Zuppa Toscana
I have always liked the Olive Garden’s zuppa toscana soup so I started recreating it at home several years ago and we all enjoy it. Sometimes I use spinach in this soup but I find myself using kale more and more because it really holds up well in the leftover soup. This is such an easy zuppa toscana soup recipe and it always smells amazing while it simmers. This soup turned out creamy, flavorful, and so delicious and it paired nicely with freshly baked bread and a tossed green salad.
How to Make Zuppa Toscana
Cook the diced bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until cooked through and crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from the Dutch oven with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate; set aside.
Discard all but 2-3 teaspoons of bacon grease from the Dutch oven. Add the diced onion, crushed red pepper flakes, and crushed fennel seed to the Dutch oven. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the Italian sausage and cook, breaking the sausage up into crumbles with the spoon, for 3-4 minutes.
Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to a slight boil then reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the kale and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add the half and half and stir until well combined. Taste and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.
Ladle into bowls and serve with crumbled bacon on top. Enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pieces of bacon diced
- ½ yellow onion diced
- ½ tsp fennel seeds crushed
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- ½ lb ground Italian sausage
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 3 large russet potatoes slightly peeled (okay to leave some skin on), quartered lengthwise, sliced thin
- 2 cups of kale stems removed & chopped
- 1 ½ cups half and half
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the diced bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until cooked through and crisp, about 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from the Dutch oven with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate; set aside.
- Discard all but 2-3 teaspoons of bacon grease from the Dutch oven.
- Add the diced onion, crushed red pepper flakes, and crushed fennel seed to the Dutch oven. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the Italian sausage and cook, breaking the sausage up into crumbles with the spoon, for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to a slight boil then reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the kale and continue to cook for 5-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Add the half and half and stir until well combined.
- Taste and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with crumbled bacon on top. Enjoy.
Looks very cozy, warming and delicious! I am going to have some soup for the lunch too.
I’ve never eaten the Olive Garden’s version, but yours looks delicious.
Great hardy school with so many delicious ingredients.
Looks delicious !! (I love soups every time) xo
i made this last night, and it was delicious! even my husband mentioned it, and he usually doesn’t think soup is a ‘real’ dinner. i used spinach (and heavy cream) because it was what i had. i’m not sure what ‘slightly peeled’ potatoes are, but mine came out that way anyway because my left hand is in a cast! definitely a keeper!
Yum! I made this last night and it was fabulous. I used turkey Italian sausage to lighten it up, and a whole white onion (small, not the gigantic ones). I left the skin on the potatoes entirely, and it had a nice rustic look that way. I chose to use spinach so I could have the rest of it for salad, but I’m sure kale would be good as well. This soup has great flavor…it’s amazing what a little bacon and sausage will do! Another home run soup!
Great soup, it’s now a regular at our home and it’s the winter delight that I share with the snowmobilers in our neighborhood.
Thank you for sharing your version of this delicious soup.
Ducky,
I just made it last week! We love this soup and I’m sure it tastes so good after a fun day of snowmobiling! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
-Pam