Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe
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So easy to make and 10x better than the original! With Italian sausage, potatoes, spinach + bacon!
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why i love this recipe
A homemade replica version of the most favorited Olive Garden soup? Yes, please! Now this copycat recipe comes together in one single pot, which is always a win on those super busy weeknights (hello, easy clean up here), loaded with crumbled spicy Italian sausage, tender russet potatoes, sneaked in greens and all the crispy bacon bits on top.
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).
tips and tricks for success
- 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, pouring very slowly to prevent curdling.
- Make it dairy-free. Need a dairy free option? Substitute coconut cream or skip the half and half.
- Add garnishes. Garnishes are always optional but a fresh sprinkle of grated Parmesan or some crispy bacon will certainly take your soup to the next level, adding more flavor, texture and contrast.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
WHAT TO SERVE WITH ZUPPA TOSCANA
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe: Frequently Asked Questions
The spicy Italian sausage does pack a little bit of heat but you can substitute mild Italian sausage as needed.
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.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the heavy cream and bacon (cream soups tend to separate when frozen) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding heavy cream and bacon when serving.
Absolutely! We have a recipe for that here.
Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe
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.
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Looks delish!
You would make my life complete if you made a recipe for OG’s chicken gnocchi soup. Totally complete!
This is my children’s favorite soup and one of the only reasons we go to The Olive Garden. It has never been my favorite as I always thought it was too bland. However, this soup is much more flavorful which means I’ll be making this one ASAP for the family.
This was absolutely delish! And yes you must have strength to not eat more than 1 bowl (it’s that good). Thanks for the share. Great spice for a cold evening to warm up!
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve already made it twice now since it was so good 🙂 Used kale the first time (my favorite) and baby spinach the second time (so my kids would eat it). Here’s my blog post about it if you’d like to see: http://busymomrecipes.com/dinner/zuppa-toscana/
Thanks again, I love all your recipes!
I’m literally writing this as I am eating this soup. It’s my second time making it and I can’t believe I’m not making this once a week. It’s perfectly creamy, perfectly spicy and just all around my favorite. thanks for my new favorite recipe!
Anyone who works at Olive Garden can tell you this recipe is wrong. Zupa does NOT have spinach in it at all. It has kale and you add it in after the soup is hot and fully cooked. It’s the chicken gnocchi that has the spinach in it.
Dave – you can add spinach or kale to the soup – all that really matters is what you prefer in your soup. Isn’t that the beauty of home cooking?
I make a lot of soups and they tend to be my most requested dishes among family and friends. I made this soup for the first time tonight and it was PERFECT. Huge success. You know that feeling of pride when your husband goes up for thirds?? I didn’t, until tonight! 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe. I know my family and friends will enjoy it for years to come. 🙂
I LOVED!!!! this soup. My parents make me a birthday meal of my choosing every year and I have always chose potato soup with my dads famous dumplings…. but now I will request this for sure. I didn’t think my kids would eat it but I just had to tell them the spinach was broccoli and they slurped it up and asked for more!!
Do you know of leftovers would freeze well??
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Ah I just made this and it was delicious! I only used half of the sausage and 1 cup of heavy cream, but we all agree that it’s the best toscana soup we’ve ever had. Thanks so much for posting this!
I use Kieabasa sausage instead of Italian (much better flavor) and Kale instead of spinach!
I see that the kale has been talked about, but did anyone mention the red pepper? Sprinkled on the sausage as it cooks, really brings the flavor out. Also, the oil can be omitted (because who needs more oil in their lives?). At OG they wipe the excess sausage grease out of the tilt, but leave just enough residual to cook the onion and garlic (at this point they also throw in the cooked bacon). I do appreciate this recipe, though, as I’m terrible at scaling back the amounts when I try to make just a small batch at home.
I made this today (random 65 degree day in July!) and it was SO good! I did use turkey sausage instead of regular, kale instead of spinach, doubled the garlic, and used coconut creamer instead of the heavy cream, as both my girls are allergic to dairy. It was really excellent, thank you!
Great recipe! Based on previous comments…I used organic baby kale rather than spinach & mild italian sausage. I also used 1 cup of half & half, 1/2 cup whipping cream and chicken stock (rather than broth). Turned out wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
I bought all the ingredients to make this the other day but I couldn’t find heavy cream at my grocery store I saw heavy whipping cream in the milk section but I wasn’t sure if that’s the same as heavy cream
Has anyone tried doing this in the crockpot?
I’m thinking I could cook up the sausage and throw all of the ingredients in my crockpot in the morning. Then 1/2 hr before serving put in the spinach (I also prefer spinach to kale). Would that be okay for a creamy soup or would it curdle? The only cream style soup i’ve made in my crockpot before was with coconut milk… might also be good with this. 🙂
I added some red pepper flakes for a little spice.
I made this today for a friend who love olive garden soups I had to tastr it. Boy my mind was blown. I love soup just love it and this one hit the spot especially today as temperature hit another history -5 degrees. I b taking this soup to work tonight for her and other coworkers to enjoy I hope she an everyone enjoy. Sssh don’t tell anybody but i am going back for my second bowl.
Oh by the way it wonderful with white wine and crusty bread. Thank you for the recipe.
Shut the front door! This was freakishly good. Made this last night and it was a great hit! I used both kale and spinach. Just fabulous. Tastes way better than the OG one! Thanks for sharing!
With Kale is THEE BEST.