Zuppa Toscana Soup
48 Comments
Mar 23, 2025
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Zuppa Toscana soup is a classic Olive Garden dish that combines spicy Italian sausage, bacon, potatoes, and kale in a rich and creamy soup. It’s incredibly easy to make at home and will surely become a favorite for soup season!
Why You’ll Love This Zuppa Toscana Soup
A fresh pot of this Zuppa Toscana soup always makes eating at home that much cozier. It’s one of Olive Garden’s most popular recipes (for good reason!), but you can save yourself the time and effort of going out by making it at home. I often describe it as a “meat and potatoes soup,” but one where the Italian sausage and bacon impart deliciously smoky and spicy undertones to the creamy broth. Plus, I love adding extra kale or spinach for more greens, because I’m all about balance. This Olive Garden copycat recipe is truly a nostalgic one, so if you haven’t yet tried it, let me tell you why you’ll love it:
- It’s made all in one pot. Once all the ingredients are prepped, the soup is cooked and simmered in one pot in less than 30 minutes.
- It’s a full meal kinda soup. The sausage, potatoes, and kale are hearty enough to fill you up!
- There’s plenty of room for creativity. You can add more crunchy toppings, sprinkle cheese, or bulk it up with protein and fiber (I love adding white beans). I’ll share more ideas below.
- Make it an Olive Garden dinner spread. To replicate my family outings at Olive Garden at home, I’ll often make shrimp scampi and chicken marsala (two other recipes you’ll find on Olive Garden’s menu), along with this soup. This spread is always a hit for large dinner parties!
Zuppa Toscana Ingredients
- Meat: The heart of this soup is spicy Italian sausage, but the bacon bits add that extra oomph for a richer pork flavor.
- Potatoes: You can use Yukon Gold or white potatoes. Waxy potatoes like these will hold their shape better than russet potatoes.
- Kale: I’m using dino kale, but you could use curly kale or another favorite leafy green like baby spinach or chard.
- Aromatics: A mix of onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning helps round out all the flavors.
- Liquids: Heavy cream is traditionally used. But if you’re dairy-free, you can also use cashew cream or coconut cream (though the coconut flavor might pop through) along with the chicken broth.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below
How To Make Zuppa Toscana Soup
Cook the bacon and onions. Sauté the bacon until crispy, remove to a paper-towel-lined plate, and spoon out excess oil except for one to two tablespoons. Then, sauté the onions until softened, add the garlic, and cook until fragrant.
Cook the sausage. Add the sausage, breaking it up with your spatula, and sauté until cooked through. Then, add the potatoes, Italian seasoning and broth, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Add the kale and sausage. Once the potatoes are done, add the chopped kale, bacon, and heavy cream. Give everything a stir and let it simmer for another 5 minutes, so that the flavors can meld together. Then you’re done!
Flavor Additions
- Add extra veggies: Besides kale, you can also add Swiss chard, spinach, zucchini, or bell peppers for extra color and nutrients.
- Garnish with crunchy toppings: I love parmesan crisps, but you can also add roasted chickpeas or crispy shallots.
- Add more cheese: If you love an extra indulgent soup, add freshly shaved parmesan on top!
- Make it heartier: Add white beans or chickpeas for extra protein and fiber. I personally love white beans for an extra Tuscan feel.
Storage Tips
- To store in the fridge: Let the soup cool to room temperature before placing it in an airtight container. It can be stored for 4 to 5 days.
- To freeze for later: This is a great option for freezer meal prep. Just store leftovers in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- Reheating tips: Reheating this soup is a cinch! Thaw it in the fridge overnight, then reheat it on the stovetop or microwave until it’s warmed through.
More Soup Recipes
- Tomato Soup: A must-make for tomato season.
- Taco Soup: The best beefy taco flavors in one soup.
- Black Bean Soup: Such a delicious way to enjoy black beans.
- Potato Leek Soup: Another favorite for soup season.
- Or browse through my list of soup recipes for more ideas!
If you make this Zuppa Toscana soup recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration and exclusive content, join my free newsletter here.
Zuppa Toscana Soup
Description
Video
Equipment
- Le Creuset Dutch Oven My favorite cast iron pot for cooking soups!
Ingredients
- 6 pieces bacon, chopped
- 1 pound spicy ground Italian sausage
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 cups roughly chopped kale
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. In a large pot over medium heat, add the bacon and sauté until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate and spoon out excess oil, leaving about one tablespoon in the pot to cook the sausage and add flavor.
- Cook the onions. Add the onions to the pot, turn the heat to medium-high, and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. Then, add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Cook the sausage. Add the sausage, breaking it up with your spatula and sauté until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Add the potatoes and broth. Add the potatoes, Italian seasoning and chicken broth, and bring it to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Add the kale, bacon and cream. Once the potatoes are done, add the chopped kale, bacon, and heavy cream. Give everything a stir and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Garnish and serve. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with ground black pepper before serving.
Lisa’s Tips
- Storage tips: Store leftovers in the fridge for 4 to 5 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.
- For me, 4 cups of roughly chopped kale was from 4 to 5 large stems or about half a bunch.
Nutrition
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Behind The Scenes
With the rain we’ve been having the last few weeks I’ve had this recipe on repeat. And I even gave Emily (my social media manager) a batch for her and her husband to enjoy. Because it’s hard to beat the cozy, comforting vibes of this soup on a cold and rainy day. Needless to say, all of our bellies were happy!
Love this soup. Made it for a dinner party and it was a hit! Served it with fresh buns and ceasar salad. Great combo.
