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Home / Comfort Food

BEST Copycat Zuppa Toscana Recipe

4.81
/5
40 minutes minutes
1,003 Comments
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By: The Chunky Chefpublished: 03/04/2019

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

The BEST copycat zuppa toscana soup, made with spicy crumbled sausage, silky potatoes, and an ultra creamy broth.  Bacon and kale put the finishing touch on this Olive Garden copycat recipe! #soup #souprecipe #copycat #zuppatoscana #olivegarden #slowcooker #crockpot #instantpot #pressurecooker #easyrecipe #weeknightmeal
The BEST copycat zuppa toscana soup, made with spicy crumbled sausage, silky potatoes, and an ultra creamy broth.  Bacon and kale put the finishing touch on this Olive Garden copycat recipe! #soup #souprecipe #copycat #zuppatoscana #olivegarden #slowcooker #crockpot #instantpot #pressurecooker #easyrecipe #weeknightmeal

Classic zuppa toscana soup, in slow cooker form!  It tastes WAY better than the restaurant version, and is sure to be a crowd pleaser!


Spicy crumbled sausage, silky potatoes, and an ultra creamy broth… it’s the perfect copycat soup!

The BEST copycat zuppa toscana soup, made with spicy crumbled sausage, silky potatoes, and an ultra creamy broth.  Bacon and kale put the finishing touch on this Olive Garden copycat recipe! #soup #souprecipe #copycat #zuppatoscana #olivegarden #slowcooker #crockpot #instantpot #pressurecooker #easyrecipe #weeknightmeal

Best Copycat Zuppa Toscana Recipe

My husband’s favorite soup is Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, so naturally I wanted to find a way to have it at home (for way less money)!  This soup has all the great flavors of the Olive Garden soup, but making at home is much more convenient, and I think it tastes way better!  If you’ve never had this soup… it’s a creamy soup with tender potatoes, spicy Italian sausage, crispy bacon, and healthy kale.

WHAT’S IN ZUPPA TOSCANA SOUP?

First, I want to clear something up.  Even though zuppa toscana soup translates to Tuscan soup, it’s not a traditionally Tuscan soup.  Olive Garden named this soup and made it incredibly popular all across the United States!

Zuppa toscana soup is made from crumbled Italian sausage, bacon, potatoes, kale, chicken broth and cream.  The combination is soul-warming and absolutely mouthwatering.  What I love most about this copycat soup is that you don’t need a lot of ingredients to get such a rich flavor!

Bowl of copycat zuppa toscana soup

HOW TO MAKE ZUPPA TOSCANA SOUP:

There are three main ways to make this delicious copycat soup; stovetop, slow cooker, and pressure cooker (instant pot).  I’ll have directions for all three down in the recipe card, but let’s focus on the stovetop version for this how-to.

  1. Brown the Italian sausage.  I like to use spicy sausage links and remove the casing, but you can also use bulk Italian sausage if you prefer.  Use a wooden spoon to crumble the sausage as you cook it, then drain it very well, getting as much grease off of it as you can.  Remove to a plate.
  2. Fry the bacon right in the residual grease from the sausage.  This adds plenty of flavor!  Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to the plate with the sausage.
  3. Cook the onion and garlic in the bacon grease.  Again, boosting the flavor here!  If you have a ton of grease after cooking the bacon, drain off all but about 1 1/2 Tbsp.
  4. Add the flour to the cooked onion and garlic, stirring to mix it all in.  This is going to thicken your soup slowly, as it cooks.
  5. Add liquid and potatoes.  I like to use chicken bone broth or chicken stock, but you can use broth if you prefer.  When you add the liquid, make sure to stir well, so the flour is mixed in with the liquid and doesn’t clump up.
  6. Boil potatoes until tender.  Don’t cook them TOO much, you want them tender when pierced with a fork, but not mushy.
  7. Stir in cooked sausage and bacon.  This keeps the meats nice and crispy.
  8. Add cream and kale.  Stir well and let the kale wilt.
  9. Enjoy!!

