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While it is nice to go out to eat, it’s also great to make a tasty home cooked meal, not to mention it is easier on the wallet too. This Zuppa Toscana recipe is one of our favorite Olive Garden copycat recipes, everyone in our family loves it.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our copycat version of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, you need the following ingredients:
- Olive oil: we like to use a light olive oil in this soup
- Onion: we use a sweet onion for a lighter, sweeter addition
- Italian Sausage (casings removed): we use mild, but you can add more spice with a medium sausage if you’d like
- Garlic: Fresh minced garlic will give it a stronger flavor, but jarred works in a pinch
- Red pepper flakes: Add as little or as much as you like to give it a little kick
- Chicken stock: Use your favorite, and one with low sodium if you’re looking to cut back
- Russet potatoes: these starchy potatoes will break down nicely for a creamier soup
- Salt and pepper: use to taste, but a fresh ground black pepper and a course sea salt for more depth in the flavor
- Heavy cream: use the full fat heavy cream for the copycat, but you can cut it to half and half if you want to reduce the calorie content
- Kale: this adds more nutrients and texture
- Bacon: adds a savory flavor and a little more texture to the soup
- Parmesan cheese: we think freshly grated tastes best, but pre-shredded or pre-grated works, too
Looking for more Olive Garden Copycat soups? Try our Pasta Fagioli Soup.
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
- Instant Pot
- Spoon (Wooden)
- Cutting Board
- Measuring Cups (Liquid)
- Stock Pot (10 qt)
- Chef Knife
- Soup Bowls
- Ladle
How to Make Our Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe
Instant Pot Instructions
- Press the SAUTE button. Add the oil to the inner cooking pot. When the pot is hot, add the onion and sausage and sauté for 5 minutes, breaking up the sausage. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and mix.
- Add in 2 cups of chicken broth and stir to release any onion pieces that may have stuck to the bottom. Stir in the potatoes. Add in remaining chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the lid on top and lock into place. Turn the valve to SEALING. Select MANUAL (or Pressure Cook). Set the time for 15 minutes.
- When cooking ends, carefully turn the valve to VENTING for a quick release of the pressure.
- Unlock and remove the lid, then stir in the cream. Heat through, then stir in the kale and the bacon.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat saucepan over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into 1-inch pieces and add to saucepan.
- Cook sausage, stirring occasionally until cooked through.
- Drain sausage onto a plate or baking dish lined with paper towels, set sausage aside.
- Add diced bacon and chopped onion to saucepan and saute mixture until bacon is cooked through and onions are translucent, about 3 – 5 minutes longer.
- Add chicken broth, water, sliced potatoes, garlic, and salt and pepper.
- Bring soup just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in cooked sausage.
- Cover saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are nearly tender, about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Add in kale then simmer until potatoes are soft and kale is tender, about 5 – 10 minutes longer.
- Stir in heavy cream and warm through.
- Add in kale then simmer until potatoes are soft and kale is tender, about 5 – 10 minutes longer.
- Serve warm topped with Parmesan cheese.
Freezer Meal Modification
- Cook the sausage and onion and place in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag or other freezer-safe container. Let the bag cool down (if still hot from the cooked ground sausage).
- Add in the garlic, red pepper, potatoes, salt and pepper, kale, and cooked bacon into the bag. Place freezer bag into freezer and it will last up to 90 days.
- When ready to use, dump ingredients from bag into Instant Pot (if it won’t come out, run the bag under hot water so that you can remove/peel off the frozen bag). Add 6 cups of chicken broth in with the frozen food. Place the lid on top, move the valve to SEALING, and press the MANUAL button. Set timer for 30 minutes. Do a QUICK RELEASE when the timer is done. Remove the lid and stir in the heavy cream. Serve and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
- To customize this recipe, you can use your favorite type of sausage, such as turkey sausage, spicy sausage, hot Italian sausage, mild Italian sausage, pork sausage, or spicy Italian sausage.
- We highly recommend cooking your meat separately to keep out the extra grease. This step allows you to remove the excess oil.
- For a short cut, you can use bacon bits.
- If you want to change up the seasoning we suggest adding Italian seasoning to this recipe.
- The heavy cream will give you a creamy broth, but you can switch that out for coconut cream. Don’t forget to top your tuscan soup with parmesan cheese!
