This classic Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe taste way better than the restaurant version that everyone will love!
My husband used to love going to Olive Garden because of the endless soup and salad, I mean who doesn’t? Haha Recently he’s been really trying hard to get me to go to Olive Garden and finally we decided to go when we had family in town. Their Zuppa Toscana soup is so good, so of course I had to come up with a way to have it at home for less money! This soup has all the great flavors of the traditionally Olive Garden soup, but making at home is much more convenient, and tastes way better! If you’ve never had this soup… it’s a creamy soup with tender potatoes, Italian sausage, crispy bacon, and healthy kale.
WHAT’S IN ZUPPA TOSCANA SOUP?
Honestly, you don’t really need much to make this yummy soup which is nice because it contains so much flavor. Anyway, Zuppa Toscana soup is typically made with crumbled Italian sausage, bacon, potatoes, kale, chicken broth and heavy cream. The combination is literally warms your soul and it’s absolutely mouthwatering.
CAN I FREEZE ZUPPA TOSCANA SOUP?
I’m not really sure about that one as soups that have been made with dairy can tend to separate when frozen then reheated. So with that being said, if you want to freeze this soup, I would recommend freezing it before adding the cream.
HOW DO I THICKEN MY SOUP?
Traditionally this soup is pretty brothy, but if you prefer a thicker soup like me, then it’s really easy to thicken it. I recommend adding a cornstarch slurry to the soup. To do this you must mix about 1 1/2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 2-3 Tbsp of cold water, and stir it in when you add the cream. Stir occasionally for the next 5 minutes or so and the soup will begin to thicken up.
Zuppa Toscana Soup
Ingredients
- 5 ½ Cups reduced sodium Chicken Broth
- 1 lb Ground mild Italian Sausage
- 1 Cup Yellow onion, chopped
- ½ Tablespoon Butter
- 8-9 Slices Bacon
- 4-6 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 2-3 Russet potatoes, thinly sliced (no need to peel them unless you prefer)
- Kosher salt and black pepper, as needed
- Garlic powder, as needed
- Basil, as needed
- Paprika, as needed
- 1-2 Teaspoons Red Chili flakes, optional
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream, add more if needed
- 3 Cups Chopped kale, stems removed
For Cornstarch Slurry
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 2-3 Tablespoons Cold water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Add bacon to foil lined sheet tray and place in the oven until crispy and cooked through. Remove from the oven, let cool and chop. Set aside.
- In a heavy based pot or large Dutch oven, cook sausage over medium heat, while breaking up the meat with the end of your wooden spoon. Add in chopped yellow onion and a little butter.
- Add sliced potatoes to the pot and continue cooking. Add in the garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.
- Increase heat to medium-high, pour in chicken broth and bring to boil for about 10 minutes or so until the potatoes are slightly tender. Season broth with paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and basil and chili flakes.
- Reduce heat back to medium and stir in the heavy cream. Let simmer for about 2-3 minutes then add in cornstarch slurry and stir until soup begins to thicken. Add in chopped kale and stir until leaves have softened. Add chopped bacon on top and enjoy!
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