Zuppa Toscana is Olive Garden’s most popular soup. This one-pot, homemade Zuppa Toscana recipe is hearty and loaded with Italian sausage, kale, bacon, and tender potatoes. It’s on my family’s regular menu rotation!
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Helpful Reader Review
“Soup was delicious! Best copycat Olive Garden recipe ever! Taste so authentic; I thought I was eating at Olive Garden!” – Marianne ★★★★★
Zuppa Toscana Video
Now wasn’t that easy? Serve topped with crispy bacon, extra cheese and generous slices of Sourdough Bread, or crusty French Bread. I hope this Zuppa Toscana becomes a favorite in your home as well.
Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe
Some of our most popular recipes are restaurant copycat recipes like Creamy Shrimp Pasta and of course Chicken Madeira! You can make it better at home for a fraction of the price!
We love re-creating restaurant-quality soups at home, like our popular Clam Chowder Recipe. My sister Tanya taught me how to make this Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana from scratch and it has been a family and reader favorite since we first published it in 2010. We have since made it heartier and more flavorful. The classic just got better!
What is Zuppa Toscana?
Zuppa means soup, and Toscana means Tuscan. Tuscan Soup! This American adaptation is classically made with kale, potatoes, onion, and garlic, then served topped with Parmesan cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano.
Is Zuppa Toscana Spicy?
I Use “Hot” Italian sauce, which does give this soup a spicy kick, but you can substitute with medium or mild Italian sausage and make a less spicy version that’s more kid-friendly, then season with salt and pepper to taste. You can spice up individual bowls later with red pepper flakes if you prefer.
Zuppa Toscana Ingredients
- Bacon – the bacon adds an extra layer of flavor to the soup and a crunchy salty bite when sprinkled as garnish. Parmesan is also a nice touch to serve the soup.
- Italian Sausage – I prefer using ‘hot’ Italian sausage, but you can use mild if you prefer less spice. Remove casings if present.
- Aromatics – I use a whole head of garlic (more on that below) and a diced onion.
- Chicken stock – you can use chicken broth or stock here, or even substitute with turkey stock. Homemade always tastes best, especially bone broth! For richer flavor, you can replace the water in the recipe with more stock.
- Potatoes – you can peel or leave the skins on for a more rustic soup. Russet, or yello wpotatoes work great.
- Kale – strip the leaves from one kale bundle then finely chop. It will seem like alot of kale, but it softens and shrinks down in the soup.
- Whipping cream – heavy cream creates a rich broth. You can use a light cream if desired.
Do I really need 1 HEAD of Garlic?
YES! We used a full head of garlic (about 10 large cloves). Do not skip the fresh garlic. Garlic gives the broth an incredible and authentic Italian flavor. Since the garlic is sautéed and then simmered with the broth, it doesn’t overwhelm the soup. Garlic is also very good for you (a super food)!
Is Zuppa Toscana Healthy?
This soup is naturally gluten free and grain free. To make a Keto-friendly Zuppa Toscana, you can substitute potatoes with cauliflower.
For Whole 30 (dairy free), substitute the heavy whipping cream for 1 can of full fat unsweetened coconut milk (using the solid white cream portion only and adding it at the very end just to heat through).
Everyone in my family makes this Zuppa Toscana regularly. I love it when my Mom has a pot simmering on the stove when all of my sisters’ families come over for Sunday lunch. It’s the first thing I reach for, even with plenty of other options on the table (Mom always makes a feast on Sundays!). I hope this Zuppa soup becomes a favorite in your home as well.
Zuppa Toscana – Olive Garden Copycat
Ingredients
- 6 oz bacon, chopped
- 1 lb Italian Sausage, The “Hot” variety
- 1 head of garlic, about 10 large cloves, peeled and minced or pressed
- 1 onion, medium, finely diced
- 6 cups chicken broth, or chicken stock
- 4 cups water
- 5 russet potatoes, medium, peeled and chopped into 1/4" thick pieces*
- 1 kale bundle, leaves stripped and chopped (6 cups)
- 1 cup whipping cream, or 1 can full fat unsweetened coconut milk
- salt and black pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese, optional, to serve
Instructions
- Brown Bacon – In a large pot or Dutch oven (5.5 qt), over medium-high heat, add chopped bacon and sauté until browned (5-7 mins). Remove bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and spoon out excess oil, leaving about 1 Tbsp oil in the pot.
- Brown Italian sausage, breaking it up with your spatula, and sauté until cooked through and browned (5 min). Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Add onion to the pot and saute 5 min, stirring occasionally, or until soft and golden, then add minced garlic and saute 1 min.
- Add broth and water, and bring to a boil. Add sliced potatoes and cook 13-14 min or until easily pierced with a fork.
- Add chopped kale and cooked sausage, and bring everything to a light boil.
- Stir in cream and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, then remove from heat. Ladle into bowls and serve garnished with bacon and grated parmesan.
Notes
- Fridge: once completely cool, cover and refrigerate leftovers for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: Soups with cream and potatoes do not freeze well, so I don’t recommend freezing this soup.
- Reheat: Warm on the stove over medium-low heat or in the microwave until steaming hot. Avoid boiling.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Copycat Recipes from Restaurants
These recipes are inspired by some of our favorite restaurant dishes. In every case, we loved the homemade version even better because of higher-quality ingredients, healthier fats (olive oil), less salt, and, of course, a lower bill!
