Zuppa Toscana is probably one of the richest, most hearty soups out there, and definitely one of my favorites. This creamy soup with tender potatoes and flavorful Italian sausage is modeled after the famous Zuppa Toscana from The Olive Garden restaurant, but I threw in my own personal twist. I’ve added an extra budget-friendly ingredient and lightened it up just a touch so I can slurp up a giant bowl without feeling too full.
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What is Zuppa Toscana??
If you’ve never been to Olive Garden or had Zuppa Toscana anywhere else, I’d describe it as a creamy potato soup loaded with flavorful Italian sausage, kale, and bacon. The original version uses heavy cream, bacon, and a whole pound of sausage, but I decided to try to lighten it up a bit. I used half and half instead of heavy cream, subbed half the sausage for white beans, used smoked paprika for smokiness instead of bacon, and then loaded up on potatoes and kale. The result? Still totally creamy and chock full of flavor, plus a hefty dose of vegetables. I’m probably going to eat nothing but this soup for the next four days straight (it has kale, so it’s okay, right?).
Ingredients for Zuppa Toscana
Here are all of the ingredients you’ll need to make this homemade Zuppa Toscana:
- Italian Sausage: You can use hot, mild, or sweet Italian sausage for this soup, although I prefer hot because I love the combination of spicy with the creamy broth. Buy loose ground Italian sausage rather than sausage in casings.
- Onion and Garlic: These aromatics provide a deep base flavor for the soup.
- Great Northern Beans: These mild white beans add bulk to the soup without adding a lot to the total cost of the recipe. The flavor blends seamlessly and you get a lot more fiber and nutrients in every bowl! If you don’t like beans, you can leave them out and add more sausage or potatoes.
- Chicken Broth: The base for this soup’s broth is chicken broth, which adds both flavor and salt. Make sure to get a really flavorful broth or else your soup will be lacking. I like to make my broth using Better than Bouillon because it’s inexpensive and super flavorful.
- Half and Half: This is what makes the broth rich and creamy. If you don’t have half and half, you can substitute with an equal mix of whole milk and heavy cream.
- Red Potatoes: Potatoes add a lot of bulk to this soup which helps you feel full and satisfied. Their tender texture is also great with the creamy broth and they soak up tons of flavor.
- Kale: Dark green kale adds a ton of texture and color to the soup and really helps round it out to make the soup a full meal in a bowl. If you don’t like kale, you can toss in a couple handfuls of spinach at the end of the recipe and just stir it in until wilted.
- Spices: The Italian sausage and chicken broth bring a ton of flavor to the soup already, so all we need to add is a little smoked paprika (to mimic the smoky flavor of bacon), some crushed red pepper, and freshly ground black pepper!
make it vegetarian
The sausage in this recipe is responsible for adding a lot of flavor to this soup, so if you plan to skip the sausage you’ll need to ramp up the seasoning. I suggest adding a tablespoon or so of Italian seasoning blend to make up for the spices that are found in the Italian sausage. You may also want to add an extra can of beans to bulk up the soup a bit.
What to Serve with Zuppa Toscana
This is truly a meal in a bowl with the starchy potatoes, protein-filled Italian sausage and beans, and veggilicious kale, but if you want something on the side I’ve got you covered. Garlic bread would probably be my first pick, or you can do something simple like No-Knead Bread or Soda Bread. Or maybe you want to go a little lighter and add a simple side salad to really make you feel like you’re at The Olive Garden!
Zuppa Toscana
Servings 8 (1.5 cups each)Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. Italian Sausage, hot or mild ($1.75)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 15 oz. can Great Northern beans ($0.49)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 3 cups chicken broth* ($0.39)
- 1 cup water ($0.00)
- 2 cups half and half** ($1.49)
- 1 lb. red potatoes ($1.29)
- 1/2 lb. kale, chopped ($1.50)
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes, optional ($0.02)
- freshly cracked black pepper, optional ($0.05)
Instructions
- Add the sausage to a large soup pot and sauté over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. The sausage should contain enough fat to keep it from sticking, if not add a touch of olive oil. It’s okay if a small amount browns on the bottom of the pot.
- While the sausage is cooking, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and sauté until the onions are softened. The moisture from the onions should help dissolve any browned bits of sausage off the bottom of the pot.
- Drain and rinse the can of beans. Add the beans, smoked paprika, chicken broth, one cup water, and half and half to the pot. Place a lid on the pot and let it come up to a simmer over medium heat.
- While the pot is heating, cut each potato into quarters lengthwise, then slice across into thin, 1/8-inch thick slices. Add the potatoes to the pot along with the pre-chopped kale. The kale will fill the pot when it’s first added, but the heat from the liquid will wilt it within a few minutes. Stir it occasionally to help the wilting process.
- Let the pot simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Season with red pepper flakes and freshly cracked black pepper if desired.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Chef’s Knife
Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Zuppa Toscana – Step by Step Photos
Add 1/2 lb. Italian sausage to a large soup pot and sauté over medium heat, breaking it into chunks as it cooks. I didn’t use any extra oil because sausage tends to be pretty fatty. It’s okay if a little sticks to the bottom of the pot because it will dissolve off in the next steps. While the sausage browns, dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Add the onion and garlic to the pot and continue to sauté until the onions are soft.
Drain and rinse one 15oz. can of Great Northern beans, then add them to the pot with 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika. The smoked paprika will give that smoky hint that the bacon would have supplied. Sneaky, right?
