Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe
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An Olive Garden copycat recipe! This zuppa toscana soup is made with crumbled sausage, tender potatoes, spinach and bacon. So cozy, so hearty!
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My husband always gets this at Olive Garden so I thought I’d make it at home for him. He RAVED about it- said it was better than Olive Garden’s and could eat it every night. Thanks so much for an easy yummy recipe!
Why you’ll love Olive Garden zuppa toscana
- Copycat recipe. This is Olive Garden’s most favorited, most-loved soup, and you can whip this up right at home in a single pot, which is always a win on those super busy weeknights (hello, easy clean up here). It’s made with crumbled Italian sausage, tender russet potatoes, sneaked in leafy greens, and all the crispy bacon crumbles sprinkled on top.
- Allows for complete customization. By making this restaurant-favorite at home, you have full control over all the ingredients. Make it spicy, make it mild, make it extra creamy, or make it a little lighter with healthier swaps.
- Leftovers taste even better. Similar to lasagna, zuppa toscana tastes even better the very next day, really letting the flavors marry overnight.
- Budget-friendly. You can enjoy restaurant-quality soup for just a fraction of the cost using better quality ingredients all around.
WHAT IS ZUPPA TOSCANA?
Zuppa toscana is a soup from northern Italy in Tuscany. Translated word for word, zuppa toscana literally means Tuscan soup, also known as minestra di pane in Italy (bread soup).
Key Ingredients
- Italian sausage: mild or spicy
- Aromatics: garlic and onion
- Liquid: chicken broth or chicken stock
- Potatoes: russet potatoes
- Greens: baby spinach or kale
- Cream: heavy cream or half and half for a lighter version
- Seasoning: salt and pepper
- Topping: bacon crumbles
How to make Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe
- Cook the bacon. Place the diced bacon in a Dutch oven over medium hight heat. Pro tip: you do not need to add oil as the bacon will render its own natural fat. Cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, bubbly, and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside, leaving 2 tablespoons of bacon grease in the Dutch oven.
- Brown the sausage. Add the Italian sausage with the casing removed. Crumble and break apart the sausage as it cooks, stirring until browned and cooked through. Drain the excess fat but reserve 2 tablespoons in the Dutch oven.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the garlic and onion until the onions are soft and translucent.
- Simmer. Stir in the chicken broth and russet potatoes. Reduce the heat and let it simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 10 minutes.
- Finish. Stir in the spinach (or kale) and heavy cream.
- Serve. Season with salt and pepper, and serve warm, sprinkled with the reserved crispy bacon.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH ZUPPA TOSCANA
Tools For This Recipe
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe: Frequently Asked Questions
Is zuppa toscana soup spicy?
The spicy Italian sausage does pack a little bit of heat but you can substitute mild Italian sausage for milder flavors.
What is heavy cream?
Heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) has one of the highest fat contents with about 36-40% fat. Half and half or whole milk are suitable substitutes, but will yield a lighter result.
How can I store leftovers?
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, gently reheating on the stovetop until warmed through.
Is this freezer-friendly?
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the heavy cream and bacon (cream soups tend to separate when frozen) in individual freezer bags. To reheat, thaw overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop, adding heavy cream and bacon when serving.
Can I make this in the Instant Pot?
Absolutely! I have a recipe for that here.
Do you have a recipe for Olive Garden’s pasta e fagioli?
Yes! You can find the copycat recipe here.
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe
An Olive Garden copycat recipe! This zuppa toscana soup is made with crumbled sausage, tender potatoes, spinach and bacon. So cozy, so hearty!
Video
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium hight heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; drain excess fat, reserving 2 tablespoons in the stockpot, and set aside.
- Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat, reserving 2 tablespoons in the stockpot.
- Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in spinach until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnished with bacon.
Equipment
Notes
- Render some bacon fat. Save some of the leftover bacon fat to cook the sausage and aromatics – this will add a rich, smoky base layer to the soup. And the bacon crumbles will double as a garnish when serving.