- Beet Salad with Arugula
- Stuffed Chicken Parmesan
- Filet Mignon
- Chicken Mango Avocado Salad
- Chicken Stir Fry
- Shrimp Scampi
- Monterey Chicken
- Homemade Salsa
- Chicken Piccata
Made with half potato and half cauliflower that we needed to use up as well as coconut milk. Reduced liquid overall, and more chicken broth than milk. Very tasty!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that, Jennifer! Thank you for sharing your great review with me.
When co vid started, I started making one of your recipes every week. From bread to soup to carrot they are a hit in my house. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us. My new years resolution is to make everything on your page for my family. It makes for a fun week.
Aww! That’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Laura!
Yum!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Great recipe! Delicious! Although I feel like it could use some other spices. Any suggestions?
Thank you! Feel free to experiment and add more seasoning/spices to taste. Others added Italian seasoning and dried basil.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for sharing your recipes. I have try some of our recipes and they are great! I love Chicken Pot Pie Soup.
On this Zuppa Toscana, can I make it in slower cooker?
You’re very welcome, Ching. I think that could work, one of our readers wrote ” I usually make Zuppa in a slow cooker and it tastes great! I just saute the garlic and onions and sausage on the stove first and then put all the ingredients (except the heavy cream) into the slow cooker for several hours and then add the cream in right at the end!” I hope that helps.
We thought this was too simple to be so delicious, but it’s just that… simple AND delicious!! Need a little extra heat? Add those chili pepper flakes. This will stay on our soup menu from here on out and will be on our list of meals to take to others.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful review with us, Sara!
Oh! my Gosh!!
You knocked it out of the park.
!! I bet my soup is better than yours !! – hahahahaha – Your recipe.
Thank you for that wonderful feedback! It’s one of our favorites!
This soup is amazing!!
It’s easy with a minimal ingredient list yet BIG with flavor! It’s a great one pot meal; I used my instant pot. Once I added the liquids I also added the potatoes and set it on “porridge” mode which is 20 minutes high pressure. We served it with Turkey bacon (don’t judge) and shredded Parmesan and optional red pepper flakes. It had great reviews from ages 4-50! Can’t wait to make it again!
Hello SaraAnne, what a great review! Thank you so much for your good comments and feedback.
Would this soup be pointless without the meat? We’re vegetarian. This sounds awesome, but it is worth making if I added mushrooms or other vegetables to it?
Hi Susan, I haven’t tried a substitution for the meat in this recipe. The meat adds a lot of flavor, but after quick research online, there are a few substitutions people have tried, like mushrooms. If you happen to try that, I would like to know how you experiment.
In my opinion the meat made the dish as far as flavor is concerned. BUT if you use mushrooms ground/chopped up and sautéed just add all the typical sausage spices and olive oil. Cook it long enough to shows the spices to do their flavor thing and add plenty of fat with EVOO. I think this could still be a great dish!
I’m vegetarian, too. There are some wonderful plant-based sausages out there. I have used a couple different brands and both worked wonderfully in soups and in breakfast hash, or in hearty pasta dishes. Check with your grocer.
The flavor is very good but it’s a bit on the watery side for me. I use all chicken broth and about two cups less of the broth than the total amount of broth and water called for in the recipe.
Hi Sandi, did you use the Better than Boullion broth?
Is this the broth you recommend?
I love your recipes!
your videos are actually fun to watch
You’re so nice! Thank you!
OMG! This was super delicious!!! I have made a lot of your recipes and they are always so great! Don’t know how you do it!
Wonderful to see your feedback, Cathleen. Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Hi Natasha love your recipes.. on the zuppa tuscana recipe if we sub cauliflower foe potatoes do you have the nutritional info? Thank u so much
Hi Regina, I recommend using a nutritional analyzer to calculate the calories. I haven’t tried this with cauliflower.
With 7 in our family, it hard to find a meal that everyone enjoys, including the picky 6 year old. We all give this version two thumbs up! It was so simple to make yet fill of flavor! Perfect on this rare frigid Texas winter evening! We will be doing this recipe many more times!
That is the best when the family loves what we parents make. That’s so great!
Frigid…Texas?
Yes 10 days of freezing temperatures
Yes, rare frigid
How many servings does this recipe make in relation to the nutritional facts you have listed?
Hi RT, This soup will make about 11-12 cups, at 8 servings about 1 1/2 cups per serving or so. I hope that helps!
This is the best soup ever! It is in our meal rotation quite often. Thanks for sharing!
I’m happy with that, Jen. Thanks for sharing!
This is absolute wonders! I am only 13 and I can make this so easily thanks to you! My family loves it when I make this!
Hi Alessandra, thank you for sharing your review with me. I’m so glad you found our blog and like our recipes!
This is one of the only meals all of my kids will eat and no one complains, haha! The only changes I make are spinach instead of kale and add a 1/2 a block of cream cheese, just to make it a bit creamer. Delicious 10/10
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
This absolutely delicious!! Shared with family and friends and they can’t get enough of it!!!!
Awesome! Thank you for your great review, Linda. We appreciate it.
This is absolutely delicious!! Shared with my neighbors and friends and they can’t get enough of it!!!!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Linda!