Ladle of zuppa toscana soup

CAN THIS SOUP BE FROZEN OR REHEATED?

Reheated, yes.  It makes for amazing leftovers the next day!  Frozen, I’m not entirely sure.  Soups with dairy have a propensity for separating when frozen.  So if you want to freeze this soup, I would freeze it before adding the cream and kale.  Just add those as you’re reheating the soup.

HOW TO MAKE ZUPPA TOSCANA THICKER?

This soup is traditionally pretty brothy, but if you prefer a thicker soup, it’s really easy to thicken it.  You can either mash some of the potatoes in the soup, or mix 1 1/2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 2-3 Tbsp of additional heavy cream, and stir it in when you add the cream.  Stir occasionally for the next 5-7 minutes and it’ll thicken up.

Spoonful of copycat zuppa toscana recipe

PRO TIPS FOR MAKING THIS COPYCAT ZUPPA TOSCANA RECIPE:

  1. Control the heat level by using either mild or spicy Italian sausage.  I prefer the spicy variety with the creamy soup, but it’s your soup!
  2. No patience for peeling and chopping potatoes?  In a pinch, I like to keep a bag of refrigerated diced potatoes on hand.  My grocery store carries them next to the eggs (for some reason lol).
  3. Too much grease in your soup?  It happens, especially with the Italian sausage, but you can fix it if it bothers you.  Let the soup cool for 5-10 minutes, then gently skim off the grease layer.
  4. Want to try this soup but following a low-carb way of eating?  Swap out the potatoes for chopped cauliflower florets!

GREAT RECIPES TO SERVE ALONGSIDE THIS SOUP RECIPE:

  • No-Knead Artisan Bread
  • Cheesy Garlic Bread
  • Homemade Caesar Salad
  • Caprese Garlic Chicken
  • Chicken Marsala
  • Stuffed Italian Flank Steaks

The BEST copycat zuppa toscana soup, made with spicy crumbled sausage, silky potatoes, and an ultra creamy broth.  Bacon and kale put the finishing touch on this Olive Garden copycat recipe! #soup #souprecipe #copycat #zuppatoscana #olivegarden #slowcooker #crockpot #instantpot #pressurecooker #easyrecipe #weeknightmeal

SHOP THE RECIPE:

  • Dutch Oven – My secret weapon in the kitchen.. I use it for everything from soups to frying!
  • Instant Pot – In case you don’t have one, this is the model I have and love.
  • Hamilton Beach 7qt Programmable Slow Cooker – I received this as a gift and couldn’t be happier… works like a dream, switches to warm once the time is up, and is big enough to cook just about anything!
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Simply Potatoes.  All opinions are 100% mine.

 

Recipe originally published in 2015, recently updated with new photos and additional content.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

The BEST copycat zuppa toscana soup, made with spicy crumbled sausage, silky potatoes, and an ultra creamy broth.  Bacon and kale put the finishing touch on this Olive Garden copycat recipe! #soup #souprecipe #copycat #zuppatoscana #olivegarden #slowcooker #crockpot #instantpot #pressurecooker #easyrecipe #weeknightmeal

BEST Copycat Zuppa Toscana Recipe

4.81 from 525 votes
Author: The Chunky Chef
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Calories: 790
Servings: 6 servings
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Classic zuppa toscana soup, in slow cooker form! It tastes WAY better than the restaurant version

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground spicy Italian sausage (mild can be substituted)
  • 8 slices bacon, diced (divided)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 Tbsp flour (cornstarch can be substituted)
  • 32 oz chicken stock
  • 4 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 bunch kale (a couple of handfuls) de-stemmed and torn into bite sized pieces
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes. optional