- If you are looking for a few healthier alternatives, I recommend adding turkey sausage instead of Italian beef or pork sausage. You can also substitute the bacon with turkey bacon. It does cook a little differently so read the instructions on how to prepare it.
- You could also add your favorite vegetables, not on the ingredients list, in the recipe. I love adding carrots and zucchini to mine.
Explore More Delicious Soup Recipes
Explore our collection of soup recipes made in the stovetop, slow cooker or Instant Pot. For more soup inspiration, check out our full list of soups.
- Nacho Grande Soup
- New England Clam Chowder
- Pasta e Fagioli
- Potato Soup
- Ravioli Lasagna Soup
- Sausage Tortellini Soup
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Tomato Macaroni Soup
- Tuscan White Bean Soup
- Wisconsin Bacon and Potato Cheese Soup
Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe
Enjoy our copycat recipe of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, prepared either in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop for a delicious, creamy soup.
Serving servings
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, add more for additional heat
- 6 cups chicken broth, divided
- 3 large Russet potatoes, halved and cut into 1/4" slices
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Equipment
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Press the SAUTE button. Add the oil to the inner cooking pot. When the pot is hot, add the onion and sausage and sauté for 5 minutes, breaking up the sausage. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and mix.
- Add in 2 cups of chicken broth and stir to release any onion pieces that may have stuck to the bottom. Stir in the potatoes. Add in remaining chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place the lid on top and lock into place. Turn the valve to SEALING. Select MANUAL (or Pressure Cook). Set the time for 15 minutes.
- When cooking ends, carefully turn the valve to VENTING for a quick release of the pressure.
- Unlock and remove the lid, then stir in the cream. Heat through, then stir in the kale and the bacon.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat saucepan over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into 1-inch pieces and add to saucepan.
- Cook sausage, stirring occasionally until cooked through.
- Drain sausage onto a plate or baking dish lined with paper towels, set sausage aside.
- Add diced bacon and chopped onion to saucepan and saute mixture until bacon is cooked through and onions are translucent, about 3 – 5 minutes longer.
- Add chicken broth, water, sliced potatoes, garlic, and salt and pepper.
- Bring soup just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and stir in cooked sausage.
- Cover saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are nearly tender, about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Add in kale then simmer until potatoes are soft and kale is tender, about 5 – 10 minutes longer.
- Stir in heavy cream and warm through.
- Add in kale then simmer until potatoes are soft and kale is tender, about 5 – 10 minutes longer.
- Serve warm topped with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- To customize this recipe, you can use your favorite type of sausage, such as turkey sausage, spicy sausage, hot Italian sausage, mild Italian sausage, pork sausage, or spicy Italian sausage.
- We highly recommend cooking your meat separately to keep out the extra grease. This step allows you to remove the excess oil.
- For a short cut, you can use bacon bits.
- If you want to change up the seasoning we suggest adding Italian seasoning to this recipe.
- The heavy cream will give you a creamy broth, but you can switch that out for coconut cream. Don’t forget to top your tuscan soup with parmesan cheese!
- If you are looking for a few healthier alternatives, I recommend adding turkey sausage instead of Italian beef or pork sausage. You can also substitute the bacon with turkey bacon. It does cook a little differently so read the instructions on how to prepare it.
- You could also add your favorite vegetables, not on the ingredients list, in the recipe. I love adding carrots and zucchini to mine.
Nutrition
Calories: 606 kcal · Carbohydrates: 40 g · Protein: 18 g · Fat: 43 g · Saturated Fat: 19 g · Cholesterol: 113 mg · Sodium: 1449 mg · Potassium: 1315 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 2 g · Vitamin A: 2839 IU · Vitamin C: 57 mg · Calcium: 117 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
This is my favorite soup! I had the recipe about 10 years ago and lost it while moving. Glad to find it again!
How much chicken broth does this recipe use? I see 2 cups, plus more. What is the total? Thanks!
It’s 6 cups! Sorry about that typo! It’s been fixed.
My husband and I consumed all in one meal. Each mouth full was better than the next. Since I fought to buy kale instead used fresh baby spinach leaves, adding roughly half of large bag. Going to try kale next, than possibly add mixed vegetables. So many different vegetables to add.
