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This EASY Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup is a super quick and simple copycat recipe with hearty, creamy flavors you can’t resist!
If you are like me and my family, we can’t get enough soup.
Especially in the winter. My crockpot gets SO much use with this recipe. We make this soup at least twice a month. And it makes enough to last several days!
I have loved Olive Garden since I was a kid. I had mostly all of my birthday dinners there, upon my choosing. I could have gone for steak, Chinese, sushi, burgers…nope. I wanted Olive Garden. Every year. It’s the breadsticks. The unlimited soup and salad. The smells. The Italian music. The super friendly wait staff. And those little mints at the end of the meal is the cherry on top.
One of my all-time favorite meals on their menu is their Zuppa Toscana Soup. I could eat a gallon of it. I’m not even kidding.
When COVID hit and we were all on lockdown, I really craved a big bowl of it. So I thought, why not make my own? And have enough for the next several days? I was all in. I needed to make this soup. The kale, the creamy sausage, the potatoes, my mouth waters every time I think of this rich soup.
This meal is SO easy to make! You literally throw the ingredients in your slow cooker/ crock pot, and let it cook for 6 hours on high.
What is Zuppa Toscana Soup?
Simple. Zuppa means “soup” in Italian. And Toscana refers to the Tuscany region of Italy. (Have you ever been? It’s on my bucket list, for sure!)
So it means Tuscan Soup, or Tuscan-style soup, which traditionally is like a minestrone with veggies, beans, potatoes, olive oil and spices. But then Americans do what Americans do and added all the cream and heartiness to make this a meal in itself. The American version is sausage, kale, potatoes, bacon, garlic and cream. Sounds heavenly, right?
Is Zuppa Toscana soup healthy?
This soup is free from gluten, as it does not contain any grains that contain gluten.
Second, the kale, potatoes, garlic and onion provide essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs every day.
And the base of the soup, which is chicken broth, is great for your hair, skin, nails and immune system.
The sausage, butter and heavy cream are not the best, as they do have saturated fats. Go easy on the bacon or withhold all together, and go easy on the half and half, or switch to fat-free half and half if you are counting calories.
You can get a leaner sausage, or even try turkey sausage! We have tried this and loved it. Can’t taste much of a difference, honestly. Overall, I think it is a great choice for a hearty, healthy meal.
If you are a kale lover like me, you need to check out THIS POST for my favorite kale juice I drink EVERY DAY. You will love it!
How much will I have for leftovers?
If you have experience making soups for your family, you know that some soups freeze very well, and some just do not.
Unfortunately, this is one soup that does not freeze well. Because of the freshness of the kale, it will become soggy and turn brown. And the potatoes will turn brown and mushy as well.
I would not recommend freezing this soup, it just won’t be the same as eating it freshly cooked.
That said, this soup recipe does make A LOT. Like, the entire crock pot is full.
So it is best to finish within 3 to 5 days at most. Trust me, though, you won’t have a problem finishing it! We go through ours in 3 days at the longest.
If you have some leftover soup, give some to your neighbors or your parents as they will appreciate a home-cooked soup!
What can you serve with Zuppa Toscana Soup?
We love to make fresh garlic bread with ours and dip in the soup. Here is a quick recipe for my garlic bread:
1 French bread loaf cut into 1″ slices
1/2 stick butter or margarine
4 TBS olive oil
2 TBS minced garlic
Mix and heat in microwave 30 seconds or until butter melts.
Use brush or spoon to spread over bread on cookie sheet.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese generously on top. Bake 20 minutes at 375 degrees. Voila!
More ideas to serve with Zuppa Toscana Soup
Easy side salad, caesar salad, rolls, crackers, vegetables for the side. Even pasta! Think light sides though because you want this soup to be the main dish.
I would love to know what you think of this recipe! There are so many out there, you can’t go wrong. This one is my family’s favorite though.
Bon Appetit!
Things you will need
Recipe
2 pounds sweet Italian ground sausage
1 stick of butter
1 large white onion, diced
2 TBS minced garlic
8 cups (2 cartons) Chicken Broth, low sodium
3 Russet Potatoes, chopped
Salt & Pepper, to taste
2 cups heavy cream, fat-free recommended
5 oz fresh kale, packaged like HERE
Chopped bacon, bacon bits – optional
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping
- Place italian sausage, butter, onion, garlic, chicken broth, potatoes, salt & pepper in to crock pot. Set to HIGH for 6 hours.
- Mash up Italian sausage with meat masher, breaking it up into crumbles. Stir soup mixture about halfway through.
- Add heavy cream and kale (and bacon, optional) and cook for additional 30 minutes.
- Top with parmesan and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet Italian ground sausage
- 1 stick of butter
- 1 large white onion diced
- 2 TBS minced garlic
- 8 cups 2 cartons Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 4 Russet Potatoes chopped
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 2 cups heavy cream fat-free recommended
- 5 oz fresh kale
- Chopped bacon bacon bits – optional
- Grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Place italian sausage, butter, onion, garlic, chicken broth, potatoes, salt and pepper to crock pot. Set to HIGH for 6 hours.
- About halfway through, stir soup mixture and mash up italian sausage with a meat masher.
- 30 minutes before serving, add heavy cream and kale (and bacon, optional) and continue to cook.
- Top with parmesan and enjoy.
Tried it? Love it? Hate it? Wanna add something?
Comment below and let me know!
And post to your social media and tag @onetopknotmama and #onetopknotmama!
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