Zuppa Toscana Recipe | Cookies & Cups

By: Shelly
Posted: Nov 10, 2024

This Zuppa Toscana recipe is an easy Olive Garden copycat! It’s a quick one-pot soup recipe brimming with Italian sausage, tender potatoes, beans, garlic, and kale in a rich, creamy broth. Serve it with hunks of crusty bread for sopping up all the Tuscan flavors!

Craving more cozy soups? Try my one-pot recipes like this chicken gnocchi soup, lasagna soup, and my easy lemon chicken orzo soup.

Overhead view of a bowl of Zuppa Toscana.

Why I Love This Zuppa Toscana Recipe

Zuppa Toscana wraps up all the fresh flavors of the Tuscan countryside into a bowl of cozy, creamy soup! This is my homemade take on Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, or Tuscan kale soup. It’s a rich and comforting recipe brimming with juicy Italian sausage, bacon, tender potatoes and veggies, garlic, beans, and kale. Here’s why I love making it at home:

Tuscan flavors. I love Italian-inspired dinners like my creamy Tuscan chicken, and this Tuscan kale soup is perfect for the wintertime. It’s packed with filling ingredients, with the option to add a splash of heavy cream.
Like the Olive Garden (only better). I no longer need to get my fix for Zuppa Toscana at the Olive Garden. This homemade version is quick, easy, and, dare I say it, even more delicious than a restaurant!
One pot. Everything gets sautéed, simmered, and served from one pot. It makes cleaning up a breeze, plus it builds up all those savory flavors.

Zuppa Toscana ingredients with text labels overlaying each ingredient.

Soup Ingredients

There’s nothing but goodness in this Zuppa Toscana! No mystery ingredients, nada. I’ve included some ingredient notes and substitution ideas here. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for a printable list with the recipe measurements.

Bacon – I like to use thick-cut bacon or pancetta. Regular bacon works, too, if that’s what you have.
Italian Sausage – Buy the sweet Italian sausage that comes in casings, and remove the casings before breaking up the sausage into large chunks. You can also buy a package of sweet or spicy ground Italian sausage.
Vegetables – Sliced carrots, chopped celery, and diced white or yellow onion.
Garlic – Freshly minced. I like a garlicky soup, but you can adapt the number of cloves to taste.
Potatoes – You’ll want to use waxy potatoes, like baby potatoes or red potatoes for soup. Starchier varieties, like russets, tend to break apart. Chop the potatoes into bite-sized cubes.
Beans – These can be kidney beans or other white beans, like cannellini beans or butter beans. Rinse and drain any canned beans before you add them to the soup.
Chicken Stock – I’ll use my homemade chicken stock when I have it on hand, otherwise, store-bought low-sodium chicken stock works well. You can use vegetable broth if you prefer.
Kale – I love to make Zuppa Toscana with Tuscan kale, also called Lacinato, when it’s in season. That being said, just any type of kale works in this soup (curly, Russian red, baby kale, etc.).
Heavy Cream – Optional, but I love recreating the Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana with a splash of heavy cream. Another option is to use cream cheese for a richer soup.

Overhead view of two bowls of Zuppa Toscana next to a small dish of grated parmesan and a large pot of soup.

How to Make Zuppa Toscana (Tuscan Kale Soup)

I love making this one-pot soup on a weekend afternoon, and I’ll save any leftovers to reheat throughout the week. It’s very easy to make on the stovetop following the step-by-step below. Refer to the recipe card for printable instructions.

Diced bacon inside a large pot. — Cook the bacon.

Cook the bacon and sausage. Get the bacon sizzling in a heavy-bottomed pot. Once that’s browned, move it to a plate with a slotted spoon. Next, brown the sausage in the same pot, and move that to a plate, too.

Sautéed vegetables inside a large pot. — Sauté the veggies.

Sauté the veggies. Cook the onions, carrots, and celery until the veggies are softened, and stir in the garlic.
Combine and cook. Add the potatoes, beans, and stock, and return the sausage to the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer for 20 minutes.

Kale added to a pot of soup. — Add kale.

Add the greens. Add the chopped kale leaves and simmer for another 10 minutes, then take the soup off the heat.
Make it creamy. Last but not least, stir in the bacon and heavy cream, and you’re ready to serve!

A ladle lifting Zuppa Toscana from a pot.

Recipe Tips

Drain any excess grease. If you find that there’s a lot of grease left over in the pot after browning the bacon and sausage, feel free to drain some of it off before cooking the veggies.
Add the cream off the heat. If you’re finishing off your soup with heavy cream, make sure to take the pot off the heat before you add it. If the soup is too hot, the cream will curdle and split. For the same reason, I don’t recommend substituting milk for heavy cream as it’s more likely to split in the heat.
Add more flavor. This Tuscan kale soup packs loads of flavor as it is, but if you’d like to amp things up further, go ahead and add sun-dried tomatoes, sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs (like basil and parsley), or a squeeze of lemon juice.
Make it spicy. Use hot Italian sausage and/or sprinkle in crushed red pepper flakes.
Make it vegetarian. For a vegetarian version, simply leave out the bacon and sausage or substitute the meat with more beans, potatoes, or veggies. You can also bulk it up with rice or noodles, or check out my vegetarian white bean soup.

Two bowls of Zuppa Toscana next to a bowl of grated parmesan cheese.

Overhead close up view of a spoon resting in a bowl of Zuppa Toscana.

Storing and Reheating Leftover Soup

Refrigerate. Keep any leftover Tuscan kale soup in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll last for up to 4 days.
Reheat. Warm the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave until it’s heated through.
Freeze. You can freeze this Zuppa Toscana, though when possible, it’s best to freeze it without adding the heavy cream. Store the soup in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to 3 months. Thaw the soup overnight in the fridge. You can add a little heavy cream after reheating.

Description

This rich, creamy Zuppa Toscana recipe is an easy one-pot soup packed with fresh ingredients like Italian sausage, bacon, tender potatoes, beans, and kale. Like the Olive Garden, only better!

8 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced
1 ½ pound sweet Italian sausage, casing removed and broken apart into 1-inch chunks
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
4 celery sticks, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 medium waxy potatoes, cubed
1 15-ounce can kidney beans or white beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
8 cups chicken stock, or vegetable broth
3 cups chopped Tuscan kale, packed
½ cup heavy cream, optional

Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
Add the bacon and sauté until browned (about 10 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and set aside to drain.
Add the sausage to the pot and sauté until browned on all sides (about 10 minutes). Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and season with sea salt. Sauté until the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).
Add garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 1 minute).
Add the potatoes, beans (if using), chicken stock, and cooked sausage. Make sure you have rinsed and drained the canned beans before adding them to the soup.
Bring the soup to a boil before reducing the heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the kale and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat. Stir in the cooked bacon and the heavy cream (if using).
Serve! This soup is perfect with a crusty slice of bread.