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Creamy Zuppa Toscana is a savory Italian soup that is made with potatoes, spicy sausage, bacon, and kale. It is thick, creamy, and delicious and is a must-make soup this fall!

A bowl of soup with a silver spoon. There is some bread lying to the side of the bowl.

Reasons You’ll LOVE This Recipe

  • Hearty and Filling: Some soups are used as a starter to a meal but this one can be used as the entree! It’s packed with protein and delicious veggies and will fill you right up.
  • Quick: This recipe is ready to go in under an hour which makes it perfect for all of those on-the-go nights!
  • Copycat Recipe: I love a good restauraunt copycat recipe that I can make at home. Add in this Copycat Olive Garden Salad and these Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks for the whole meal!

Ingredients to Make Zuppa Toscana

This soup is simple to make and doesn’t use a ton of ingredients. Make it on the stove or in a slow cooker (instructions below) and you will be making this over and over this winter season!

  • Chicken broth: This adds a lot of flavor to the base of the soup.
  • Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is a must to make a heavy, thick base for the soup. It helps soak up the potatoes and adds bold flavoring.
  • Italian Sausage: Depending on the sausage that you use, this can have a little bit of a kick. Keep that in mind and get mild Italian sausage if you aren’t crazy about heat.
  • Bacon: When combined with the sausage, the bacon is so delicious!
  • Russet Potatoes: When you are cutting these into cubes, try to keep them uniform in size. That way, they will cook evenly.
  • Onion: The onion adds so much flavor. You can use a white or a yellow onion.
  • Garlic Cloves: If you don’t have fresh garlic cloves, then you can use minced garlic. 1/2 teaspoon equals about 1 clove.
  • Spinach or Kale: This adds color, texture, and a great flavoring to the Zuppa Toscana soup.
  • Salt and Pepper: Just a dash for taste!

How to Make Zuppa Toscana

There are a few steps to take to prepare this Zuppa Tuscana soup but they are simple and let me tell you… this soup is worth every step!

  1. Cook your meats: Cook and crumble the bacon. Set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel. Cook the sausage and set aside.
  2. Prepare your potatoes: Skin each potato and slice in half and make about 1/4 inch slices. You can slice these into fourths making the potatoes more bite sized.
  3. Boil your potatoes: Bring a large pot with the chicken broth to a boil. Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until tender.
  4. Sautรฉ: While the potatoes are boiling, sautรฉ the onion and garlic until tender and set aside.
  5. Combine ingredients together: Once potatoes are tender, add sausage, onion, garlic, and chopped spinach to the pot. Boil for a couple of minutes until the spinach starts to wilt. Reduce heat and add heavy cream.
  6. Cook: Finish by cooking until heated through and add salt and pepper to taste.
4 pictures showing step by step how to make creamy Zuppa Toscana soup.

How to Make Zuppa Toscana in a Slow Cooker

This soup is so simple to make in a crockpot. It doesn’t take long to cook on the stove, but it is nice to have another option for busy days. 

  1. Brown the Meat: Cook and crumble the bacon. Set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel. Cook the sausage and set aside.
  2. Prepare your Potatoes: Skin each potato, slice it in half, and make about 1/4 inch slices. You can slice these into fourths, making the potatoes more bite-sized.
  3. Boil your potatoes: Bring a large pot with the chicken broth to a boil. Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until tender.
  4. Sautรฉ: While the potatoes are boiling, sautรฉ the onion and garlic until tender and set aside.
  5. Combine ingredients together: Once potatoes are tender, add sausage, onion, and garlic to the slow cooker.
  6. Cook: Cook on high for about 3 to 4 hours or low for about 5 to 6 hours.
  7. Last 30 Minutes: Add the kale or spinach to your slow cooker.
The top view of Zuppa Toscana soup in a pot with a ladle scooping some out.

Tips for Making Homemade Soup

I love Zuppa Toscana just the way it is but here are a few changes that I use in a pinch:

  • Substitute for Heavy Cream: The heavy cream gives this soup a lot of flavoring, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can try substitutes! Instead of using heavy cream, you can use half and half or 1 cup of milk with three tablespoons of cornstarch whisked in.
  • Add More Veggies: If you like more vegetables, Try adding in some carrots or corn.
  • Can I use Spinach Instead? Yes! You can use spinach or kale in this recipe!
  • Add Heat: If you add in a dash of red pepper flakes, the spiciness of this recipe will be taken up a notch!
A close up of Zuppa Toscana in a ladel.

Storing Leftovers

This delicious Zuppa Toscana soup makes the perfect leftovers!

