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
Another outstanding recipe!
No heavy cream on hand, so I used half & half cream. With the lower fat content, it began to seperate during the last boiling stage – even when being stirred. To re-constitute the creaminess, I reduced the heat, stirred in 1 teaspoon of corn starch and it worked great.
Thanks for sharing, Robert! I’m glad you were able to fix it.
Not sure why I always thought this was harder to make. It was surprisingly easy and the result was so pretty and tasty. Thank you for another delicious recipe. I would have made it sooner if I knew it was this easy!
You’re so very welcome! Thank you for trying the recipe!
Did you mean to write whipping cream or heavy cream? I just want to clarify. Thank you
Hi Vanesa, in this recipe it really does not make a difference. I typically buy heavy whipping cream but again, it doesn’t matter here.
I made this recipe last night. God this is good! I never make enough. It goes so fast. Some fresh parm cheese on top, some good sourdough french bread and butter. I added fresh kale to my recipe and delicious!
I’ve made this recipe so many times. My entire family loves it. I just chop the kale up really small is my only difference.
Great to hear that your family always enjoys our Zuppa Toscana recipe!
This recipe is perfection, every time.
I didn’t have heavy cream on hand today so I used half and half instead. It’s still absolutely delicious!
Glad half and half worked well! Thank you for sharing and for this review.
In a word – Amazing!
There’s not much to add. This soup was perfect for a cold winter day. We all loved it & plan to make it a cold weather favorite for years to come.
That’s wonderful, Mrs. Kay! Thank you so much for the feedback. It’s one of my personal favorites!
Oh my and my and my! My lazy self roasted a whole ‘pod’ of garlic. The rest of the recipe was right to the tee….until we go to the greens. I only had frozen spinach. Not a bad thing at all!
Beautiful thing this recipe! I’m on my third bowl! 🥰🥰🥰🥰
Hi Cindy! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the soup. Thank you for sharing. I can eat bowl fulls if this soup! So good.
Delicious recipe! I’ve made this multiple times and it’s always excellent. Yummy!
Hi Karen, so good to know that you always love our Zuppa Toscana recipe!
I make this soup all the time. My husband and I love it. The best recipe ever. Taste just like the soup at Olive Garden. I highly recommend it.
So glad to hear that, Sandra! We make this soup a a lot, we love it!
I made this for dinner today, with your Fluffy Homemade Biscuits as a side. They were both delicious! Such a hearty, yummy meal on a cold, snowy day! 😊
That’s wonderful. Susan!
I’ve tried a few recipes for this and they were just ok. I really wanted to try again and told myself I can just tweak it and add more of this or that. I stumbled upon this recipe and used turkey Italian bacon and sausage as my son doesn’t eat pork. I literally had to change nothing. It came out perfect, exact like The Olive Garden. I’m saving this recipe. Everyone loved it.
That’s wonderful and I’m so happy to hear that you loved it!
This was great, but definitely more than 8 servings. We’re 6 servings in and have about 4-5 bowls left.
A few changes I made: spinach instead of kale, a whole jar of minced garlic instead of fresh, more broth than water, and I added about 2 tbsps of roast garlic “better than bouillon. I added quite a bit of salt and pepper. It’s great! Very flavorful!
Thank you for sharing, Misty. We probably used larger bowls but glad that you got more servings!
I got the one thing I wanted for Christmas-Your cook book! This was the first recipe I made and my family LOVED it. I’ve loved every recipe of yours I’ve tried and this soup is no exception. So so good. Thanks again, Natasha! 💜
Yay, I’m happy that you got it! I hope you will love all the recipes from the cookbook. I would love it if you could add a review on where you purchased the book. Those reviews help a ton!
This recipe is perfect as is but looking at reviews it easy to substitute as needed. Football Sunday. Served with rosemary bread and it made for an incredible afternoon! Thank you so much for sharing!
You’re very welcome, Joanne!
Does this soup freeze well? Thank you for the coconut milk alternative!
Hi Jamie! I have not frozen this soup. Generally cream/dairy, and potatoes/starch don’t do well when frozen. Likely you can but the quality, texture, and flavor of it might be a bit off when reheating it.
Ive made this for several yrs and again last night. I just love this soup. I have frozen it many times in freezer bags, thaw in the sink and it still tastes great!
I use chicken broth and half and half in mine.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Debbie! That’s so wonderful to hear.
Hi I have made this before but been awhile and this DOES NOT DISAPPOINT!! I always use frozen cauliflower and this time some pieces were to big and ended up putting them in the food processor so may just use riced. Still like the small pieces. I will use 2 lbs. of sausage because we like more meat. Wonderful soup!!
Great to hear that you loved it! Thank you so much for sharing.
I made this recipe for some friends who were coming for lunch. Everyone LOVED IT!! It was fantastic. I will make it again.
I made two versions, one with meat, and the other with beyond meat vegetarian sausage – the vegetarian loved it as well.
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad it was a hit.
This is a very popular soup at Olive Garden. Your recipe is so tasty, I love it! It’s good as written or adding what you have in the fridge. This is not my first rodeo making this soup but I always like to pull up the recipe when I make it. I added a few more veggies and a lot more heavy cream. Cauliflower and carrots were added because I had plenty on hand and red chile flakes cause we like it hot.
This recipe is easy, filling and so yummy. Can’t wait to see if it’s better tomorrow. I know some mentioned the broth was absorbed the next day. If you like a thin soup add more broth, if you prefer a creamier soup add a bit more broth and more heavy cream. This was so good I will have to try another of your recipes!
Hi Yvonne! I’m so glad you loved it. Thank you for the feedback.
I looooove this recipe and am planning to make again for the holidays. I find that leftovers can be a challenge because the potatoes tend to absorb so much liquid and it becomes more stew-like than soupe. Wondered if you think slicer the potatoes thinner or thicker, reserving some broth, or even just adding more broth when reheating could be a good fix? Thank you and happy holidays!
Hi Jen! I think you could add more broth to it when you reheat. You might need to adjust the seasonings a bit if that’s the case.
Looooove this recipe! I’m fact, I’ve never made any of your recipes that weren’t a complete HIT! THANK YOU!!! This soup – such comfort food, and the kale adds such a wonderful texture! Who needs to go to Olive Garden when I can make this at home? YUMMY!!!!!
Hi Ashley! I’m so glad you love it. Thank you for the wonderful feedback.