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
Thanks for the feedback, they should not overwhelm the soup. We’ve always loved the results of this recipe but feel free to reduce it next time.
Your recipes are so delicious and very easy to make!! Me and all my family love them!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Gyna!
Thank you for your recipes, they are Number 1 in my kitchen, making you French onion soup for dinner tonight, blueberry muffins are to die for!! Thank you!!!!
Hi Tom! Thank you. I’m so glad you love them. 🙂
Best recipe ever. I make this twice a month. I use cauliflower instead of potatoes
Thank you for the review, Tammy. Glad you love it and cauliflower sounds like a great substition!
Didn’t think I was going to like it and I didn’t. I loved it! This soup is beyond delicious!! Must try
I’m so glad it was a hit, Megan! Thank you for your wonderful review!
This soup was awesome. I cant wait to make it again (which I’m going to in a couple days). It was so good. HOWEVER, I am a visual learner and would much rather follow a recipe from a video which you have provided. You should kno that your video clearly states to add 6 cups of water and 4 cups of broth. Your written instructions say the opposite. This could be where comments are from when claiming the soup was bland and they didn’t like it. It’s a good thing I relooked at the written beforehand. I even thought the 4 cups of water was much but I followed the written instructions and watched the video for direction and my soup was great.
I Shawnna, thank you for the wonderful review. We updated the recipe after the video went live and since there is no way to update the video, that is why there’s a difference. I also made sure to change that in the youtube list and notated that to eliminate confusion. I’m so glad you enjoyed the Zuppa Toscana!
I love your videos and recipes! I made Zuppo Toscana for Valentines Day! Sure was a hit!! Every one went back for more!!
So glad you’re enjoying them!
This recipe was the absolute worst. I followed it, and I’ve never added water in the water was the worst thing to put in this soup. It makes it very bland and it’s a lot of hard work to capture that flavor. I would never use this recipe again.
Hi Rosalind, this should have plenty of flavor as written and is one of our most popular recipes, but I am always happy to help troubleshoot. Did you make any changes, substitutions, or omissions to the recipe? One thing to note, if using a mild sausage, you’ll need seasonings to compensate. You can also use a higher proportion of stock if you prefer. A homemade chicken stock will give you the best flavor.
I agree in regard to higher proportion of stock. I used more of the broth than water, I did put a bit of chilly powder, added some garlic powder additionally to the one added, a bit of pepper and made sure it was hot italian sausage. It came out pretty good and very similar to the Olive Garden one.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Eleonora! Thank you for sharing.
Then you didn’t ‘follow’ the recipe, as it is more than flavorful; it’s delicious!
I’ve been making this similar soup for years. Fresh Cauliflower instead of potatoes, and fresh spinach instead of kale. However, I do not add water. That would probably make it bland.
Really good. I didn’t have bacon so I omitted that and no kale so I substituted spinach and it was good.
Hi Jennifer! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing.
Made this tonight and my husband couldn’t stop saying over and over how great it was! Definitely a super star soup. I’m already known for your apple pie during the holidays, and will definitely keep this recipe in the Rolodex 🙂
Wonderful to hear, Taylor! Thank you for sharing.
I had high hopes for this soup based on all the glowing reviews and by how well I’ve enjoyed other recipes on this site. However, this soup was a huge disappointment. I kept checking the recipe if I missed an ingredient or crucial step because it was so bland and unappealing. Even Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper couldn’t save it. It was thrown away after the first and only meal. I know I’m in the minority, but this recipe did not suit me at all. Will continue to try out your other recipes, though, because they’ve been quite good outside of this one (for me personally). Thanks for letting me comment.
Hi Kris, this has been one of the most popular recipes for years and I’ve never found it to be bland (it’s one I make on repeat in our own home). I wonder if there were any changes to the recipe – I would suggest watching the video to see if you did anything different? Did you reduce any of the ingredients listed? There is not a long list of ingredients here so each one is important for getting the flavor right.
I was very disappointed in this soup. I thought it was a cream soup and should have been. The sausage was too hot in a water soup. It was too much work going back and fourth in the pot! Better to use a non stick and wiping. Next time cream soup! I think it will be amazing…
Hi Anita, Zuppa Toscana is not intended to be a creamy or creamy soup. Maybe you were thinking it was a different soup?
Are you able to freeze this soup, or should I make half the recipe?
Hi Renae! I haven’t tried freezing this myself but 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.
So good! I substituted spinach instead of kale, mild instead of hot sausage, and decided not to add the bacon (honestly forgot to pick that up at the store!), but topped with some thicker shredded Italian cheese, and WOW! Will definitely make this again 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Alyssa. Happy to hear that the recipe was a success!
I use the natural Italian turkey sausage , but all the rest same. It’s always a hit.
Great to hear that, Deb! Thank you for sharing.
So yummy! Taste healthier/fresher than Olive Garden. I substituted the hot sausage for mild because I have young children and one of them doesn’t like spicey food. It was a hit!
Sounds great and good to know that the recipe was a hit!
Wow! The most amazing soup that you must try! It was easy to make and the flavour between the spicy sausage, bacon and the kale and cream make for a delicious aromatic surprise for your palate!
Thank you for sharing, Barb! So glad you loved the recipe.
made several times and LOVE.
But yesterday i was in a hurry and cheated some.
I bought 2 cans of potatoes and bob evans mashed
cooked meat and onions hot (tialian and ground turkey) when meat was browned added potatoes and broth and water and boiled well
about 5 to 10 min then add kale didnt need cream because the potatoes had it but did add some more …then when I served it I sprinkled bacon and cheese on top
it was great and only took like 20 min or so. The only down side is with canned potates and bob evans it raises the salt. I usally cook LOW salt.
I’m so glad you loved it, Briea! I’m all for saving time if possible!
Awesome! Thank you! We made this Sunday and had it for dinner for 3 nights! I also reduced the amount of water a little and deglazed the onions and garlic with white wine and cooked that down for 3-4 mins. This was way better than I remember olive garden’s soup.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Kathy!