- Use starchy potatoes. Russet potatoes have a high starch content, naturally thickening the soup into a velvety consistency while soaking up the rich flavors.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Add the cream slowly. Always add the heavy cream at the very end of cooking, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- Make it dairy-free. Substitute coconut cream or skip the heavy cream.
- Add garnishes. Garnishes are always optional but a fresh sprinkle of grated Parmesan or some crispy bacon will take your soup to the next level, adding more flavor, texture and contrast.
- Freeze without the heavy cream. The dairy (heavy cream) may separate or look grainy when thawed. If you are planning to freeze the soup, hold off on the heavy cream and bacon, and portion the soup into plastic freezer bags in individual servings. Label, date, and freeze up to 2 months.
Did you make this recipe?
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Absolutely love this soup and it’s so easy to make ❤️
This is an amazing recipe! My family loves it! Thanks so much for sharing!
This is excellent! I’ve made it with potatoes as well as with cauliflower. I just boiled the cauliflower like I did the potatoes. It came out great for a low carb option.
Definitely a winner. I think the receipe is very good as written. I used a 50:50 mix of normal and low sodium chicken stock and was very conservative with the seasoning to start, so it was a little bland at first. Kept adding blue diamond kosher salt progressively, added another 1/4 cup of cream, and poured a little bit of the rendered fat back in. Finally, I stirred in some grated parmesean and after garnishing with the bacon–voila–it was perfect! Paired it with a nice Chianti Classico.
Might add a touch more spinach and sausage next time and reduce the cream a bit, but overall, I feel like it nailed right out of the box. Yum!
I’ve made this recipe over and over and over. Thank you for sharing it. I use half and half instead of heavy cream because that’s all I had the first time I made it. But now I use it each time to save calories. It’s just as good, imho. I increase the broth and spinach and usually add some parmesan cheese just before serving. Delicious!
This soup is soooo delicious! I’ll be making it again and again.
Comforting and delicious! I love this soup at Olive Garden and was thrilled to find this recipe. It would be wonderful as is, but I threw in extra spinach for the extra nutrition. When I make it again, I will increase the water by 1/2 cup and decrease the heavy cream by the same amount. That will more closely align with OG’s version, and it will be just as tasty. Thanks for this recipe!
Amazing and very easy! It’s a keeper.
Delicious and so easy!
This is my third time making this delicious soup! I love the quick and easy recipe. Thank you! So far, every recipe of yours I’ve tried has been 5 stars!
I like this ingredient list in comparison to the other instant pot style recipe … would I make the time the same as the instant pot recipe for this one? Thanks 😀 My daughter is chomping at the bit to try this and I just wanted to make sure it would technically be the same cook time as the instant pot Zuppa Toscana recipe.
When is the olive oil added? Am I missing it? Thanks.
This is amazing soup, easy for weeknights too and so flavorful. If I want to make it low carb/keto I sub potatoes with cauliflower and its still very delicious.
Yumm! I definitely needed another two or 3 cups of broth. I threw in some diced roasted red peppers and swapped the spinach for kale.
Hi Andrea, did you add the kale at the same time as you would have added the spinach?
thanks!
Susan
So good! Fast and easy too.
I have been making this for several years. It’s my son’s favorite!
Olive garden uses kale. I’ve been making the recipe for over a decade. It’s absolutely the best soup on the planet.
I love this recipe! I didn’t have bacon but had a little baconfat and it’s yummy!!!!
I’ve been making this soup for 6+ years an just realized I haven’t left a review. This is an amazing recipe and I only get compliments when I make it. It’s a must in any dinner rotation and makes great leftovers.
Truly better than the original and a go to family meal, especially in the fall and cold winter when the family is a bit under the weather. I used kale because that is what we had on hand. Will need to try with the spinach.
My husband always gets this at Olive Garden so I thought I’d make it at home for him. He RAVED about it- said it was better than Olive Garden’s and could eat it every night. Thanks so much for an easy yummy recipe!