This copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Recipe is a creamy sausage, potato, and kale soup made in one pot in about 40 minutes. It uses simple ingredients, costs less than eating out, and has become a family favorite.
Zuppa Toscana is one of our all-time favorite Olive Garden soup recipes, and it tastes just like the restaurant. It’s rich and creamy, but the kale keeps it from feeling heavy, so we can make it year-around, not just on cold nights. If you’d rather let it cook while you’re busy, try my Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana Recipe or Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
- Tastes like the restaurant bowl. Creamy broth, Italian sausage, soft potatoes, and kale, with easy add-ins if you want it even close to Olive Garden’s.
- You control the heat. Use mild sausage for the kids or hot sausage for a peppery kick.
- Freezer-friendly. Freeze the base before adding the cream, and it won’t separate when you reheat it.
- Easy to customize. Swap in spinach for kale, half-and-half for cream, or cauliflower for potatoes with what you already have.
What is Zuppa Toscana?
Zuppa Toscana means “Tuscan soup” in Italian. The version most of us know from Olive Garden is a creamy American twist made with Italian sausage, potatoes, and kale in a garlicky chicken broth.
Our copycat keeps everything you love about the restaurant bowl but skips the bacon to keep it simpler and cheaper. But the browned Italian sausage brings plenty of flavor on its own. It’s so close to the original that my kids actually prefer ours.
Ingredients
- Ground Italian Sausage – Mild sausage keeps this kid-friendly. Hot sausage gives it the peppery kick of the restaurant version. I often do half hot and half mild.
- Olive Oil – Just enough to keep the sausage from sticking when cooking.
- Minced Garlic – Jarred minced garlic is a budget-friendly time saver.
- Onion – Chop into small pieces.
- Russet Potatoes – Russet potatoes turn soft and release a little starch, which naturally thickens the broth. Peel and cut them into even, bite-size pieces so they finish cooking at the the same time.
- Chicken Broth – We recommend using low-sodium broth. The sausage and Parmesan are already salt, so this lets you season to taste at the end.
- Kale – Strip the leaves off the tough stems and chop them into bite-size pieces. It looks like a lot but it cooks way down. Bagged pre-chopped kale works great too.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – This gives the soup its restaurant-style richness. Half-and-half works for a lighter soup.
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese (for topping)
How to Make Zuppa Toscana Soup
Step 1 – Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Then add in the olive oil, ground sausage and onion. Brown the sausage in the pot and crumble the sausage as it cooked.
Step 2 – Drain off any excess grease from the pan from the cooked sausage. Then add in the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant. Make sure the onions and garlic are cooked.
Step 3 – Then add in the potatoes, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Stir occasionally to combine all the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil and then gently boil over medium high heat for 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Step 4 – Then stir in the heavy whipping cream and chopped kale. Cook for approximately 5-6 minutes until the kale is slightly wilted.
Step 5 – Serve warm and enjoy! Use a slotted spoon if you want to get just the yummy ingredients.
Variations and Substitutions
- Add Bacon – We like to add small pieces of cooked bacon for even more flavor.
- Make it Spicier – Use hot Italian sausage (or half hot, half mild) and add ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes with the garlic.
- Thicken up the soup – If you like a thicker soup, you can add more potatoes and once they are cooked mash some of them and add it back into the soup. You can also mix about a tablespoon of cornstarch with about two tablespoons of heavy cream and stir it in when you are adding the cream.
- Use Frozen Potatoes – Don’t want to chop or peel potatoes, you can use frozen potatoes instead
What to Serve with Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup?
- Dinner Rolls are a must – Serve this amazing soup with warm bread like Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls Recipe and you can’t go wrong.
- Bread for Dipping – You definitely want something to dip into this amazing soup like our Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe. We also love this Garlic Bread Cheese Sticks Recipe and Easy Stuffed Cheesy Bread Recipe. They are perfect for dipping and so yummy. You can get every last drop of that delicious soup.
- Grab some bakery bread – If you don’t have time to make bread sticks, grab some french bread from the bakery. Yum!
- Italian Salad – For the full Olive Garden soup-and-salad night at home, toss lettuce, tomatoes, red and croutons with our Olive Garden Salad Dressing.
- Add some Vegetables – You can also serve with some roasted vegetables
How to Store and Reheat
We love leftover soup, and this one tastes even better the next day. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
To reheat, warm it on the stove over low heat, stirring often, until hot. Don’t let it boil, or the cream can separate. The potatoes soak up broth overnight, so stir in a splash of chicken broth or milk if it’s thicker than you like.
How to Freeze Zuppa Toscana
Most creamy soups don’t freeze well because the cream can separate and turn grainy after thawing. This fix is simple, freeze the soup before the cream and kale go in. This is how I always freeze this soup, and it tastes freshly made when you finish it.
- Make the soup by adding the sausage, onion, garlic and broth. Take it off the heat when the potatoes are just fork-tender so they don’t get too soft when you reheat.
- Let it cool completely, then ladle it into freezer bags or containers. Write the date on the label, along with “add 1 cup cream and the kale.”
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- To serve, thaw overnight in the fridge. Warm it on the stove over medium heat until simmering, then stir in the cream and chopped kale and cook 5-6 minutes until the kale is tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the sausage. With mild Italian sausage, it’s kid-friendly with no real heat. Hot sausage give it a peppery kick closer to the restaurant version.
No. Kale cooks down and softens in this soup, but fresh spinach works too. I’ve made it with spinach and it turned out just as good. Stir spinach in at the very end since it wilts in about a minute.
Yes. Swap the heavy cream for half-and-half. The soup won’t be quite as thick and rich, but it’s still delicious.
Use chopped cauliflower in place of the potatoes and simmer just until fork-tender.
The ingredients are naturally gluten-free, but check the labels on your sausage and chicken broth since some brands add fillers.
More Olive Garden Recipes
Did you make this soup? I’d love to hear how it turned out for your family! Leave a star rating and a comment below. Tell me whether you went with mild or hot sausage, swapped in spinach, or tried the freeze-ahead method. Your reviews help other busy families find recipes they can count on, and I read every single one.
Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Italian Sausage
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- ½ onion chopped
- 4 Russet Potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Bunch Kale stems removed and cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- ½ cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese for topping
See how we calculate recipe costs.
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Then add in the olive oil, ground sausage and onion. Brown the sausage in the pot and crumble the sausage as it cooked.
- Drain off any excess grease from the pan.
- Then add in the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Then add in the potatoes, salt, pepper and chicken broth.
- Stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then gently boil over medium high heat for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Then stir in the heavy whipping cream and kale. Cook for approximately 5-6 minutes until the kale is slightly wilted.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Spice level:Â Mild Italian sausage keeps it kid-friendly. Use hot sausage for a restaurant-style kick.Â
- Salt:Â Low-sodium broth lets you season to taste at the end.Â
- To freeze:Â Make the soup through step 3, cool, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw, reheat, then add the cream and kale.Â
- Storage:Â Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat over low heat without boiling.Â
