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
Quick question: can I use Red potato instead of russet?
I’m not sure if it will change the taste of the soup? Thank you
Hi Colleen, that may work here. I hope you love it.
Loved this recipe! I used 1/2 and 1/2 instead of heavy cream & was so good .. also added extra pepper flakes. It tastes just like Olive Garden’s soup! So good! Will definitely make again!
Hi Kim! I’m so glad you loved the soup. Thank you so much for sharing.
Is it 4 Cups of chicken broth & 6 cups of water like your video OR is it 6 cups of chicken broth & 4 cups of water like your recipe?
Hi Carol! You can follow the written recipe. It’s the most up-to-date. Sometimes we update the recipes but cannot edit the video.
I’ve died and gone to Zuppa Heaven!!!! So very delish. Even better than Olive Garden!!! I had to tweak but really minor. I had baby spinach but no kale and had half and half but no cream. The flavor was phenomenal!!!
I think I’ll be freezing some. Potatoes don’t like to be frozen. The texture gets grainy and weird. But, I reserved a pre-potato version so, all is well.
Thank you Natasha for that little trip to Italy! 🥰
I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Cindy! Thank you for sharing that with us.
This was amazing! Hubby and I have switched over to a plant and fish diet so I used Beyond Hot Sausage and veggie broth. Of course left out the bacon. Adding the Parmesan really helped it all come together. I had two bowls for lunch on this cold Florida day.
That’s wonderful, Niki!
Hubby and I made this tonight and followed the written recipe to a T, only using broccoli instead of kale since we were out, and small yellow potatoes instead of russet. AMAZING! The flavor is spot on, the soup is hearty, delicious, and will definitely be added to our fall/winter repertoire!
I’m so glad it was enjoyed. Thank you for sharing that with us. I’ve never tried it with broccoli!
I made this today and it was very good. I didn’t have any bacon, but frozen bacon grease and used a Tbsp to fry up the sausage, but ended up putting in the onions, then garlic and not taking the sausage out to drain, since it still needed to cook a little more to finish. I had collards from my garden so put those in with the broth (homemade) and potatoes since collards need to cook a bit more than kale. At first I thought it would be too much volume for the potatoes as they were just barely covered with the liquid, but cooked it all together (sausage too) til potatoes done. It was very yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Theresa! Thank you so much for sharing that with us! I’m glad you loved the recipe.
My husband asks for this soup all the time! To save time I will try using kale that already comes chopped up in a bag and mini potatoes and I will not peal them but only slice them in half
Hi Rosailin! I’m glad he enjoyed this soup! Thanks for sharing.
This is spectacular soup!!! I used all chx broth ( no water) and was generous on the garlic. After sitting in the fridge overnight the flavor was even more amazing. Love this!
Absolutely splendid. I make it exactly as you wrote it. It’s important to follow your recipe carefully because any inattentiveness detracts from it.
I have made it at least 5 times. My only change is that I use baby potatoes so I don’t have to chop them. And I use mild Italian sausage. And I boil some white beans and add them. I saw references in the comments to water, which wasn’t in your recipe. I used chicken stock.
It’s a mainstay. I am never without it. It freezes exceptionally well.
Thank you!!!
Sounds great and thank you for following the recipe exactly as it is. I appreciate it!
My first blah review for this wonderful site. We are soup aficionados. This was far too watery and thin. I had multiple opinions on this. I read and re-read the recipe to see where I could have gone wrong, but I made no mistakes. I’m not making it again, but if I did I’d leave the water out.
HI Karen, I’m sorry this didn’t meet the mark for you. It’s normally a very popular recipe on our site. Did you change anything in the ingredients or make any substitutions?
Thanks for your comment. I tried it tonight, skipping the water but otherwise following the instructions exactly. Ten cups of liquid sounded like too much and I think it almost certainly would have been. But six cups of broth was perfect with another cup of cream. Delicious.
