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A white dutch oven filled with Zuppa Toscana soup with a wooden spoon in the soup.
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5 from 5 votes

Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)

This Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe brings Olive Garden's favorite copycat straight to your kitchen, layered with spicy sausage, crispy bacon, tender potatoes, and kale in a rich, creamy broth. Make it on the stovetop in about an hour, or let the slow cooker do the work when you need a hands-off dinner.
Author: Nikki Lee
Servings: 8 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 6 slices bacon reserving about ¼ of it for topping
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 48 ounces chicken stock or broth
  • 5 medium russet potatoes sliced thin and halved or quartered
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon paprika optional
  • ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional - plus more for serving
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving
  • 4 cups curly kale stemmed and roughly torn

Instructions

  • Cut bacon into bite sized pieces and fry over medium heat in large dutch oven, until crisp and fat has rendered (about 8 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat in the pan. 
  • Add sausage to dutch oven, break up until crumbled, until cooked and nicely browned (about 10 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to the plate with the bacon. Leave about 2 tablespoons of fat in the dutch oven and remove the excess.
  • Add in onion and cook until almost done for 1-2 minutes or until translucent. Then, add in garlic and cooking for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant.
  • Slowly stir in the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. 
  • Then add in ¾ of the bacon, all of the sausage, potatoes, salt, black pepper, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Cover and cook until potatoes are fork tender, and allowing the flavors to develop about 30 to 45 minutes.
  • About 5 minutes before serving add in the heavy cream, parmesan cheese and kale. Cook until the kale is wilted. Taste and adjust
  • Ladle into serving bowls and top with bacon, parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.

Notes

I like to cook my soup for a few hours for the flavors to really develop, but it is not necessary for doneness. Adjust chicken stock according to how thick you like your soup. I start with 48 ounces and add depending on how long I cook the soup. You can also add water to control salt.
If you like a thicker consistency you can add a cornstarch slurry to the soup at the same time you add in the kale. You can do this by adding 2 to 3 tablespoons of cornstarch to 1/4 cup of water, then pour into soup mixture and stir.

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana

  • Cook bacon, sausage, onion and garlic in a skillet as in directions above.
  • Add everything to the slow cooker EXCEPT the cream, cheese, and kale.
  • Cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
  • When the cooking time is done, add the heavy cream, parmesan and kale, push the kale down in to the soup.
  • Cover and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 513 kcal | Carbohydrates: 37 g | Protein: 18 g | Fat: 32 g | Saturated Fat: 15 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12 g | Cholesterol: 85 mg | Sodium: 1027 mg | Potassium: 1080 mg | Fiber: 3 g | Sugar: 5 g | Vitamin A: 1540 IU | Vitamin C: 22 mg | Calcium: 116 mg | Iron: 3 mg

Find it online:

www.soulfullymade.com/zuppa-toscana-soup/