Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana is a copy-cat recipe with large slices of potato, chunks of spicy Italian sausage, bacon pieces, garlic and loads of fresh kale.
This Zuppa Toscana is one of my families most requested dishes. It is just so tasty and comforting! A few changes were made from the Zuppa Toscana you are used to at Olive Garden starting with MORE! More chunks of potatoes, more sausage, more kale and more yum.
I should mention that this recipe makes a ton of food! You can easily feed a large family of 6 with everyone leaving the table with a full belly.
Zuppa Toscana is much easier to cook than you may think. This is all cooked in a single pot! On a medium heat, cook the Italian sausage and add the bacon, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a large pot. Add 8 cups of water, bouillon cubes and slice all the potatoes, leaving skin on. Toss the potato slices in and let boil for 30 minutes.
As your potatoes boil, bake some fresh breadsticks or toss a quick salad together to pair with your soup. You will also want to chop half a bunch of kale to throw into soup when potatoes are tender, along with heavy cream.
That is it! Easy!
Let me know how this copy-cat compares to Olive Garden and share with me what other copy-cat recipes you would like to see from here at Simply Made Recipes!
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana (Copycat) |
- 1 pound Italian sausage (I use the spicy)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2.8 ounce package bacon bits
- 5 bouillon cubes
- 8 cups water
- 3 pounds russet potatoes
- .5 bunch of kale
- 1 cup heaving whipping cream
- red pepper flakes to preference
- parmesan cheese (optional)
- Gather ingredients, large pot, cutting board, knife, garlic press, cheese grater, and ladle.
- Put the pot on a burner at medium heat.
- Wash kale and potatoes well.
- Slice 3 pounds of russet potatoes leaving skin on.
- Chop .5 bunch of kale into bite sized amount.
- Cook Italian sausage in pot until browned. Add red pepper flakes according to personal preference. If you don't like heat in your food, add a limited amount. Add 2.8 ounces of bacon bits.
- Grate 3 cloves of garlic and 5 bouillon cubes into pot immediately followed by 8 cups of water.
- Add sliced potatoes into pot and bring to a boil. once boiling, lower temperature to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes. Make sure water is covering your potatoes and if not, add more water.
- Add one cup of heaving whipping cream and the chopped kale into pot and let simmer another 5 minutes.
- Stir well and serve.
- Grate some fresh parmesan cheese on top to desired taste. Enjoy!
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This looks really lovely but is it possible to make it vegetarian ?
You could swap out the sausage and bacon for something else and spice it more. I dont cook a lot of vegetarian meals so i dont know what would have a sausage like consistency. Add more kale perhaps and if going totally vegan, get rid of the heavy cream and go with maybe an almond milk. Test some things out! I bet you can!
This looks so yummy! I love a good soup on a cold day!
Same here! This is a great one.
Oh. My. Goodness! This looks absolutely delicious! I love Olive Garden, but haven’t been in ages, certainly need to make this, like now! 🙂
Wow looks so yummy! I love olive gardens chicken gnocchi and feel like they do the same on that by skimping out on actual substance! Haha. This recipe looks super delicious though, I’ve always seen it on the menu but never have been brave enough to order. 🙂
Olive Garden is one of my favorite restaurants, and this soup looks delicious!
Oh, this is perfect for guests too! Thanks!
Oh definetly. Its a big request from Ambers side of the family for sure and it makes a huge pot so you can feed a lot of people without breaking the bank!
Olive Garden is one of my favorite places to eat. I love their Zuppa Toscana and can’t wait to try this recipe to make it at home! Yum!