Easy Zuppa Toscana

Love the Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana? It's so simple to recreate it at home. This creamy sausage, bacon, potato, and kale soup is total comfort food!

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian American

Keyword Zuppa Toscana copycat, Zuppa Toscana recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 35

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 669kcal

Author Natasha Bull

Ingredients

5 strips of bacon (thick cut works best)
1 pound Italian sausage see note
1 medium onion chopped
5 cloves garlic minced
2 cups chicken broth (beef works too)
4 cups water
4 large red potatoes diced (leave skins on)
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup heavy/whipping cream
1 small bunch of kale torn into bite-size pieces (remove stems)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Using kitchen shears (or a knife), cut the bacon into small pieces and add it to a pot. Cook for 5 minutes over medium-high heat to give the bacon a bit of a head start before adding in the sausage.
Add the sausage meat to the pot.
Allow the sausage and bacon to get nicely browned and crispy (this can take 15+ minutes). Stir occasionally. There may be quite a lot of fat in the pot (especially if you're using thick cut bacon), so you may want to spoon some out and discard it, but be sure to leave a few tablespoons in there as it adds flavor.
Stir in the onions and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, water, potatoes, and Italian seasoning to the pot.
Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to medium-low heat to simmer.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Add in the cream and kale, and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the kale is soft and wilted. Season with salt & pepper as needed.

Notes

To save prep time, I chop the onion and potatoes while the bacon and sausage cook.
For the sausage, either use ground sausage meat or a pack of Italian sausages (I use a 5-pack of Johnsonville mild Italian sausages that's 500g/17.6 oz. here in Canada) and take the meat out of the casings. A little more than a pound is totally fine!
Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes would work if you don't want to use red potatoes. Aim for approx. 1.5 pounds of potatoes.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition