This easy zuppa toscana soup is creamy and flavorful, bursting with hot sausage, bacon, potatoes, kale, and a creamy broth. This homemade version has all your favorite flavors like that classic restaurant soup, without having to leave the house. It’s satisfying, nutritious, and popular with the whole family!
I am a sucker for a good pot of soup, especially creamy, indulgent soup recipes. Chicken and gnocchi soup, chicken and wild rice soup, chicken marsala soup, and of course this zuppa toscana soup all fall in my favorite soup category. If you are craving a delicious hearty soup, this is the perfect recipe for you!
This is such a cozy meal, and I just love how easy it comes together. Made with whole, simple ingredients like spicy Italian sausage, fresh kale and tender potatoes, its hard to go wrong with this meal and you can easily whip it up any night of the week! Everyone in my family absolutely loves this super comforting soup. No one complains and everyone asks for seconds, which is an absolute win if you ask me.
Serve this up with some crusty bread, like my homemade no-knead sourdough bread, and a side salad with kefir ranch dressing. I assure you, everyone will leave happy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy – This easy zuppa toscana recipe is so simple to make. With less than ten ingredients, it can be pulled together in less than an hour. This truly makes it the best soup!
Restaurant flavor – Going out to eat can often be a large task to pull off and can be expensive if you have a family that you are taking along. So next time you have a craving for Olive Garden’s zuppa toscana soup, enjoy this delicious meal as a copycat recipe at home!
Flavorful – A creamy soup that is simple to make and is bursting with delicious flavor? Seems too good to be true, but this delicious soup is sure to be a delight to your taste buds!
Ingredients
Chicken broth – We like to substitute bone broth for classic chicken broth in recipes whenever we can. It is packed with nutrients and is super easy to make at home. Learn how to make your own bone broth at home here.
Yellow or red potatoes – I like to use small varieties like these because they don’t have to be peeled, but you can use peeled russet potatoes if you would like.
Kale – Substitute spinach for kale if you don’t have any on hand. Just wait until right before serving to add the spinach, so it doesn’t completely dissolve.
Heavy Cream – We love to use cream that we skim from our jersey cow, it is luxurious! If you want a dairy free option, try using one that has milder flavor and that tends to be creamier like cashew milk or oat milk. It won’t have the exact same texture, but it will still be delicious.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
- Large Dutch oven or stock pot
How to Make Easy Zuppa Toscana Soup
Step 1: Heat a large Dutch oven, or large stock pot, over medium heat. Chop up bacon and add to the pot. Stir occasionally, until crispy.
While the bacon is cooking, dice up an onion, potatoes, and mince the garlic.
Step 2: Strain extra bacon grease off. I like to use a fine mesh strainer and strain it into a jar to use for cooking at a later time.
Place the pot back on the stove and add onions. Sauté for a few minutes until soft.
Step 3: Add garlic and sausage. Break it up using a spatula, then allow to brown.
Step 4: Once that is nicely cooked through, add diced potatoes.
Step 5: Pour broth into the pot and bring to a simmer.
Step 6: Allow to simmer until potatoes are soft, about 10-15 minutes.
Step 7: Remove the stems and chop the kale. Add to the pot along with heavy cream.
Step 8: Season with salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Tips
- Use a heavy soup pot with a thick bottom. This helps the heat to distribute more evenly and can help to prevent your soup from burning on the bottom while cooking.
- If you are on a budget, you can easily use half the amount of sausage and save the other half for another meal, like sourdough breakfast strata.
- I like to use yellow or red potato varieties so I don’t have to peel them like you would a russet. This can be a great time saver!
Recipe FAQs
While this leftover soup is best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoyed within a few days, you can in fact freeze it for up to 2-3 months. Milk-based soups tend to be more challenging to freeze since they have a tendency to separate.
To reheat this soup after it has been in the freezer, I would suggest reheating it directly from the freezer in a pot, not letting it thaw first. Another issue with freezing this recipe is that the potatoes can turn a little mushy after being frozen. It will still taste delicious, but the texture is a little different than the original.
Broth is usually made with more of the meaty parts, whereas stock is made with bones. To add another layer, bone broth is when bones are cooked in water (and other vegetables and aromatics) for a long period of time to break down the nutrients and collagen in the bones.
I always feel like this is a loaded question. What one person finds healthy, another does not. This recipe is made from whole food ingredients that are super nutrient dense without any questionable preservatives or additives. To me, that’s a hearty, nutritious meal.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Split Pea Soup
- Tomato Soup From Scratch
- Homemade Creamy Chicken And Gnocchi Soup
- Chicken Marsala Soup
- Sausage Sauerkraut Soup
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Easy Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven or large stock pot
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 10 small potatoes, roughly 5-6 cups diced, yellow or red; I like these varieties, so I don’t have to peel them, like you would a russet
- 1 whole bulb of garlic, minced
- 1 lb Italian sausage, the “Hot” variety
- 8 cups chicken broth, 64 ounces
- 6 cups kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven, or large stock pot, over medium heat.
- Chop up bacon and add to the pot. Stir occasionally, until crispy.
- While the bacon is cooking, dice up an onion, potatoes, and mince the garlic.
- Strain extra bacon grease off. I like to use a fine mesh strainer and strain it into a jar to use for cooking at a later time.
- Place the pot back on the stove and add onions. Sauté for a few minutes until soft.
- Add garlic and sausage. Break it up using a spatula, then allow to brown.
- Once that is nicely cooked through, add diced potatoes.
- Pour broth into the pot and bring to a simmer.
- Allow to simmer until potatoes are soft, about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove the stems and chop the kale. Add to the pot along with heavy cream.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
- Use a heavy soup pot with a thick bottom. This helps the heat to distribute more evenly and can help to prevent your soup from burning on the bottom while cooking.
- If you are on a budget, you can easily use half the amount of sausage and save the other half for another meal, like sourdough breakfast strata.
- We like to substitute bone broth for classic chicken broth in recipes whenever we can. It is packed with nutrients and is super easy to make at home. Learn how to make your own bone broth at home here.
- I like to use small varieties like yellow and red potatoes because they don’t have to be peeled, this can be a great time saver! However, you can use peeled russet potatoes if you would like.
- Substitute spinach for kale if you don’t have any on hand. Just wait until right before serving to add the spinach, so it doesn’t completely dissolve.
- We love to use cream that we skim from our jersey cow, it is luxurious! If you want a dairy free option, try using one that has milder flavor and that tends to be creamier like cashew milk or oat milk. It wont have the exact same texture, but it will still be delicious.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Another favorite of your recipes! This one was so simple to put together – the timing was amazing and it made it super simple to clean as I went. Even swept the kitchen while it was simmering! Gotta multitask with work and kids!! The flavor was delicious! I did use 1/4 of the cream just bc of the calories and we don’t have high quality milk/cream available (just store bought). Served with some fresh bread. Not sourdough (yet 😉)…. My starter is on day 2! Thanks for all the simple inspiration! 🫶
This soup is easy to make, budget friendly and DELICIOUS!
A whole head of garlic? Just wondering 🙂
Your recipe calls for 1 head of garlic. If you truly mean a whole head and not just one clove, I think we could be friends. I will be trying this for sure.
This soup is super easy to make and super delicious. Also a great way to use up kale, which is in season in my area right now. Thank you for sharing.