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
I made the zuppa Toscana soup it turned out wonderful thank you for the recipe I don’t do social media much but I have to say it was a great recipe
Thank you
So glad to hear that you enjoyed this soup, Reuben!
My favorite soup. The only changes I make are subbing broth for water and half sweet half hot sausage. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jake!
uh, that’s a bowl of soup. not bowel. no, not bowel . please fix my prior comment. thank you.
Oh, Mike. That was my laugh of the day….
I have also cut the liquids down, which works best for my variation, using chicken sausage
i have made this recipe many times and have done one minor adjustment. I use three cups of water and three cups of chicken stock. It is merely fabulous and I am presently enjoying a bowel.
Thanks.
Wonderful! Happy you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
thats what im using half sweet and half hot.!! and Im sure it later presents a bowel!!!!!! Lol!!!
This isn’t even close to “Tuscan soup of any kind”. In my casa, my sister, mother and wife would be annoyed. Nothing worse than outsiders trying to cook Italian from our regions.
Too bad they didn’t teach you any manners. You don’t have to like it but at least make a suggestion how you would improve it. Don’t just be nasty.
Seriously its OLive Gardens soup.
Thats what they call it and a lot of us love it. And copy cat it. It is a great soup nevertheless. Try it you might even like it!!!!
Thank you for the review, Nancy. I’m happy you enjoy this soup.
Sam – not helpful at all. If it’s not your thing, please feel free to quietly move along. You are rude and it’s not called for.
It’s the name of a soup, on the menu of a popular chain restaurant. It’s a copy, of that soup in particular, not your mothers. It is a shame to hear though, that those women would never make a recipe or try to cook a meal, that didn’t come from their region.
I don’t care what its called, it’s good! If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all. Just go back to your “region” where you won’t be “annoyed” by us outsiders. 🙂
Haven’t made this soup yet but interested in where you got your wooden ladle. It appears to be practical.
Thank you
Hello Heather, you can find the kitchen tools that I use here on my Amazon affiliate shop.
Would I be able to substitute escarole for the kale? Not a fan of kale.
Hi Anna. I have not tried this but I think it would work. Let us know if you try.
Great recipe! Made a minor tweak and left put the potatoes and used frozen Tuscan blend vegetables because my husband is diabetic. Will definitely be making this again!
I’m glad the substitutions that you used worked well in this recipe. Thank you for the review, Valarie!
This turned out excellent!! Much better than Olive Garden’s Zuppa. After reading the comments about it being watery, I omitted the water and used just chicken stock. Wonderful!!! My family loved it!! I will be making this often. This recipe is a keeper!! Thank you for this recipe..
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Renee!
How much chicken stock did you use? Just the amount the recipe called for or did you add more to replace the water? Thank you
I made this for supper and it was fantastic! I always tweak recipe’s a bit, and I like a thicker soup so made a roux, put in less water, and added oregano (from last summer’s harvest)… didn’t have cream so I doubled up on goats milk. Also, had frozen swiss chard from my garden last summer, so put a quart of that in instead of kale. oh my goodness! Fantastic flavor. Love all the garlic.
Hello Liz, that’s great! Feel free to make some minor adjustments according to your preference. Glad you loved it!
Too much water. Also needs butter to transluce the onions. Very weak!
Hi Joe, make sure to add enough of everything else in the recipe so it doesn’t come out watery. If using spicy sausage and the correct amount of garlic, it definitely should not be lacking in flavor though. If you like a thicker soup, you can add a little flour after adding garlic and stir for a minute or two before adding the liquids. That will make it slightly thicker.
Have you had Olive Gardens version? It is a watery broth soup.
Hi Natasha,
It looks so good I’m gonna try it. Love your cooking.
Wanda Clarke
Hi Wanda! I hope you love this recipe!
Do you have a recipe for making this in the crockpot? Thank you.
Hi Celeste, one of my readers shared the following great review on making this in a crockpot/ slow cooker: “We make it in a crock pot. We add the cooked sausage and all ingredients minus the kale and heavy cream. We add the cream and kale 30 mins before serving. It is perfect.” Another reader reported cooking on low for about 8 hours.
I love this soup. Sometimes I make it with chicken breast, sometimes with both the sausage and the chicken breast, and sometimes with only the sausage depending on who is eating it. The chicken is great!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Robin! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Sorry there isn’t 10 stars to select – because this was all of that. I honestly thought it would be a bit crazy to use 10 cloves of garlic, but wow!!! I have used several recipes for this soup and this is by far WAY better than all the rest. Thanks for this rock star recipe!
Oh one last add to the comment – after grating Parmesan Reggiano, I carved off the rind and threw it in the soup.
That is fantastic news! I am so happy you enjoy this recipe. Thank you for the great review.
Is there a good substitute for the kale? Would spinach work?
Anxious to try it!
Hi Linda, spinach is a great substitute!
You know a recipe is good when you memorized it by heart. I have this soup at least twice a month. Very good staple to have and love how quick it is to make it!
Wonderful to hear! We love this soup as well. Thank you for the great review.
Made it tonight and it was the best soup we’ve had in a long time. I added a fresh farmers’ market carrot with the onion, and fresh corn off the cob with the chard (instead of kale); amazing! I also topped with fresh chopped parsley. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Sounds great! I’m happy to know that you loved the result. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Nailed it! This soup is even better than the restaurant’s I think. And I used to work there! Haha
Love it, thanks for the awesome feedback!
At what step do you add the bacon back in? Is it when you add the sausage and kale?
Hi Gabby, we serve it topped with crispy bacon 🙂
I made this with half broth and half water. I also used spinach. Had mild sausage so I had some red pepper flakes for some heat. It was delicious. My wife wants it again this week! Thanks!
That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.