If you love this soup, but have a hard time going to Olive Garden and ordering anything other than your favorite pasta, you are in luck! I have a copy-cat recipe that you can make and eat in the comfort of your home. It is super easy to make so it will save you some precious time and money. Another great aspect of this soup is that it is cooked – start to finish – with one pot!
This Zuppa Toscana recipe includes ground sausage, potatoes, and kale, with a little bacon in a creamy chicken broth. Of course, it isn’t going to taste like “the O.G.” without having some fresh grated Parmesan cheese to go on top.
The Details
If you’re a fan of many of my other recipes, you can likely guess that I used my favorite dutch oven to cook this soup from start to finish. The first thing you want to do is brown your ground sausage and bacon. After draining off excess fat, you will add warm flavors and aromatics with fresh diced onion and garlic with crushed red pepper.
Next, you’ll add the chicken broth and sliced potatoes. I prefer leaving the skins on my potatoes – or at least half of them. It takes some of the work out of the process, but if you do not like potato skins, use a peeler to remove them before slicing.
With the lid on, this combination will cook for about 30 minutes. In the last steps of this recipe, the kale and heavy cream are added to the broth and given a good stir. In about 10 minutes, this soup will be great to serve with a bit of salty Parmesan cheese.
The Rest of the Menu..
I served my soup with a simple salad of romaine, sliced cucumber, onion, and tomato, dressed with Olive Garden’s signature salad dressing that you can find at your local grocery store, or HERE. Also on the menu – garlic bread!
This will be a crowd-pleaser at your home as it has been at mine, and for many who have visited Olive Garden for years! ENJOY!
The Recipe
Zuppa Toscana – Olive Garden Copy-Cat
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground sausage
- 3-4 sliced bacon, diced
- 1 whole onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 15 oz. chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 5 russet potatoes, sliced
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 cups chopped kale
- grated parmesan cheese for topping optional
Instructions
- In a large pot saute sausage and bacon until until browned. Drain excess grease.
- In the same pot, add onion and garlic, with crushed red pepper, and cook over medium heat until translucent and fragrant. Try to avoid burning.
- Add chicken broth, water, potatoes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium temperature and cover until potatoes are tender – approximately 20 minutes.
- Stir in kale, and heavy cream. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, if needed. Replace lid and continue cooking for 10 more minutes.
- Serve garnished with grated parmesan cheese, if desired.
Love Soup? Check out my recipe for the tastiest Tomato Basil Soup HERE!
