Copycat Zuppa Toscana Recipe
Zuppa Toscana is a delicious Olive Garden copycat soup with sausage and potatoes. It’s so comforting and full of amazing flavor from the combination of bacon, Italian sausage, potatoes, and kale.
Servings: 6
Calories: 719kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb bacon diced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 lb ground mild Italian sausage
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 2 lbs Russet potatoes about 5 potatoes
- 5 cups vegetable stock warmed
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 bunch of kale about 2 cups sliced, not packed
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients first: dice bacon and set it aside. Dice onion, peel and chop potatoes, and mince garlic.
- Preheat a Dutch oven or another soup pot over medium heat and add oil.
- Add the diced bacon and saute until browned and fat is mostly rendered.
- Add the diced onion and saute until softened. Mix in minced garlic and saute just until fragrant.
- Add ground Italian sausage and use a spatula or a wooden spoon to break it up into chunks. Saute until sausage is mostly cooked.
- Mix in diced potatoes and sauté for a few minutes.
- Slowly, pour in stock, while scraping bottom of the pot and the sides. Bring everything to simmer and lower the heat to medium-low.
- Season with salt and crushed red pepper flakes and mix well. Let the soup cook uncovered over medium-low to low heat until potatoes are very tender (about 40 minutes).
- Use a wooden spoon to crush and break up a few potatoes for a thicker consistency.
- Chop the kale leaves and discard the thick stem. Stir kale into the soup.
- Stir in the heavy whipping cream and cook for just about 5 more minutes but don't let it boil. Take off heat right away.
Video
Notes
- Storing: Transfer cooked soup into jars or airtight food storage containers and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat individual portions in the microwave until just hot enough. You can also reheat the whole pot on the stove, over medium to medium-low heat, until the soup is warmed through.
- To freeze: You can definitely freeze Zuppa Toscana, but you have to leave out the kale and cream. Cream does not freeze well and the texture of kale will become unpleasant when thawed. Fill a freezer-friendly food storage containers about three-quarters full so the soup has room to expand, then freeze for 3 to 6 months. You can also use zip-top freezer bags to portion the soup.
- Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and add the kale and cream when reheating.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – If heavy whipping cream is not available, you can use half and half or whole milk. The soup just won’t be as creamy with whole milk. If you need a dairy-free alternative, you can use unsweetened full-fat coconut cream, which is the solid portion at the top of canned coconut milk. A lactose-free whole milk alternative is also a good option.
Nutrition
Calories: 719kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 1617mg | Potassium: 989mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1588IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 3mg