calories but I really do prefer it with a little cream 😉
Sarah @ Miss CandiQuik says
The ONLY soup I get at Olive Garden! Pinned – thanks for sharing 🙂
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 🙂