Instructions

  • Heat a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot over MED-HIGH heat.  Add a small drizzle of oil, then brown sausage, crumbling as it cooks.  Drain well, then remove to a plate.
  • Fry bacon is residual sausage grease until crisp, then remove to plate with the sausage.  Drain all but 1 - 1 1/2 Tbsp of bacon grease.
  • Add onion to pot and cook 5 minutes, adding garlic the last minute.  
  • Sprinkle flour over onion and garlic in pot, then stir to combine.  Pour in chicken stock, stirring as you pour.  Add in potatoes and bring to a boil.
  • Gently boil about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender.  Add in cooked sausage, most of the bacon, heavy cream and kale.  Stir and cook 5-10 minutes until kale is wilted.
  • Taste and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if desired.  Top with remaining bacon and enjoy!

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Chef Tips

CROCKPOT DIRECTIONS

  1. Heat large skillet over medium high heat and brown sausage.  Drain.
  2. Fry bacon and set aside to a plate.
  3. Add onion and minced garlic and cook slightly.
  4. Add sausage, onion and garlic to the bottom of slow cooker.
  5. Add peeled potatoes, cover with chicken stock and water (if necessary) to completely cover potatoes and sausage.
  6. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or HIGH for 3-4 (potatoes should be soft)
  7. Before serving, whisk together heavy cream and cornstarch or flour until well mixed. Pour into slow cooker, add kale and stir to combine.
  8. Cover and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes until soup has thickened slightly.
  9. Taste, season according to your tastes, top with bacon, and serve.

 

INSTANT POT DIRECTIONS

  1. Set a 6-qt instant pot to the saute setting. Add a drizzle of olive oil and Italian sausage. Cook, stirring frequently, until sausage is lightly browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess grease.
  2. Add bacon and cook until crispy, remove with slotted spoon to a plate.
  3. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become soft, about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Stir in cooked sausage, chicken broth and potatoes.
  5. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 5 minutes. When finished cooking, do a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then a controlled quick release.
  6. When the pin drops, open the lid.
  7. Whisk together flour/cornstarch and heavy cream, then add to pot, along with kale.  Stir often and let heat through.
  8. Taste and season as desired.  Top with bacon and serve.

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Meet The Chunky Chef

Hey there! I'm Amanda. Wife, mother, photography nerd, and bacon lover! I believe that delicious meals should be easy to make. Now that you’re here, stay a bit, browse a few recipes, and let’s get cookin’!

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4.81 from 525 votes (63 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




  1. Faye says

    Posted on 8/26 at 7:06 pm

    This is delicious!! I made some homemade croutons to go along with it. 😊

    Reply
  2. Karen says

    Posted on 8/6 at 10:50 am

    This wasn’t just the best Zappa Toscana soup I have ever had, it is the best soup I have ever made OR had ever. I left the onion out because my BF does not like it (how is this possible?) but it was still THE BEST. I used a slow cooker. Thank you so much. Trying your one pan chicken breast recipe next!

    Reply
  3. glori papadopoulos says

    Posted on 7/22 at 8:03 pm

    Thank you for sharing
    Was really great on my first try
    Many blessings
    Looking forward to more of your recipes

    Reply
  4. HollyGL says

    Posted on 7/19 at 6:54 pm

    I love this soup. My daughter made it for me after I had surgery and I’ve been making is since. I noticed people asking if it can be frozen. Yes. I froze some in plastic storage containers and 2 months later it was still very good. Thank you for posting this recipe!

    Reply
  5. Jen says

    Posted on 7/8 at 8:40 am

    This recipe is our family favorite!!! My daughter recently requested that I make it for her birthday dinner. It turned into an Olive Garden themed night. The kids voted on who makes it better – Mom or Olive Garden! Mom won the vote but I couldn’t have done it without you. We both take the win! Thanks for sharing your recipe!

    Reply
  6. Katie says

    Posted on 7/6 at 7:26 pm

    I used evaporated milk in place of whipping cream. Can I freeze a container of this soup??

