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
Just made it for about the 5th time. Wife loves that it’s always good and consistent. It’s nice to have some things I can make to help out with the cooking. Thanks for sharing.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
I made this soup today and wow what a hit ! It’s simple to make and ready in a flash. I’ll keep this recipe handy for sure ! Thanks Natasha.
You’re very welcome, Elaine. I\Thanks for sharing your great feedback with us, I appreciate it!
Hi Natasha.. Can i use escarole in this soup instead of Kale. No one in my family likes Kate..?
Hi Gloria, I haven’t experimented with that to advise. If you try it out, I’d like to know how you like that.
Love this recipe Natasha… but most of your recipes are great. I find I am printing on most days to make for dinner… thank you! Shirley
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes, Shirley! Thank you for that wonderful feedback.
Literally spot on! My personal preference is without the bacon topper, but very delicious either way. Thank you!
Awesome, thank you for sharing your personal preference with us!
This is absolutely my favorite copycat recipe and is,, in my opinion, the best version of it (besides mine of course) 🙂 I mean….I think we all tend to jazz up recipes with our own loved ingredients. More of this, less of that… But here’s the thang: as long as you sorta stick to the “skeleton” of a given recipe it’s tough to fail, given you have the common sense to not put a dump truck load of a spice into it. I was stationed at the USAF Academy for four years and my gf’s mother was coming to visit. I called my dad for his Justin Wilson inspired Jambalaya. He spelled out the entire thing on the phone and instead of “…a half cup of onions, and salt & pepper to taste,” I wrote: “….a half cup of onions and salt, pepper to taste.” I think it was this error that caused the great Colorado drinking-water famine of 1991. Too much salt. I had to put everything in a strainer and rinse it all off, essentially start over. Anyway….yes, good stuff!
Hi Jim, thank you for writing in and sharing that story. Half a cup of salt! I can’t even imagine! I’d love to now what you do differently with yours Zuppa!
I made this with mild Italian sausage and gold potatoes. It needed a fair amount of salt at the end, and I added a splash of lemon juice as well to brighten the flavors.
Overall this was a big hit, and a great way to get kale into my family. The bacon really makes it!
That is the best when the family loves what we moms make. That’s so great!
I am interested in buying yhe candy thermometer. zester and the grater you used in msking the egg rolls. I appreviate any info.
Hi Doris, you can see the kitchen tools that I use here on my Amazon affiliate shop
So good! My husband made this and tasted better than Oliver garden!
Wow, thanks for the compliment and great review, Erika!
100% agree
A family fave. Cannot eat kale so I use chopped fresh spinach. Paired with slices of crusty toasted garlic bread this is always a winner!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
I will make this again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this and it was DELICIOUS! I couldn’t believe how good it was. Definitely will be making it again!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Rinata!
Наташа. We tried this soup two nights ago, and as usual, it was great. Olive Garden doesn’t have a thing on you. Just wondering, how would orzo instead of potatoes work?
Thank you for that wonderful compliment! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe. I haven’t tried this recipe with orzo to advise, but I imagine it may work. If you experiment, please let me know how you like that.
Hey Natasha, I LOVE ALL YOUR RECIPES. I LOVE YOUR KITCHEN. THANK YOUR FOR MAKING WATCHING YOUR COOKING FUN AND EASY. YOU’RE THE BEST. I WISH I HAD A KITCHEN LIKE YOU. DREAMING. LISA
Hi Lisa, thank you so much for your good comments and feedback. We appreciate it!
I’m in process of making this soup. Can I just put bacon in the soup or do you only use it as a garnish?? I have it all browned.
You can use it as a garnish and put it in the soup too.
I have tried many of your recipes and all have been delicious. Thank you for sharing them.
You’re very welcome, Debi. I’m happy to read your comments, thank you for your positive review!
If you want to make this amazing – add a TB or two of fish sauce. YES. FISH SAUCE. It gives it a massive umami bomb that makes it to die for. You won’t smell the fish I promise.
Thanks for your suggestion, Lam.
Loved this recipe! My family doesn’t eat red meat, so I used a combination of spicy and mild chicken sausage along with turkey bacon. Thanks for another keeper, Natasha!
That’s a good idea too! Thanks for sharing that with us, Anya.
Absolutely delicious soup enjoyed by all the family.
Thanks, Natasha for your wonderful recipes & videos that make cooking so easy!
It’s my pleasure, I’m glad your family enjoyed this awesome soup!
Hi Natasha, I started doing a lot of the cooking for my family when the pandemic hit. I have enjoyed following your videos and trying many of your recipes. This is the second time I have made your Tuscany soup. I followed it exactly to your recipe and it is delicious! My wife feels that it tastes better than Olive Garden, and that says a lot since we both love their soup. I am becoming a loyal fan of yours. Thank you for sharing! Leo
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Could this be frozen?
Hi Beth, I saw someone else in the comments section shared this feedback “Yes, I have frozen this many times! The texture changes a bit but it’s still delicious.” I hope that helps.
Could this soup be frozen? I
Hi Beth! One of our readers wrote: “I freeze this soup all the time! I usually make a triple recipe so I can freeze some for later… It’s as good, or better!” I hope this helps.