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
Can you cook this recipe in a crockpot or do you have a recipe for this soup than I can cook in the crockpot. I love crockpot recipes
Hi Cindy, I haven’t tried it, but it can be done. 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 hope it helps!
First time making this. Turned out good!
Hi Natasha, my grocery store doesn’t have the hot Italian sausage meat. They only have the sausage casings. Would that still work? Or if I use the sweet sausage meat? Thank you!
Hi April, it can work if you remove the casing, here’s what one of my readers wrote “I make my Zuppa Toscana with chicken Italian sausage removed from the casing.” I hope it helps.
This was a great week night meal. Make sure to have a baguette on hand and salad. B
That is a must! I’m so happy you loved it, Colleen!
I’ve had this soup made by others a few different times. This is the first time I’ve have ever made it myself. This recipe blows the others I’ve had out of the water! Such good flavor! I love the added flavor of the hot sausage.
I’m so happy you loved it, Ashley!
I made this recipe today and my husband and kids loved it! I used spinach instead of kale and really liked how flavorful this soup is!
This was my first time EVER having Zuppa Toscana…
This recipe was easy to follow and SUPER Tasty!
Let’s just say…I’ll be making this again, for sure!
So happy you enjoyed it, Deborah! Thanks for sharing.
This easy to follow recipe was absolutely delicious. I’ve never cooked with kale and found it to he absolutely delightful!! Great directions Natasha!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hello,
The soup turned out pretty good, but seemed a bit bland. We used 4 cups of stock and 6 cups of water, as shown in your video, but then I noticed the recipe calls for 6 cups of stock/ broth and 4 cups of water, might that be the cause?
Hi Scott, the recipe was updated. The written version is the most up to date. Unfortunately we are not able to edit the video since it’s already been filmed.
This is one of my favorite recipes from Natasha’s kitchen! So easy! My family LOVES it and even says it’s better than Olive Garden!
Wow thank you for the compliment!
We make this recipe all of the time! One of our favorite soup recipes!
My husband said this soup was so delicious, full of flavour, he even ate two bowls full .
It’s the first time I have cooked it .
I also added Almond milk and a touch of coconut cream. It can help with the bitterness of the kale..
One of my absolute favorite soups!!!
This soup was very flavorful, delicious, and comforting. It was also like a clean-out-your-fridge recipe, cause I had everything on hand to make it. The only thing I did differently was use half fresh spinach and half kale because that is what I had in the fridge.
I’m happy that you enjoyed my Zuppa Toscana recipe!
Absolutely delicious and voted the best soup I’ve made ever by my husband and 13 yr old grandson! Will for sure be made many more times this winter!
It sounds like you found a new family favorite, Deborah!
This soup is Zuppa the BEST! Can’t get enough of it.. with the combination of Italian ingredients and healthy kale, I feel like I’m
eating the authentic Olive garden zuppa soup! Thanks Natasha for the delicious recipe!!
I’m so happy you loved it, Nelia! It sounds like you found a new favorite!
STEP 1. POTATOES. IT CUTS THE TINE DOWN BY HALF. YOU’RE WELCOME.
DELICIOUS RECIPE!!! I’VE MAD3 IT A TON OF TIMES BUT SERIOUSLY STEP 1 POTATOES. ❤️
Thank you for sharing your feedback, Jess.
Delicious! This is my husband’s favorite soup at the OG, so I decided to surprise him with it tonight. It’s not hard to make, but it is time consuming if you’re doing all the prep work by yourself. It took me about 1.5 hours from start to finish, but it would go faster if you had help chopping onions, peeling and slicing potatoes and peeling and mincing a head of garlic cloves. I had baby spinach on hand, so I didn’t buy kale. If you use spinach, I would recommend chopping it. I made it in my Lodge stock pot, and it filled it to the top…. so plenty of leftovers for tomorrow!
The leftovers will be worth it too! I’m so glad you found it delicious, Susan!
I’ve never cooked with kale before. I was surprised at how delicious this soup was! The addition of the bacon and Parmesan cheese really added a lot of flavor. Delicious! Thank you!
You’re so welcome, Laura! I agree, the parmesan and bacon are a must!
I really like the thin potatoes that cook very quickly. I also appreciate that this makes a lot of soup! I thickened it up with some flour to make it a little easier to eat, and added some parmesan to the soup for some additional flavor.