This is the 2nd time I’ve made this and I wish I’d saved the previous recipe. This recipe made a very watery soup that I had to add a LOT of salt to it. 🙁
Hi Ericka, did you change anything else in the recipe? Or did you possibly add too much water? There should be plenty of flavor in the soup as it is written.
I have to agree about this being watery. This soup calls for 10 cups of liquid. Is this a typo? The video says 6 cups water 4 cups broth. The recipe reads 6 cups broth 4 cups water. I guess it’s actually 11 cups of liquid when the heavy cream is added.
Hi Jane, we updated the recipe since we filmed the video to use more broth, less water. The written instructions are the most up to date. This is a well loved recipe, we have great results making it as written but feel free to make adjustments if you’d like a thicker broth.
It actually turns out I did not use enough Kale. I went over what I could have done wrong and realized I totally messed up how much kale to put in. That was my fault. The soup was absolutely delicious and I also learned this soup is supposed have a thinner consistency. I would make this soup again and again exactly how written.
Thank you for the update, Jane!
My teen son loves Zuppa so was so happy to find your recipe! I am embarrassed that I didnt read carefully and boiled soup with sausage and bacon all inside. Son didnt care and still loved your Zuppa. Thank you for helping me save money dining out! ☺️
You’re very welcome, Amy!
I noticed that the recipe calls for 6 cups of chicken broth and 4 cups of water. The video is saying 4 cups of chicken broth and 6 cups water. I used the 6 cups chicken broth because I figured it would give the soup more flavor. However, I agree with the one lady who commented that it was kind of blah tasting. I even used 2 pounds of sausage hoping for more flavor.
But when I had a bowl the following day it was sooooo good! I suggest letting the soup set (in the fridge) until the next day. The flavor of the sausage and the garlic mingled together and it tasted amazing! I sprinked some Crispy Onions (that you buy in the bag) on the top of my hot soup and, oh my goodness! Delicious!!
Hi Judy, You can follow the written recipe above. 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.
Great soup. As I remembered it.
I’m doing keto so I subbed daikon for the potatoes. Wanted the crunch. Topped it with extra bacon and parm.
Thanks for the recipe.
That’s a great idea, Chris! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I found this recipe over a yr ago and I can’t even count how many times I made it for my family. My daughter says that it taste better than olive garden.
I’m so glad to hear that, Ivonne!
Hi,
I love your recipes so much and have made many of them. Big fan here!
Could you do this one in a slow cooker? If so suggestions on cooking time. Stay beautiful and healthy!
Hi Jessica! I haven’t tested that to advise on the directions. Please let us know if you experiment.
I made this in a slow cooker and found that the potatoes didn’t cook all the way; I had to finish it on the stovetop. I at first thought my slow cooker was the issue but same thing in a brand new one. So, maybe potatoes aren’t crock pot friendly, haha.
Other than that this was just amazing. I may be the only person here who hasn’t been to an Olive Garden, but my fiancé is a big fan of this menu item, and he’s delighted with your copy cat recipe! This will be a staple in our kitchen.
Thank you for sharing, Alicia. I have not tested this in the slow cooker but it reheats well, so I think you could reheat it in a slow cooker.
To add to my previous review, if you find that your kale is bitter I would recommend blanching it before adding to the soup. If it’s still bitter add lemon juice to taste. I added 4 drops to my soup and it perfecto!
I’ve found that if you wash your kale after it’s cut up, it washes away a lot of the harsh and bitter flavors…hope this helps
Delicious! I accidentally cooked the bacon and sausage together and add it all to the soup. Still very yummy. Makes the taste a bit different (not bad different) than Olive Garden’s Zuppa, but absolutely delicious!
Thank you for the feedback, Angela! I’m glad you loved the recipe.
I followed the recipe exactly except I did 4 cups of water and 4 cups of broth because that’s what I had on hand. Added a couple dashes of red pepper flakes. Turned out soooo good. Better than I imagined.
I’m so glad you loved it, Allie! Thank you for the feedback!