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
The best Zuppa Toscana recipe on the internet!
Will this soup freeze well? I have a large amount leftover. Thanks! It is very tasty!
Hi Lindsey, while I haven’t tried freezing this, here’s what one of my readers wrote: “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.” I hope that helps.
Good Afternoon Natasha ,I don’t have chicken broth in my pantry but I do have beef broth .Will it make a difference if I use the beef? instead of chicken?
Hi Dyann! I think it would be fine. Let us know how it turns out.
Under the nutrition label it says per serving but theres no information on how many servings are in total ow many cups a serving is. I did see somewhere you state it makes 8 bowls but every style bowl is different. Thus explaining how cups you consider a bowl to be.
Hi Dean. The nutrition facts are computer generated by putting the ingredients into the calculator. Unfortunately it’s not that specific, but I set the servings to 8.
You can weigh the recipe as a whole and divide it by 8 or measure out 8 even servings.
Another 5-star recipe, thanks Natasha! At first I was afraid of all that garlic but you really do need it all, don’t skimp as it is not overpowering at all. My husband doesn’t like kale so I use spinach instead and it’s always a hit.
Thank you for sharing, Sue Ann! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for sharing, I was thinking I’d use spinach as well, but was worried it would limp away. Do you put it in later?
LOVE Miss Natasha’s recipes…I’ve yet to find one I hate 😆
I’m so happy you’re loving them, Kimberly!
So gooood! made it with fresh Kale from my garden.
My husband has just gon through chemo and recovery and this recipie he will eat 2 bowls of. Thank you!
Hi Wendy! That’s so great to hear. I’m glad he enjoyed it!
Used this recipe for a year now. My family love it!
So glad to hear that, Chris!
We have used this as a recipe builder for many years. Obviously we tweak to our liking, but wow! Thank you so much for your work on putting this together. One thing I can say is we like to cook a big batch and freeze the leftovers. So, what we have found is that four our purpose red potatoes are a better option. I tweak in other ways but that is personal relevance. If you plan on freezing the reds are better! Thank you Natasha!
Hi phils!
I’m planning on freezing this for a meal after surgery, I saw your recommendation to use red potatoes instead, however I’m just about to make this 😬 and didn’t see your suggestion beforehand. But my question is how do reheat this after freezing? Do you use crock pot over several hours? Thank you for the help !
We typically just reheat on the stove top or microwave. But I suppose a slow cooker could work if you’re only looking at a couple of hours to reheat, after all it’s already cooked. The reds hold their texture better after cooking and freezing is why we prefer them over russets.
VERY GOOD. PICKY SPOUSE HAD SECOND HELPING. ADDED 1 C. SHREDDED CARROTS AS I LIKE VEGGIES.
Dare I say, this is better than olive gardens! I’ve made this for dinner parties, and my guests agree!
That’s so great to hear!
Absolutely delicious! Just bought the book and it was the first recipe I tried and I am so glad I did. My daughter the toughest critic in this house went for seconds. Thank you!
I hate cooking, but this was worth the effort! Absolutely delicious! That being said, I am looking for a way to cheat to make it easier. Has anyone used frozen diced potatoes? What modifications would need to be made?
I’m so happy you loved it, Lisa! That’s so great! I haven’t tested this with frozen potatoes to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I’ve made this recipe several times,so needless to say we LOVE it!
Sooooo soooo sooooo good!!! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re very welcome, Cristina! Thank YOU for the lovely review!
Natasha, your recipe is the only one that makes sense to me, and what mean by that is by frying the bacon first and using the drippings to fry up the sausage and onion, the best way to get that wonderful flavor from the bacon. Then of course adding all the other ingredients and topping the finished soup with the fried bacon pieces, the only way to go…thanks for this and all your other recipes which are also so wonderful!!
Hi Wendy! You’re very welcome. Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback. I’m glad you’re loving the recipe.
I used more chicken broth, 8 cups total, less water, 2 cups and 2 cups cream. Turned out excellent!!!
I’m glad it was a huge success!
My family loves this recipe. I add an extra cup of heavy whipping cream and add the cooked bacon when I add the cooked sausage. I use sweet Italian sausage and for those who like it spicy they add crushed red pepper directly to their bowl.
My whole family loved this with impossible spicy sausage! Even my 2 year old picky eater loved it!
That’s lovely to hear! It’s always great when even picky eaters enjoy my recipe!
Very nice recipe, but cant eat pork anymore; What can I substitute for pork meat?
Hi Amy, one of my readers wrote: ” We don’t eat pork either- I make this soup with Trader Joe’s spicy italian chicken sausage and it’s perfectly spiced!” I hope this helps.
I did it once with your video years ago, let’s make it again 😉 always coming up perfect.
I hope you love it just as much as the first time!