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 7/9 at 8:59 pm

      Since dairy can sometimes separate during the freezing and thawing process, I’ve not tested freezing this recipe, so I can’t say for certain how it’ll turn out. The evaporated milk may behave differently than the heavy cream though.

      Reply
  7. Vickie Rooda says

    Posted on 6/26 at 5:11 pm

    I’ve made it so many times and my family loves it. I would honestly say this is better than the Olive Garden one.

    Reply
  8. Jo says

    Posted on 6/19 at 5:19 pm

    This is my most requested soup. I always have to double it and there’s never any left over. We don’t order this at Olive Garden because we like this recipe much better.

    Reply
  9. Erika says

    Posted on 6/17 at 2:06 pm

    We had a big rehearsal dinner for our son’s wedding at which we served three huge pots of soup. The bride requested this soup. It was a hit! We did seven times the recipe in one huge pot. The bride asked for no bacon and the cornstarch worked well instead of flour for our celiacs. It was so good! I wanted to thank you for the recipe and let people know it works great in a big batch!

    Reply
  10. Dana says

    Posted on 6/3 at 9:10 pm

    Delicious! Only 1 question – Any way to sub-something for the heavy cream to make this a bit healthier?

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 6/4 at 9:37 pm

      You can use half and half or evaporated milk, but I haven’t tried dairy products with a lower fat percentage.

      Reply
    • Karri McCarthy says

      Posted on 7/26 at 11:52 am

      I have used coconut milk and cauliflower instead of potatoes. Taste the exact same.

      Reply
  11. Lysa says

    Posted on 5/30 at 7:42 pm

    Just made this for dinner, and I’m so glad that I did. Hearty, soulful, and I made mine thick. Yummy in my tummy!!!

    Reply
  12. Allen says

    Posted on 5/29 at 7:17 pm

    Incredible

    Reply
  13. Carla Henry says

    Posted on 5/28 at 8:42 am

    We used your old recipe and loved it! Do you still have the recipe with Simply Potatoes?

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 5/29 at 3:03 pm

      Nothing has changed except the potatoes, so just swap out the russets for the plain simply potatoes 🙂

      Reply
  14. Linda says

    Posted on 5/14 at 10:06 am

    This recipe is better than Olive Garden’s! I also leave out the bacon. You don’t need it. So good!

    Reply
  15. Teri says

    Posted on 5/13 at 6:59 pm

    I make this recipe at least once a month, it is amazing! I always double it as well. Using one mild and one hot Italian sausage. I also alternate between kale and spinach! Just depends what the store has. But thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
  16. Misty says

    Posted on 4/15 at 1:13 pm

    Already made this three times in the crockpot. A household staple. Freezes nicely as well. Love this recipe!

    Reply
  17. Jen says

    Posted on 4/11 at 11:40 pm

    My family absolutely LOVES this recipe. I do have a question though.
    The potatoes are VERY soft. Should I just decrease the cooking time in the instant pot or the natural release time?

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 4/14 at 9:36 pm

      So glad you all love it! I would decrease the cooking time a little bit and see how they are.

      Reply
  18. Chelle says

    Posted on 4/5 at 7:45 pm

    The best!!…..everyone in our household absolutely loves this…..every time!! I most of the time leave out the bacon only due to time restraints or not having on hand….either way, everyone loves this. Thank you for your initial share- have been making it since then 🙂

    Reply
  19. Philip says

    Posted on 4/5 at 5:54 pm

    Not sure if there is a typo on how much broth but, we couldn’t even get three potatoes in or else we would have a mound of potatoes coming out of the liquid. I’m sure it will taste great but this will be a soup with very little broth to go with it.

    Reply
    • The Chunky Chef says

      Posted on 4/5 at 9:13 pm

      32 oz (4 cups) isn’t a typo, the discrepancy comes from the fact that all potatoes vary quite a bit in size.

      Reply
  20. Holly says

    Posted on 4/4 at 2:05 pm

    I love this soup and it’s great on a cold day. This is perfect when you want a little extra flavor.

    Reply
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