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 ful.
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.
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Notes
Nutrition
Video
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 first found this recipe here and then ended up modifying it. To start, I do add the half and half (or heavy cream) near the end, when the potatoes are tender, as it blends smoothly into the soup and doesn’t cause curdling. But here’s how I ended up changed the recipe. I eyeball it a good bit, sorry!
– I use a half package of bacon! Slice it up into 1-inch bits and saute in the same pot you’ll be cooking the soup in. Drain on a paper towel and reduce or discard the drippings (I don’t discard any of it – mmmm bacon).
– Saute the *entire pound* mild or sweet italian sausage in the bacon drippings. Add the onion and garlic. Saute til onions are soft.
– Add 3 to 4 cups of chicken broth, paprika, red pepper flakes. (I nix the pepper usually cause sausage tends to be spicy on its own)
– Add *either* the GN beans or the red potatoes (I prefer beans only) and bring pot to good simmer.
– Add half and half, or cream, to taste, bring back to simmer while stirring.
– Toss the bacon back in the soup, wilt a ton of kale into the pot, and DONE.
Super family hit. The bacon adds a yummy depth to the broth imo, which the potatoes tend to absorb up and leave the rest of the pot tasting slightly bland. Try it out :)
I love almost all BB recipes, but unfortunately this was a huge miss for me. To Beth’s credit, I did use spinach rather than kale, so maybe that’s what messed it up?
It just had no flavor at all. I didn’t measure but I ended up adding more boullion, italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and finally another 1/2lb of hot italian sausage for it to taste alright. I’ve never had the original at Olive Garden so maybe my expectations were set incorrectly, but this just didn’t work for me.
It’s my favorite soup at Olive Garden. It’s a good thing that they offer endless bowls. 😀
Loved this one – and it was crock pot friendly, too! Cooked on high for 4 hours, and added the 2 cups of cream during the last 15 minutes.
This was a great recipe for cleaning out my fridge – I was able to use up my spinach, kidney beans, and half and half with this one.
I haven’t made this yet but would like to today…what’s the likelihood that this would be tasty without the sausage?
The sausage actually provides a lot of the herbs and spices for the soup, so I don’t think it would be nearly as flavorful without it.
This soup was delicious!
I couldn’t find Italian sausage in my supermarket and ended up using chorizo instead and I added soybeans at the very end but it ended up great.
Thank you for this recipe, it goes straight to my favorites!
This was absolutely fantastic! I used turkey instead of sausage and just seasoned it Italian style myself. I also only used a small bit of half and half and almond milk instead since I cannot tolerate much dairy. Definitely making this again!
The half and half curdled on me. I think I might use heavy cream next time, but it tasted great. Any thoughts? Thank you!
Hmm, I’m not sure why yours may have curdled, but you can also try adding the half and half at the end so it isn’t exposed to as much heat, and hopefully won’t curdle.
My making of this recipe was a train wreck from start to finish, but it still came out so good! I had russet potatoes on hand, so I subbed those in for red potatoes (just cut them a little larger since I think they break down more). No kale at the store this week, so I subbed in some spinach that was on its last leg (put it in after the potatoes had boiled). Trying to measure out the paprika, I dumped in what looked like half the bottle. Found out that I only had 3/4 cup of half and half, so I used milk to make up the rest and put in a slurry of cornstarch to help thicken it just a bit. My large pot (4 qt) was also way too small to handle the volume and boiled over.
Going through all of that, I STILL ended up with a tasty soup that the family really liked. It’s a pretty good comfort type food that doesn’t feel too heavy. And it’s obviously able to handled adaptations like a champ.
The recipe is a little confusing in terms of how much kale to add. Could you update the list to either say 1 bunch of kale or “cups of chopped kale”? 1/2 lb of kale is not the same as 2/3 of the 12 oz bag. The 12 oz bag is a volumetric measurement, not weight!
Dry ingredients, like vegetables, use weight ounces on packages, not volume ounces. Only liquids list volume ounces on packages. Hopefully that makes it easier for you! :) Another way you can tell is that if it’s volume ounces it will list “fl oz.” not just “oz.” on the package.
Overall it went well but I thought adding the cream at the beginning seemed odd. Shouldn’t the cream be added towards the end of the recipe to prevent curdling? I definitely had some unattractive floaters.
Delicious. Like another commented above, I substituted Original Field Roast brand vegetarian Italian “sausage”, and veggie broth (Knott brand). It was a wonderful soup.
Would it work well with turkey broth? I still have a freezer full from thanksgiving!
Sure, I think that would work well. :)
This is my favorite soup in the world and I’ve always wanted to make it – can’t wait to try! Do you think it could be frozen?
I make this all the time- it freezes pretty well!
This was pretty good. The only changes I made was to use vegan italian sausage, and a little extra red pepper flakes, salt , and pepper.