  • In the Refrigerator: prepare and make this soup as instructed. Once it has cooled, place it in an airtight container or ziplock bag. It will last in your fridge for 2 to 3 days.
  • In the Freezer: If you plan on freezing this soup, I recommend leaving out the potatoes and kale and adding that in just before serving. Cook the soup (without the potatoes and kale) and store the soup in a ziplock bag (don’t forget to label it with the date!) for about one month.
  • To Reheat: If you are reheating from frozen, thaw the soup overnight in the freezer. Just before serving, add in cooked potatoes and kale and cook on the stove over medium-low heat. Once the kale starts to wilt, it’s ready to serve.

More Delicious Soup Recipes

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Creamy Zuppa Toscana Soup

4.88 from 24 votes
By: Alyssa Rivers
Creamy Zuppa Toscana is a savory Italian soup that is made with potatoes, spicyย sausage, bacon, and kale. It is thick, creamy, and delicious and is a must-make soup this fall!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 10 people

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Cook the bacon for 5 minutes and crumble it. Set aside on a plate lined with a paper towel. Cook the sausage and set aside.
  • Skin each potato, and slice it in half, and make about ยผย  in slices. (You can slice these into fourths making the potatoes more bite-sized.)
  • Bring a large pot with the chicken broth to a boil. Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until tender.
  • While the potatoes boil, saute the onion and garlic for about 5-7 minutes or until tender and set aside.
  • Once potatoes are tender, add sausage, onion, garlic, bacon, and chopped spinach to the pot. Boil for 2-3 minutes until the spinach starts to wilt. Reduce heat and add heavy cream.
  • Cook for 10 minutes or until heated through, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Video

Notes

Originally Posted on November 19, 2013
Updated on October 12, 2023

Nutrition

Calories: 490kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 13gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 115mgSodium: 512mgPotassium: 609mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1411IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 62mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner, Main Course, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine: American, Italian, Italian American
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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Recipe Rating




89 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made it following the recipe exactly. Yum! Now Iโ€™d like to try the crock pot version for a church luncheon, but I donโ€™t see when to add the cream. I noticed that someone else asked this same question, but there wasnโ€™t an answer.

    1. Hi Kathi, thank you for your comment and review! That means a lot. For the crock pot instructions, add the cream in with the spinach! Let me know how it turns out!

  2. I had some bacon grease I used to sautรฉ the garlic and a shallots instead of the onion. Loved your recipes. I had to substitute but even so it was still great. Thank you

  3. Im pretty new at cooking. My wife has cooked all throughout our marriage, so now it/s my turn. I hope she likes my cooking.lol thanks for your help. Dave

  4. I’m 68 yrs old and I thought I had a lifetimes worth of recipes stored in my head. My family, friends and their children have benifited from these. Your recipes have made cooking exciting again. Tried and true is great but old dogs can learn new tricks. Thank you for sharing!

    1. Hi Judy! Thanks for giving my recipes a try! I’m so happy you’re able to enjoy them with your family!

  5. 5 stars
    I made this soup this weekend, and have to say that it is definitely better than Olive Gardenโ€™s own version! Will definitely put it on my โ€œto make frequentlyโ€ soup list!! Thank you for sharing Alyssa!

  6. 5 stars
    I personally don’t care for this but my wife loves this at Olive Garden so I gave the recipe a try…….she LOVED it!! She said it’s as good if not better than O.G’s. I’ve since made it numerous times for her. Thanks ๐Ÿ˜ btw….my favorite is the Paste e Fagioli. I made your version and it’s BETTER than O.G.

  7. 5 stars
    This was FANTASTIC! The more I ate, the more I came to the conclusion that this was better than Olive Gardenโ€™s!! This is a keeper!!

  8. 5 stars
    Instead of sausage use fresh chorizo makes it absolutely great! Lots of flavor happy I saved this one

  9. 5 stars
    I made this recipe as written. Loved it until I added the heavy cream. I found the cream to be overwhelming. I will try 1 cup of milk instead when I make this recipe again.

  10. 5 stars
    Great soup for tailgating! I used a spicy carnitas stock, exchanged some of the cream for red wine and added hominy, Swiss chard and basil! Delish!

  11. 4 stars
    Easy, quick and tasty! Made half recipe to save the rest for sausage breakfast gravy and biscuits. Used red potatoes and only a couple ๐Ÿฅ“, added some sliced grape ๐Ÿ… for color. ๐Ÿ„ might also be good. Did not seem to need much extra๐Ÿง‚, really. Would def make again!

  12. Can you clarify the amount of chicken broth to use? 14 oz total or 3- 14oz cans for 42oz of chicken broth? Thank you