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!
Featured Comment
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 cleanup 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.
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AMAZING RECIPE!! MY VERY FAVORITE SOUP!!
I made this twice! I use kale instead of spinach, low sodium chicken broth, and don’t add the salt at the end. Also I used 1/2 mild, 1/2 spicy sausage, and doubled down on the bacon and potatoes.
OMGoodness!!! Perfect comfort food! I wish I could show you the picture!
This looks amazing and definitely something I’ll be trying real soon.
ps As a new food blogger, I’m amazed by your comment section!! Hopefully I can get there one day.
A lot of my meals planned for this week are your recipes! I made this soup the other night for dinner served with some bread as suggested. Was easy and delicious. Made for great lunch leftovers as well. Looking forward to making the lemon chicken piccata tomorrow 🙂
This is a great recipe and so versatile! I had printed out the instant pot version but I like this one better. My family loved it, even our picky eaters! I tripled the broth portion because a few of us love the broth. Added in two extra potatoes. If you don’t have spinach you could always use kale or broccoli. Serve with a crusty French bread and some white wine!
I had to make a couple of dietary substitutions. Instead of pork hot Italian sausage, I used chicken hot Italian sausage. Instead of cream, I used Califia Barista oatmilk. It was delicious and the picky adult eaters in my house raved about it. Way better than than the real thing!
before serving I still add diced feta cheese
This was so much better than the original and it will definitely be going in my dinner rotation. All of your recipes are amazing.
I’ve made this several times on slow cooker. Always delicious!
This was amazing! I did not change or add a thing! This was so delicious, my family loved it because it is so different. I never tried at Olive Garden so i cannot compare it, but it was so full of flavor.
OMG, absolutely amazing, SO GOOD
LOVED this! I used Trader Joe’s brand of Hot Italian Sausage and it certainly made the dish as a whole spicier (not a complaint) and my partner could not believe there were no other seasonings used. Would probably use 2 potatoes, or 3 smaller ones next time – the broth barely covered the 3 average potatoes I added in. Also might use half-and-half, or just less heavy cream, as when I used a full cup the broth ended up even lighter than pictured.
How many servings does this make?
I don’t have heavy cream would 1/2 & 1/2 work?
Yes, the broth just wont be as thick, but it should work.
If I do not have heavy cream, I add 2T of flour, letting it cook for a minute or two, immediately before adding the chicken broth/stock. I’ve even done this with whole milk. It lends just enough thickening to make up for the lack of cream. You could probably add up to 3T flour, depending on how thick you want it.
So delicious and addicting. It’s full of flavor and freezes well.
Is there any reason this wouldn’t freeze well? We love this recipe and I’ve been thinking about making it in bulk
Generally speaking, milk or cream soups–as opposed to those which appear creamy because they are actually pureed vegetables–do not freeze well. The freezing-and-thawing causes their consistency to break down.
My husband loved this recipe!! Thank you for posting, it’s now one of his favorites!!
Better than Olive Garden’s!
As described, delicious! I found I had potatoe gnocchi and used in lieu of potatoes!
This was delicious and comes together fast. I used kale instead of spinach and used 1 cup frozen instead of 3. This is my fave at Olive Garden.