This post may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure.
This easy, creamy 30-minute copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup recipe is hearty and flavorful with bacon, sausage, potatoes, and kale. It’s freezer-friendly, makes 8 servings, and is budget-friendly, especially when compared with how much it would cost for this many people to eat at Olive Garden!
For anyone who’s ever been to Olive Garden and had their soup, you already know. I haven’t been there in years, but I still find myself thinking about a few things on their menu. This soup is one of them, and their salad is another! But that’s a different recipe for a different day.
This soup though. If you like rich, cream-based soups, then this one will be right up your alley!
We start off by crisping up some beef bacon to add the first layer of flavor. Then we brown Italian turkey sausage and aromatics like onion and garlic. Chicken stock adds depth, and we keep the seasonings pretty simple. Potato makes it hearty, and kale rounds it out to a full meal in one pot. A generous glug of cream adds a delicate hint of sweetness and makes it a lovely silky soup.
Serve it with freshly-grated parmesan and crispy bacon on top for a soup that’s sure to be a hit with the whole family!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Budget friendly. Making a huge pot of soup instead of going out to dinner at a restaurant is a great way to save a ton of money! And bonus, you’ll probably have leftovers.
- Weeknight friendly. It whips up in just 30 minutes, making it a good choice for busy nights when you don’t have a lot of time to cook.
- Full meal in one pot. This soup covers all the bases with protein, leafy greens, and starchy vegetables all in one dish. Serve it with some garlic bread and/or a side salad if you want, but it really doesn’t need anything else.
- Freezer friendly. This soup freezes and reheats well and is great for meal prep.
Zuppa Toscana Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Bacon – Here we crisp bacon in the soup pot. We reserve some of the crispy bacon for garnish, and use the drippings as the fat to cook the turkey sausage, onion, and garlic.
- Italian turkey sausage – Look for bulk sausage, not the kind that comes in casing.
- Onion and garlic – These savory aromatic vegetables cook in the bacon drippings for a flavorful soup base.
- Chicken stock – Use a good quality homemade or store-bought chicken stock.
- Potatoes – I like to use yellow potatoes here (such as Yukon Gold) because they hold up well and don’t disintegrate in the soup.
- Salt and black pepper – To season the soup.
- Crushed red pepper flakes – This is optional for a hint of spicy heat to balance the sweet cream and rich bacon and sausage.
- Kale – Remove the tough stems and chop the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- Heavy whipping cream – To give this soup a rich, velvety broth.
- Freshly-grated parmesan cheese – For garnish.
How to Make Zuppa Toscana
- Crisp the bacon. Add the bacon to a 5 to 6-quart pot over medium-high heat. Cook until the bacon is crispy, about 3 minutes. Transfer 2/3 of the bacon to a bowl to sprinkle on top when serving.
- Brown the sausage. To the same pot, add the sausage, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes (TIP: the sausage doesn’t won’t be fully cooked at this point).
- Soften the onion. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Let it cook. Stir in the chicken stock, potato, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring up to a boil, and then cover the pot, turn the heat down so it doesn’t boil over, and cook until the potato is tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add the kale. Stir in the kale and cook (uncovered) until it’s wilted, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cream. Stir in the cream and remove from the heat.
Serve with the crispy bacon and freshly-grated parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Storage and Reheating
Once it cools to room temperature, store this soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To reheat, first thaw the soup if it had been frozen. To reheat on the stovetop, add the soup to a saucepan over medium-low. Continue heating until it reaches a simmer, but don’t let it boil. To reheat in the microwave, put the soup in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 45-second increments on high until warm, stirring in between each increment.
Tips For the Best Homemade Zuppa Toscana
- Make it stretch. Add 1 can of rinsed, drained cannellini beans to this soup and you can easily get 10 servings out of it.
- Pork products. I don’t eat pork, so I use beef bacon and turkey sausage. However, feel free to use pork bacon and sausage if that’s your preference. You can also use turkey bacon if you like; just add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Type of potatoes. I like to use yellow potatoes here because they hold up well and don’t fall apart easily. However, you can use starchy potatoes instead (such as Russet) if you prefer or if that’s what you have on hand. Peeling the potatoes is your call as well! (I like to scrub the potatoes, but leave the peel on because it’s full of nutrients.)
- If kale isn’t your thing. You can use baby spinach leaves instead. Spinach wilts faster than kale, so it should only take about 1 minute.
Frequently Asked Questions
From Italian, zuppa means “soup” and Toscana translates as “Tuscan”, referring to the Tuscany region of northern Italy: Tuscan soup!
Yes! This soup freezes well for up to 6 months. I like to freeze it in individual-sized glass containers for portion control. This lets me grab out as many servings as I need, whether it’s lunch for just me or dinner for me and the family. This soup reheats well on the stovetop or in the microwave.
What to Serve With This Soup
Let’s Connect
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below. You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media.
To stay up-to-date, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter!
Easy 30-Minute Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe
Email This Recipe
Get this recipe link emailed straight to your inbox!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 slices beef bacon chopped
- 1 pound bulk Italian turkey sausage
- 1 large onion diced
- 7 large cloves garlic crushed
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 pound yellow potatoes cubed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
- 5 cups chopped kale
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Freshly-grated parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Crisp the bacon. Add the bacon to a 5 to 6-quart pot over medium-high heat. Cook until the bacon is crispy, about 3 minutes. Transfer 2/3 of the bacon to a bowl to sprinkle on top when serving.
- Brown the sausage, and then soften the onion. To the same pot, add the sausage, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Cook until browned, about 3 minutes (TIP: the sausage doesn’t won't be fully cooked at this point).Turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Let it cook. Stir in the chicken stock, potato, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring up to a boil, and then cover the pot, turn the heat down so it doesn’t boil over, and cook until the potato is tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Finishing touches. Stir in the kale and cook (uncovered) until it’s wilted, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.Stir in the cream and remove from the heat.
- Enjoy. Serve with the crispy bacon and freshly-grated parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Notes
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 4.5 quarts of soup, which is 8 servings. Each serving is a little over 2 cups.
- Storage: Store Zuppa Toscana in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Reheating: To reheat, first thaw the soup if it had been frozen. To reheat on the stovetop, add the soup to a saucepan over medium-low. Continue heating until it reaches a simmer, but don’t let it boil. To reheat in the microwave, put the soup in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 45-second increments on high until warm, stirring in between each increment.
- To Make This stretch. Add 1 can of rinsed, drained cannellini beans to this soup and you can easily get 10 servings out of it.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
Share it with me on Instagram and leave a comment to let me know your thoughts!
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
Free Bonus
made this tonight – skipped the bacon and added a little more broth – really tasty!
I made this soup last night for the first time and I loved it!! It was so good, I’m glad I don’t have to share it with anyone! I made a couple of small changes which were: I used spinach rather than kale; added a carrot; added 1T of Italian seasoning and I used 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream. Not too drastic of changes I don’t think. Good stuff!
I love soup!!
Fall equals soup, and this one tasted exquisite!