If you have ever been to Olive Garden and have had their Zuppa Toscana, then you are going to love this soup. I made a BIG pot of it the other day and by the end of dinner, there was only about a spoonful of it left at the bottom of the pot. Thank heaven there were only four of us for dinner that night.
I found this recipe a year or two ago at Robbie’s Recipes. She has some copycat recipes on her website as well as other recipes. I hadn’t visited her website since I got the Zuppa Toscana, but today I took a look and I can see that there are a number of recipes on that site that could keep me busy in the kitchen for a while.
You know, if I stopped looking at recipes right now and started cooking all of the ones that I have added to my “collection”, I would not be able to finish them all before I die. Seriously. I wonder how many man hours it would take to complete all of that cooking? It’s staggering to contemplate!
What to serve with Zuppa Toscana
Breadsticks. Try one of these: Quick and Easy Breadsticks or Better Than Olive Garden Breadsticks
Salad. Try one of these: Antipasto Salad, Caesar Salad, Tomato Salad, or Greek Pasta Salad
Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 8 strips bacon
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage
- 2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean and sliced into ¾-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, medium dice
- 4 cloves garlic, minced about 2-3 teaspoons
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or an amount of your choosing
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown bacon; remove and set aside to drain on paper towels.
- In the same Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces. While reserving 2-4 tablespoons fat, remove sausage and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
- Leave two tablespoons of rendered fat in the Dutch oven. Sauté the potatoes, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in the rendered bacon fat over medium or medium low heat. Sauté until the onion begins to be translucent and the potatoes are still a little firm, but are beginning to soften.
- Add the bacon, sausage, chicken broth, salt, and pepper to the pot. Simmer until the potatoes are tender. Stir in kale and cream. Heat until warm throughout.
Notes
- Sautéing the potatoes, onion and garlic in the rendered bacon fat adds depth of flavor to the soup.
- The chicken stock can be replaced by 6 cups of water and 6 bouillon cubes. Salt will need to be reduced.
- Serve with breadsticks and a salad. Try one of these breadstick recipes: Quick and Easy Breadsticks or Better Than Olive Garden Breadsticks.
Nutrition
This is kale. It is a cool weather leafy green vegetable in the collard and mustard green family. You see it a lot used as a base at salad bars; it makes the bowls or containers of vegetables look pretty. Southern people eat a lot of kale. Not as much as collard greens, but baby we like it. Cook it with a little bacon drippings or “fat back” and you have yourself a very fine side dish.
Cook the sausage and bacon, separately. Then, set them aside. Save about 2 tablespoons of the rendered bacon fat. You will need this for sauteing the potatoes, onions, and garlic.
While the sausage and bacon are cooking, you can prep the vegetables. Leave the peelings on the potatoes.
After you remove the bacon from your pot, add the UNPEELED, diced potatoes, onions, and garlic. You can also sprinkle everything with salt at this point. Use a light hand on the salt because the chicken bouillon will add salt as well. Cook the vegetables until the onions start to get translucent and the potatoes have softened a little.
Add the water, bouillon cubes, sausage, and bacon to the vegetables and give them a stir. Bring everything to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are done. You can test them for doneness by piercing them with a fork.
Stir in the kale and the cream. Heat through over medium heat.
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Yup, gonna try this one!
I make this soup, too, in the fall and winter. It is one of my favorites. The only difference is that I have never used bacon, only sausage–but I will definitely try that next time. I also add in some red pepper flakes (the packets you get from take-out pizza)to add a kick. I have also used half-half instead of heavy cream.
The pepper flakes sound like a nice touch. It’s good to know that half and half works well instead of the heavy cream. Thanks for sharing your ideas!
I tried the soup it’s just delicious and will make it again we all loved it.
Thanks Vera
Vera, thank you! I’m so glad that you liked this soup.
~Terri
No offense but prep time on this is NOT 20 minutes. It takes me about an hour and a half just to cut everything up and then I have to cook the soup!