Thrilled to hear this was a hit at your dinner party, Pat! Sounds great served with fresh buns and a Caesar salad.
Can I do turkey bacon or turkey sausage or will it change the flavor ?
Yes, you can do that. No problem.
AMAZING! I’m literally having some as I write this. I prepped this for my work week and it’s delicious! It’s perfect for the cold weather here in Washington! The aromas while cooking the sausage were so good I couldn’t wait for it to be done cooking! Make this! You will not regret it!
You can’t beat a cozy bowl of Zuppa Toscana on a cold day! Happy to hear you’re loving this recipe, Zoraida.
Easy to make with ingredients found in one store! And so tasty. This will become a favorite in our household. Hearty and great flavors. My husband had a second helping. This is a winner!!
Hi Dolores – You can’t beat an easy soup recipe filled with rich flavor! Glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe.
Fantastic recipe as always Lisa! This was a big hit. I did add some white beans becauae I need to sneak in more protein and fiber to my meals. But this was top notch!
The white beans are a great way to add protein and fiber! Glad you loved it that way, Ira. Enjoy!
This is the most delicious soup I think I’ve ever eaten. We had a friend come over who said he doesn’t usually like soup for dinner, and he raved about it. It was super easy to make and came together fairly quickly. I made it even easier by using chopped frozen kale and spinach. I will be making this again very soon.
Glad this Zuppa Toscana soup satisfied the pickiest eaters! Also, great idea on using frozen kale and spinach to save some time. Enjoy, JP!
This was SO GOOD and so easy. My husband is asking for it again already – thanks!!!!
Wonderful! Glad this soup was a hit with your and your husband, Gigi.
This was a fantastic soup. Easy to make and tasted delicious! My family is already asking me to make it again. Thanks!
Sounds like you’ve got a winner recipe here, Brian! I hope your family loves this as well.
This recipe was fantastic, very flavorful, hubby loved this and had seconds. Will definitely make this again. Love your recipes 😋
Hi Renee – So glad both you and your hubby loved this Zuppa Toscana soup!
Meal prepped this tonight and the sample was delicious! One thing I noticed when it was cooling in the jars is the cream separates from the stock and rises to the top. I’m hoping this will not affect the reheat. Still looking forward to eating it tomorrow! Thank you Lisa!
Hi Hillary – Happy to hear you loved this Zuppa Toscana soup recipe! As for the cream separating, that is completely normal. Just give it a good stir when reheating!
Delicious! Whole family loved it from 11 y.o. To 70 y.o. Super easy to prepare.
That’s amazing to hear the whole family is loving this Zuppa Toscana soup, Angie!
As a Canadian we don’t have Olive gardens everywhere so this is such a treat to be able to make at home! I used spinach and kale because I didn’t have enough kale but still turned out delicious. This is a recipe I didn’t know I needed in my life! Thanks again Lisa and of course Emily behind the scenes too!
Hi Brittany – I’m so glad you’re able to have a little taste of Olive Garden in your own home with this recipe! Love the mix of kale and spinach as well.
Absolutely phenomenal!! I followed the instructions exactly as written and it came out perfectly. It’s so hearty and flavorful. This has just become one of my favorite soup recipes of all time!
Hi Lisa – Happy to hear you’ve found a new favorite soup recipe to love!
This is way better than Olive Garden! I made it with mild Italian sausage because some of the eaters prefer that, but it was still very tasty! Next time I will have to make two pots because we don’t have any leftover!
You can never go wrong with having too much leftover of this soup! Happy to hear it was such a hit, Mary.
I made this last night (3/25/25) after work. It came together quickly and was amazingly good. Very comforting.
Hi Melinda – Glad this was the perfect meal to enjoy after a long day of work!
One of my all time favorite soups. Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious!! I used 8 cups of broth instead 6 and it was still so so good. Thank you for sharing your recipe, Lisa. 😋
Hi Teresa – Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this Zuppa Toscana soup! Now you can always make it in the comfort of your own home. Enjoy!
Thank you so much!!! I’m pregnant (in my first trimester) and have been nauseous with so many food aversions. Despite my food aversions, your recipes still hit. I saw this recipe so I made it tonight! It was absolutely incredible and my husband loved it too. It may be our new favorite:)
Wonderful! Happy to hear this Zuppa Toscana hit the spot for dinner, Kelly.
This is one of my favorite soups to order at the Olive Garden. I’m can’t wait to make this. Thanks for the recipe.
This one is definitely an Olive Garden favorite. Enjoy, Diane!
THE best!! Favorite of all soup recipes!
So happy you loved this recipe, Holly!
Is there an alternative you can suggest for pork?
Hi Jessica – I mention a tip on the video, but you could leave the bacon off (or swap it with turkey bacon), and then use spicy chicken sausage as well. Enjoy!
Thank you for sending this recipe to my inbox! I happened to have all ingredients on hand and thought I’d try. So easy, so delicious, I’m a little bummed that I don’t have too much leftover. Everyone had seconds!
Oh awesome, perfect timing on the ingredients. It was meant to be!
So good added a side salad for a little health lol
A side of greens is always a welcome addition. Happy you loved this new soup recipe, Melissa!
For a dairy free option will coconut milk work? Thanks love all your recipes.
Yes, you can swap that in. So happy you’re enjoying my recipes, Debbie!
Delicious and easy to make. Will repeat but on a more wintery day. I switched kale to spinach and added just a few more pepper flakes otherwise followed recipe. Served with hot buttered bread.
Wonderful! Those sound like perfect swaps, Yolanda. So happy you loved it!