What is Zuppa Toscana?
Zuppa Toscana translates to Tuscan Soup. It’s a hearty, creamy, comfort food soup that’s filled with flavors of crispy bacon, spicy Italian sausage, tender potatoes, Parmesan cheese and creamy, along with a bit of kale. The kale makes it healthy, right?! These layers of various flavors combine for a rich and mouthwatering soup that the whole family will love. What’s even better is that my homemade version of the Olive Garden Tuscan soup is far better than the restaurant version. Sorry, Olive Garden.
Zuppa Toscana Ingredients
For this Olive Garden copycat Zuppa Toscana recipe, you’ll need:
Bacon Italian sausage Onion Garlic cloves Celery stalks Russet potatoes Cannellini beans Kosher salt, optional Black pepper Bay leaves Dried oregano Dried thyme Chicken stock or broth Kale Heavy cream Parmesan cheese
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Zuppa Toscana Soup
The beauty of this Olive Garden recipe is that you can make this soup in one of three ways: The stovetop and Instant Pot versions are ready in about 40 minutes total, which includes the time it takes for the Instant Pot to heat up. Slow cooker cooking times will vary whether you cook on low or high power, ranging from about 2 to 6 hours, depending on the what setting you’re using and your slow cooker since they do vary considerably in their heat intensity and output.
Option 1: Stovetop
Option 2: Instant Pot
Option 3: Slow Cooker
Tips for Making Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
This is a great make-ahead dinner option. The soup reheats well on the stovetop and lasts for days in the fridge. Feel free to mix and match the ingredients as you see fit! I’ve given my suggestions in the post above. I recommend using heavy cream, half and half, or at least whole milk in this recipe. Don’t use anything fat-free, as that will result in a thin and watery soup.
Recipe Variations to Try
This copycat Zuppa Toscana recipe is fairly flexible, so you can tailor the ingredients list to your needs. Here are my suggestions:
Italian sausage — If you like a spicy soup, use a spicy Italian sausage or add chorizo for added flavor. Celery — You could technically omit it, but I think they add great authentic flavor. You can also add carrots in addition. Russet potatoes — I prefer Russet potatoes in this soup, although you could try a red potato or another favorite potato. You just don’t want them to disintegrate so keep an eye on them! For a lower carb version use cauliflower. Cannellini beans — These are a buttery bean and excellent in this recipe, but another white bean or garbanzo beans could be substituted. If you don’t like beans, leave them out.
Bay leaves — These add lots of good flavor to the soup, but can be left out. Oregano and Thyme — I used dried because I always have them on hand, but you can use fresh. Use a bit more fresh than you would dried. Kale — Believe it or not, I always add more than written, because it adds such a fabulous texture and flavor. However, add it to taste. You can sub with spinach or chard. It looks like an abundant quantity when you first add it, but it wilts and reduces in volume very dramatically. Heavy cream — You can use regular cream or half-and-half (half heavy cream, half whole milk) if you prefer. Possibly you could use a dairy-free cream alternative, although I haven’t tried. Parmesan cheese — I recommend grating fresh parmesan for this, but you can use Parmesan in the jar is that’s all you have.
More Quick and Easy Soup Recipes:
15 Best Fast and Easy Soup Recipes – Warm up with these easy soup recipes! Most are ready in under 30 minutes and perfect for busy weeknights! Hearty, comforting, and so good! Unfortunately, this is not a good soup to freeze because milk products don’t often freeze and then thaw well. They can separate and look a bit unsightly, even if the taste is fine. However, you could try freezing the soup as an experiment. Freeze it before adding the cream, thaw and reheat it, and add the cream at that point. However, I haven’t personally tried this method so can’t speak from firsthand experience. Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! Easy 30-Minute Kale, White Bean, and Chicken Soup — Loaded with juicy chicken, healthy kale, and tender beans! Easy, hearty, and satisfying! Love it when something healthy tastes so good! Easy 30-Minute Minestrone Soup (Better-Than-Olive-Garden-Copycat) – Homemade is always better and this soup is amazing! The best minestrone ever! Perfect for busy weeknights and it’s healthy! Loaded Baked Potato Soup — In this loaded baked potato soup, potatoes are baked until tender before being simmered with garlic, milk, cheese, sour cream, bacon, and green onions. Creamy Sweet Potato Chicken Soup – An EASY comfort food chicken soup recipe with sweet potatoes and more to keep you full and satisfied for hours!! Ready in 30 minutes with a flexible ingredients list based on what you have on hand!! Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup – Classic, comforting, and tastes just like grandma made but way easier and faster!! This soup is AMAZING and it’ll be your new favorite recipe!! Easy 30-Minute Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup — Why have regular chicken noodle soup when you can have CREAMY instead? Pure comfort food at its finest! Ready in 30 minutes, an instant family favorite, and PERFECT for chilly weather!! Creamy Wild Rice Soup — Hearty, comforting, and loaded with chewy texture from the wild rice!! This EASY recipe is made in one pot on the stovetop, ready in no time, and perfect for chilly weather!! One-Hour French Onion Soup — This easy French onion soup recipe is ready in one hour. The broth has rich flavor, the onions are perfectly caramelized, and that cheese is heavenly.
