Ahhh Zuppa Toscana 🥔🥬—creamy, cozy, and better than the restaurant version when you make it at home. Here’s a spot-on copycat that’s rich without being heavy.
🥣 Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden–Style)
Ingredients (6 servings)
- 1 lb Italian sausage (mild or hot)
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3–4 russet potatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups kale, chopped (stems removed)
- Salt & black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook sausage & bacon
- In a large pot, brown sausage until cooked through. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pot, cook bacon until crisp. Leave about 1 tbsp drippings.
- Sauté aromatics
- Add onion to pot; cook until soft (3–4 min).
- Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook 30 seconds.
- Build the soup
- Add chicken broth and potatoes.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer 15–20 minutes until potatoes are tender.
- Finish
- Stir in cooked sausage, heavy cream, and kale.
- Simmer 5 minutes until kale wilts.
- Season with salt and pepper.
🍞 Serve With
- Warm crusty bread or breadsticks
- Extra cracked black pepper
- Parmesan cheese on top
🔥 Tips & Variations
- Thicker soup: Mash a few potatoes in the pot.
- Lighter version: Use half-and-half instead of cream.
- Slow cooker: Cook everything except cream & kale on LOW 6 hours, then add them at the end.
- Extra rich: Add a splash of cream cheese or Parmesan rind while simmering.
If you want, I can give you a slow-cooker Zuppa Toscana, a keto/low-carb version, or a church-sized batch for feeding a crowd.