Next add 3 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup water, and 2 cups (one pint) of half and half. If you’re not from the U.S., “half and half” is like a lighter version of light cream. Read about it here. Put a lid on the pot and let it come to a simmer over medium heat.
While the pot is heating up, wash and slice one pound of red potatoes into 1/8-inch thick slices. Slicing them thinly helps them cook faster, plus makes a great texture in the soup. Add the potatoes to the pot.
Instead of buying a regular bunch of kale, I bought this bag of pre-chopped kale (it’s actually less expensive than regular bunches at my local store). This is a 12oz. bag, so I just used about 2/3 of it. If you are buying your kale in a bunch, use about one bunch. Make sure to remove the stems and tear the leaves into 1 to 2-inch pieces.
Add the kale to the pot and it will likely fill it up to the top. Let the heat from the liquid begin to wilt the kale. Give it a stir occasionally to help it contact the hot soup and wilt.
After a few minutes, it will have wilted down into the soup nicely. Let the soup simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
I like my soup spicy (and had used mild Italian sausage), so I seasoned it with a pinch of red pepper flakes. A little freshly cracked black pepper is also nice. Depending on what type of broth you use, you may need to add a little salt (I did not add any).
And that’s it!! The potatoes and beans help thicken the broth up nicely, without having to use heavy cream.
Absolutely deserving of all the internet hype. SO. GOOD.
I have been craving soup for days now, and with the temps dropping down to -25 degrees Celsius, no wonder! So, I liked the look of this, and decided to try it since I had some kale I needed to use up. Since we are vegetarian, I had to make a few modifications to make this meatless. I obviously did not add sausage, but did add 1/4 tsp both of fennel and anise seed, to mimick the spices in the sausage. i also added the smoked paprika, per recipe, as well as 1/4 tsp garlic salt. I used veggie stock instead of chicken, but other than that, followed the recipe. It turned out hearty and wonderful! Even a vegetarian version of this dish tastes great, and I will definitely be making this again and again!
This is a great recipe! I made a double batch and froze it in one cup portions, and I’m STILL eating it almost every single day. It is fabulous!!
This was great! I’m making it for the second time tonight. The only thing I’m going to change is to season the sausage a bit as it cooks. It tasted bland to me in the soup. But this soup is a winner!
i like zuppa soup ever !
most like zuppa soup chicken and corn.
but this is the good food and recipe. Thank you.
Yumm!!! Just made this and the kid and I just loved it. I subbed collard greens for the kale because the store had pre-chopped, and for cheaper than kale. Also subbed black beans. I don’t have smoked paprika, I think I’m going to buy some but not until I use up my regular paprika …I’m kinda thrifty like that…so I used a half teaspoon of regular paprika and also added an eighth teaspoon of curry and chili powder as another poster did…don’t know if this “faithfully” mimics smoked paprika but it sure was tasty. Thanks for this! Love your site!
I’m trying to cut dairy out during the work week. Is there any way that I could substitute the half and half for full fat coconut milk?
Hmmmm… I’m not sure how that would taste, but yes, you can do it. The only thing you want to do differently is add the coconut milk at the end because it can curdle when boiled.
Never had the Olive Garden version, but I am a sucker for soups. This one is a keeper for sure! I used hot italian turkey sausage and a can of evaporated skim milk + half and half to make up the amount needed. It was perfect.
Just made this for the family, everyone loved it, including picky eaters. We didn’t have smoked paprika(will buy next time!)so we subbed a pinch of chili powder(for color, couldn’t taste it) and a pinch of yellow curry powder for some warmth. It tasted pretty darn close to the restaurant version! It cost us $3.75 to make a big pot of it and save for the kale, we have enough ingredients left over to make it again! This soup is very coupon/sales friendly. Cheap, filling, tasty. What more could you want? This is a keeper.
This was our first time eating kale, very tender like spinach leaves. This soup rocks! Thank you for adding this recipe, as your cooking blog is the only one I follow.
This was SO good. I made it vegetarian with Trader Joe’s soy sausage and Better than Bouillon “No Chicken” broth – yummy. I also didn’t pay enough attention and curdled the broth a bit – oops. Next time, I’ll turn the heat lower earlier, but it was still delicious (I just whisked it back together). Thanks for another great recipe!
Can’t believe you hadn’t tried this til now. It’s cheap and yummy. I also just added white beans to my most recent version, and it was great. This is my favorite way to eat kale.
This recipe was amazing!!! I live in SW GA and cannot get many of the ingredients you cook with. I love your recipes and use substitutions. I have never had this soup before and my husband doesn’t like soup, but he does love Great Northern Beans. I used smoked venison sausage (we were out of fresh) and turnip/mustard green mix. He ate 4 bowls!!! My friend who eats at Olive Garden (a lot) said it was really good as well. I am making more now to last for the week. I hope it will freeze well Thanks again for all your recipes!!!
Made this tonight for dinner with a friend… SO good! Oh my gosh, it was hard to stop eating bowl after bowl after bowl… Didn’t even need to add any extra spices or salt or anything! Thanks for the delicious, hearty soup recipe.
Do you think I can sub spinach instead, maybe adding it last so it doesn’t completely break down to nothing??? Thanks
Yep, I think spinach would be great in this! And you’re right, just add it at the very end just before serving. Stir it in until it wilts and you’re good to go.
Made this tonight and it was soon good! I used 1 pound of hot sausage’ fat free 1/2 and 1/2 and the whole carton of chicken broth (4 cups)-sprinkled the finished soup with parm cheese…thank you so much for the recipe!
Subbed bacon for the sausage and whole milk for the half + half. YUM.