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I adore making copycat recipes and I’ve come to realize that my blog is getting more and more filled with delicious recreations of my restaurant favorites. This 30-Minute Zuppa Toscana Soup is my favorite item to get at Olive Garden (since they stopped carrying Chicken Alfredo Pizza Fritta). I will usually get full off of the soup before my entree arrives.
Last winter I posted a photo of the soup on my Instagram page but never added the recipe to my blog. A close family friend, Kellie, came across the photo this weekend and asked for the recipe. Having very little memory of how I made it last time (you know, I measure with my heart), this was a great excuse to recreate this soup again. So guess what’s for dinner tonight??!
What is Zuppa Toscana Soup?
Zuppa Toscana literally translates to Tuscan Soup. But most of us all came to know it as “the best soup at Olive Garden”. It’s a budget-friendly broth-based soup that has a kick of spice with the hot Italian sausage and crushed red pepper flakes. Then as the soup is finished cooking, you top it off with heavy cream and pieces of kale. This soup is rather simple to prepare but it’s incredibly hearty from the sausage and potatoes and goes wonderful with buttery breadsticks.
How to Cook Zuppa Toscana?
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Over medium-high heat, add oil to a large pot or dutch oven. Brown sausage, crumbling into small pieces as it cooks through. Remove sausage to a plate, draining oil with a slotted spoon.
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Fry bacon is residual sausage grease until crisp, then remove to plate with the sausage and (once cooled) chop into small pieces. Drain most of the oil, leaving 2 tablespoons behind in the pot.
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Add onion to pot and cook 5 minutes, adding garlic the last minute. Add the red pepper flakes, garlic powder and season well with about 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
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Sprinkle flour over onion and garlic in pot, then stir to combine and allow it to heat for about one minute. Pour in chicken stock, stirring as you pour. While the stock is heating, peel potatoes and slice into thin rounds about 1/4 inch thick, then slice in half. Add in potatoes to pot and bring to a gentle boil.
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Boil for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Add the cooked sausage and most of the bacon back into the skillet. Add the kale and then the heavy cream. Cook for another 5 minutes until the kale has softened.
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Taste and season with additional salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes if desired. Top each bowl with remaining bacon and freshly grated parmesan. Enjoy!
How to Cook Zuppa Toscana Soup in an Instant Pot:
• Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode, and add bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally until the bacon renders out most of its fat. Remove and set aside and chop into small pieces. Add the sausage and brown, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Remove and set aside with bacon.
• Spoon out all but 2 tsp of the fat and add the onions. When the onions start to look translucent, add the garlic and stir. Add salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and garlic powder. Add flour, mix well and allow it to heat for one minute.
• Pour in the broth and make sure you scrape the bottom of the pot to get up any brown bits (deglaze).
• Add the potatoes, and add the bacon and sausage back in.
• Check to make sure the contents don’t go over the Max Fill line marked on the inner liner.
• Cancel Sauté mode. Close the lid, set the steam release knob to Sealing. Set to Manual (or Pressure Cook), and choose 5 minutes* (High Pressure). The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
• After cooking cycle ends, allow a 10 minute NPR (Natural Pressure Release).
• Do a controlled Quick Release for the rest of the steam, and when the pin in the lid drops, open the lid.
• Add in the kale and cream and stir well. Cover and let heat through for 5 minutes or so to soften the kale. Taste and season additionally if needed. Enjoy!
Looking for more better-than-the-original copycat recipes?
- Orange Chicken Cheesecake Factory Copycat Recipe
- Popeyes Famous Spicy Chicken Sandwich Recipe
- McDonald’s Chicken McGriddle Copycat Recipe
- KFC Chicken Littles Copycat Recipe
Did you love this 30-Minute Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe? Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback. Don’t forget to tag me on IG with any photos; @BadBatchBaking and use #BadBatchBaking
30 Minute Zuppa Toscana Olive Garden Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb ground spicy Italian sausage
- 6-8 slices bacon
- 1 large white onion, finely diced
- 5 large cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes plus extra for topping soup bowls
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour or cornstarch
- 48 oz chicken stock 1 1/5 cartons
- 4 medium russet potatoes
- 1 bunch of kale de-stemmed and roughly chopped
- 1 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesaen cheese
- frozen buttery breadsticks or texas toast optional
Instructions
- Over medium-high heat, add oil to a large pot or dutch oven. Brown sausage, crumbling into small pieces as it cooks through. Remove sausage to a plate, draining oil with a slotted spoon.
- Fry bacon is residual sausage grease until crisp, then remove to plate with the sausage and (once cooled) chop into small pieces. Drain most of the oil, leaving 2 tablespoons behind in the pot.
- Add onion to pot and cook 5 minutes, adding garlic the last minute. Add the red pepper flakes, garlic powder and season well with about 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
- Sprinkle flour over onion and garlic in pot, then stir to combine and allow it to heat for about one minute. Pour in chicken stock, stirring as you pour. While the stock is heating, peel potatoes and slice into thin rounds about 1/4 inch thick, then slice in half. Add in potatoes to pot and bring to a gentle boil.
- Boil for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Add the cooked sausage and most of the bacon back into the skillet. Add the kale and then the heavy cream. Cook for another 5 minutes until the kale has softened.
- Taste and season with additional salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes if desired. Top each bowl with remaining bacon and freshly grated parmesan. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
