Zuppa Toscana is a favorite soup. A creamy broth is filled with zesty Italian sausage, potatoes, smoky bacon, and kale or spinach.
Serve it with crusty bread and a fresh Italian salad for a meal everyone will love!
Ingredients in Zuppa Toscana Soup
This is a copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup recipe, or “Tuscan Soup” and it’s easy to make.
Bacon/Sausage – Bacon adds a smoky salty flavor while the sausage is hearty and adds lots of flavor, if needed you can make your own Italian sausage blend at home.
Potatoes – I use russet potatoes when making this soup because they break down a little bit which helps to thicken the broth slightly. Be sure to peel them as the skins can be tough. If using a waxy thin skinned potato (like baby potatoes or Yukon gold), they do not need to be peeled.
Kale (or not!) – Kale is great in this soup and needs to simmer a little bit. Other greens can be substituted. If using spinach, add it right at the end as it needs just a couple of minutes to wilt.
Broth – Chicken stock or broth is the base of this soup recipe while a bit of heavy cream adds richness and makes the soup creamy without being too heavy.
Variations
- Add white beans (like cannellini beans), orzo, or other veggies to your liking.
- Cut some carbs by replacing potatoes with cauliflower florets.
- Red pepper flakes are optional but we love them in this recipe. ½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning another great addition!
and onion
and kale
How to Make Zuppa Toscana Soup
- Crisp the Bacon: Cook bacon until crisp. Set aside.
- Brown Sausage: Brown sausage and onion per the recipe below.
- Add Ingredients: Add the remaining ingredients except for the cream.
- Simmer Until Tender: Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add cream and simmer for a few minutes more. Garnish with crumbled bacon.
Storing and Freezing Leftovers
- Zuppa Toscana will keep in the refrigerator for about 4 days and can easily be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese and it’s just like new again!
- Diary doesn’t always freeze well so if you’d like to freeze this soup, scoop some out before adding the cream. Once thawed, stir in the cream after heating.
More Hearty Soup Recipes
This zuppa toscana recipe is just one of many soups that benefit from the flavor of Italian sausage. Here are some more favorites.
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Zuppa Toscana
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 slices bacon diced
- 4 cups potatoes peeled and cut into ½" cubes
- 1 ½ cups kale chopped, or fresh spinach
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red peppers (optional)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or dutch oven, cook bacon medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
- Add sausage and onion to the bacon grease and cook until no pink remains. Drain fat.
- Add potatoes, kale, chicken broth, garlic, and crushed peppers (if using) to the pot.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 12-14 minutes or until potatoes are soft.
- Stir in heavy cream and pepper and let simmer 1 minute. Taste and season with salt & pepper if desired.
- Garnish with bacon.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I made this soup last night and we are still raving about it!
Simple and quick! Definitely a keeper.
This soup is delicious. I’ve also made it substituting a small cauliflower for the potatoes making it Keto acceptable.
This is one of my all time favorite soups. Simple and very tasty.
Hi again,
Follow up from earlier day’s post…
Definitely 5 stars!!
Made and my family (some picky eaters) absolutely loved it!
Followed recipe using spinach and wow, so good!
Thank you for another delicious recipe
We love this soup. So tasty and easy. Not really kale fans I use spinach.
Had to download the app because it has the best recipes for any dish. They’re not difficult to make. Sometimes I’ll already have most of the ingredients in my cupboard. Been following you for a couple of years now! Love you, Love it, Love all the recipes!
We hope you love it, Michelle!
Can the sausage be replaced by ground beef as none of my kidslike sausage..
Yes, it can, you’ll want to add some extra seasoning (a bit of Italian seasoning will work!) and a bit of extra garlic.
Wonderful soup! I’m sure it will become one of my favorites. I did use spinach instead of kale.
I love recipes from this site in part because they usually don’t have 42 ingredients and this Grandma appreciates that! I have made this several times with only a few subs such as subbing evaporated milk (prefer brothy to thicker) and spinach. Also use bulk hot Italian sausage. I may omit the spinach when serving the “Grands” as none of them like it (what’s that GREEN stuff?) but can always add it to the leftovers. My approach to recipes is “keep it simple” so thanks, this is YUMMY.
You’re very welcome Susan! So glad you are loving this recipe ;)
I’ve used a lot of recipes from this site mainly because they use common ingredients I usually have on hand so there’s no need for many substitutes and this old school Mom/Grandma appreciates that. I used bulk hot Italian sausage, spinach and subbed evaporated milk for the heavy cream and husband and I both thought it was delicious. ! “grand’ would not touch the spinach though. Ha,Ha! Will make again for sure.
Excellent!!! We love it. Just like Olive Garden version.
Wonderful dinner soup! My husband (who does not exactly love kale) really enjoyed it, too. Thank you, Holly :)
Glad your family enjoyed it Jackie!
I recently made this and my wife thought it was great!! Only a few minor variations (I used Italian sausage in the casing and then sliced it into 5 pieces per link). I found a crusty bread recipe on another site and it went great with this soup. The soup is well worth the effort and I will make it again.
Glad you both enjoyed this recipe Louis!
Yum
Delicious! Used hot Italian sausage and omitted the pepper flakes and used spinach. Omitted onions because I am so sick of chopping them! (Didn’t have pre-chopped frozen ones) I threw in chopped green onions instead. Wonderful flavor!
I make this quite often, and will freeze the leftovers. The potatoes come out mealy on the reheating though, so I will use less on the initial preparation next time. I currently use 2 cans of diced potatoes, so I’m thinking one can in the future. LOVE kale and spinach in this, so I think I’ll increase that next time. This stuff is so stinking good, it’s kind of amazing!
Thanks for sharing your tips on freezing it Sandra!
I put garbonza beans and finely chopped carrots in mine
Delicious additions Roberta!
Just made this and it’s so good! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome Tina!
When I’m in a pinch, I use box augratin potatoes (like 3 boxes without the seasoning packet) with breakfast sausage, and frozen kale. Plus chicken stock, cream, sage and red pepper for seasoning. But yours makes me want to try a new take.
Yum, thanks for sharing your shortcuts!
I made this the other night and it was perfect . I have celiac disease so I made sure to buy gluten free sausage and chicken broth and we prefer kale over spinach but it turned out great. Nothing left after our family of 4 devoured it.
Do you chop up the sausage?
I would yes! That is how I have had it-I get the links. It doesn’t specify whether you dice the garlic either? I would assume so!
Thank you Cody. The garlic is minced.
I love Zuppa Toscana! I use hot Italian sausage, so no need for crushed red peppers. I usually use kale, but have used spinach. I have not used bacon. Does that change the taste? This is getting me hungry for some, especially since it is starting to get colder now!
The bacon adds a little bit of smokiness to the soup. I love the idea of using the hot Italian sausage, thank you for sharing!