Your fb post of this from 1 week ago calls for an additional 4 cups (6 cups total). I’m extremely confused!
I used 2 cups, but noticed right away it wasn’t enough broth, so I ran to the store for more broth and added an additional 4 cups as you noted and it worked out well. Soup was delicious and would have been better without waiting for me to run to the store! (I normally keep broth on hand, I just was out!)
We are so sorry about the confusion. It is definitely 6 cups! The recipe has been updated.
This is a great recipe! So glad I tried it! I live alone so I have leftover I don’t want to go to waste. Is this ok to freeze? I know Cream does not typically bode well in the freezer.
Soups with cream or milk don’t freeze well. You can freeze it, but the texture may be a bit grainy when thawed and reheated.
Wow. I consider myself a soup aficionado and I can’t believe how good this soup is! Next time I’ll drain the sausage after browning and add more veggies like carrots.
Would this fit in the 3qt ip or should I cut the recipe in half? I’m new to the ip life!
You’ll need to cut it in half for the 3 quart instant pot.
Holy moly. Legit. So good. Keeper. Will be making every winter from now on. Here are my little suggestions:
1. Made with homemade stock and that made a WORLD of a difference. So freaking bold in flavor.
2. Doubled the red pepper flakes because we like spice.
3. 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4. I don’t have an instant pot, so I made this on the stove in a 12 quart pot (don’t need one that big). Let it simmer for 2 hours and it cooked perfectly.
Happy cooking y’all!
So glad you loved the soup. It’s one of our favorites. Merry Christmas!
I am so pleased with the way this turned out! My husband kept going back for more. I didnt have quite enough cream so i added a little milk to make up the difference .it was still very creamy! I served this with a little parmesan ontop. So yummy!
This was absolutely DELISH!
I have substituted canned full fat coconut milk for the cream and it tastes great.
Can this recipe be used as a “freeze ahead meal” to go from frozen to cooked using the Instant Pot?
Wonderful soup! How does it freeze?
I love a good homemade soup & this one was sooo good & different! I’ve never tried the original soup from the Olive Garden, but this copycat recipe is AMAZING! My daughter can’t eat regular sausage so I substituted that for sweet Italian chicken sausage. It turned out great! Topped the soup with extra crispy bacon, shredded parmesan & served with fresh bread. YUM!!
Michelle, your substitutions with the Italian Chicken Sausage sound amazing. Thanks for sharing and we are so glad you liked the soup!
I love this recipe but my husband counts calories and I can’t give him an accurate count because there isn’t one on here. Saying it serves 6 isn’t super helpful because then you’d have to weigh the whole pot and divide by 6? Whats the actual calorie count in this?
Scroll down to the recipe card and you’ll see the nutritional information for this recipe.
It was a hit!! This was so good!! Saltier than we normally eat in my house, but it was from the sausage, so not much I could do about it, and certainly not the recipe developers fault. I didn’t need to add the salt as suggested. I doubled the recipe, so I could have enough for leftovers for a homeless family we help out. I was given a huge bag of kale and potatoes, so I knew exactly what I was going to make. I’ve had the original at Olive garden, but hubby hasn’t, he also doesn’t care for kale. He devoured his soup. I will make this again, for sure! Just need to figure out the sodium better next time. I also think some shredded or diced carrots might be a good addition to this.
This is amazingly my favorite recipe right now. I followed the directions here then added:
1 extra cup of water
1.5 cups frozen corn
1.5 cups green beans
1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 more extra cup of kale
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Super delicious, thank you for sharing. 🙂
If you haven’t you should do a video on this one. It’s a fall staple for us. I always make a double batch and freeze half using your freezer directions. Even though there are only 2 of us who eat it, hubby insists making the whole amount and eats it at work all week.
This is my family’s favorite winter meal! It’s so tasty.. I add extra chili flakes, taters and kale. Everyone always gets seconds and it just warms you up so much!
This Soup Is to die for!!! So easy and QUICK!!!
Is the bacon uncooked when you add it with the onions?
It starts off uncooked and then you saute the bacon with the onion in step 4
It’s even better than the OG! It’s one of my favorite things I make now!
My family loves this soup! So glad I found it. Also, it looks like some funky things are happening in the stovetop instructions, with steps and ingredients being repeated. You might want to review and edit. Thanks so much!