Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
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Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana is the bowl I want on a cold night when the drive to the restaurant is more than I feel like doing. I stopped ordering it out once I worked out how to get the broth this creamy at home, and the version below is what I land on every time.
One pound of spicy Italian sausage and eight slices of bacon stretch across six full bowls here, carried by cheap russet potatoes and a pot of chicken stock, so it feeds a family without a special trip. The part that makes or breaks it is how you handle the cream, and I’ll walk you through the point where most batches go wrong.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s one pot from start to finish. The sausage, bacon, potatoes, and kale all cook in the same Dutch oven, so there’s a single pan to wash at the end.
- It stretches a little meat a long way. The sausage and bacon carry the flavor while cheap russet potatoes do the filling, so dinner doesn’t lean on a big pile of meat.
- The broth stays creamy instead of breaking. Adding the heavy cream at a gentle simmer keeps it smooth rather than curdled.
- It leans on everyday ingredients. Potatoes, onion, garlic, stock, and a bunch of kale are things you can pick up on a normal grocery run.
- It reheats well for lunch. The flavor holds up the next day, and a splash of stock loosens it back into a pourable soup.
Ingredients You’ll Need
A few of these are worth a word before you start; the full amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Spicy Italian sausage. One pound of ground spicy Italian sausage sets the heat level for the whole pot. There’s a milder route in the variations below if your household wants less burn.
- Bacon. Eight slices, diced. You cook it in the rendered sausage fat, which builds the savory base, then stir most of it in and keep a little crisp bacon back for the top.
- Russet potatoes. Four large russets, peeled and cut into half-inch pieces. Russets are cheap and turn tender without much fuss, and keeping the pieces to an even half inch means they finish at the same time instead of some going to mush.
- Kale. Half a bunch, stems stripped and torn into bite-sized pieces so it collapses into the pot near the end of cooking. Spinach can stand in for it, and there’s a note on that swap below.
- Heavy cream. One cup, and this is the ingredient to respect. Let it sit out to lose its chill before it goes in, and add it while the soup is at a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil, or it can separate.
- Chicken stock. Four cups. It’s the whole liquid base, so use a stock whose taste you like on its own.
How to Make Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Scroll down for the full recipe card containing a full printable recipe and measurements in both US customary and metric units.
Here’s how to bring this soup together in one pot, simple steps, no fuss, and ready in under an hour.
Brown the sausage
Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat with a small drizzle of oil. Add the sausage and break it up as it browns, giving it room so it caramelizes instead of steaming. Cook it through to 160°F, then drain it well and move it to a plate.
Crisp the bacon
Add the diced bacon to the same pot and cook it in the sausage fat until crisp. Move it to the plate with the sausage, then pour off all but a tablespoon or so of the grease.
Cook the aromatics
Stir the diced onion into the pot and let it soften over about five minutes. Add the minced garlic for the last minute so it doesn’t scorch.
Add the stock and potatoes
Pour in the chicken stock, add the potatoes, and bring it to a boil.
Simmer until fork-tender
Lower the heat to a simmer and give the potatoes about fifteen minutes, until they yield easily to a fork.
Finish with cream and kale
Return the sausage and most of the bacon to the pot, then stir in the heavy cream and the kale. Hold it at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, and cook for five to ten minutes until the kale wilts.
Season and serve
Taste and season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if you want more heat. Top each bowl with the reserved bacon and a shower of Parmesan, and serve it hot.
Recipe Notes and Expert Tips
- Give the sausage room. A crowded pot steams the meat instead of browning it, and those browned bits are where a lot of the broth’s flavor starts.
- Keep the cream at a simmer. High heat is what splits a cream broth, so once the cream goes in, hold it at a gentle simmer and don’t let it come back to a hard boil.
- Cut the potatoes evenly. Half-inch pieces cook at the same rate, so you won’t be fishing out mush while other pieces are still firm.
- Add heat gradually. The spicy sausage already brings warmth, so taste before you add red pepper flakes rather than after.
- Save a spoonful of the fat. Cooking the onion in a little of the rendered sausage and bacon fat gives the base more savory depth than starting from a clean pot.
Recipe Variations
- Swap spinach for the kale. It wilts faster and goes softer, so stir it in right at the end. This is a reliable substitution, though I’ve kept the kale in the tested version here.
- For a milder pot, use sweet or mild Italian sausage and dial the red pepper flakes to taste. This is supported by the card’s own note that the sausage heat is meant to be adjusted as you go.
- Lighten it with half-and-half in place of the heavy cream. It gives a thinner broth and is a little more prone to separating, so keep it at a gentle simmer. That swap is supported by the way dairy behaves, but it hasn’t been tested in this exact recipe.
How to Store Leftovers
Cooled leftovers keep in the refrigerator for three to four days in a covered container. The cream broth thickens as it sits, so when you reheat it on the stovetop over medium-low, stir in a little extra chicken stock or cream to bring it back to a pourable soup, and heat it through to 165°F. Don’t leave the pot out at room temperature for more than two hours, or one hour if the kitchen is above 90°F.
This soup freezes best if you plan for it. To freeze, hold off on the cream and kale, freeze the soup base in portions, then stir them in fresh as you reheat. The base keeps three to four months, and adding the dairy and greens at the end keeps the texture smooth instead of grainy.
What to Serve With Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Since the soup is rich with cream and bacon, I keep the sides simple. A basket of warm, crusty bread or a couple of breadsticks is what you want for soaking up the last of the broth. A crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette cuts through the richness and rounds the bowl into a full dinner.
FAQs
Curly kale and lacinato both work well. Strip the tough center stems and tear the leaves into small pieces so they soften fast once they hit the hot broth.
Peeling gives the smoothest, most restaurant-like bowl, and that’s what the recipe calls for. If you like a more rustic soup you can scrub the russets and leave the skins on, though the broth won’t turn out quite as silky.
More Creamy Soups Worth Putting on This Week’s Menu
If this one earns a spot in your rotation, here are the soups I’d point you to next.
- Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat): another Olive Garden bowl made at home, and the gnocchi let you skip the potato-peeling step.
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup: it leans on the potatoes’ own starch to thicken, so there’s no flour to fuss with.
- Ham and Potato Soup: a good landing spot for leftover ham, stretched across six bowls.
- Creamy Potato Soup with Bacon and Sour Cream: baked potatoes give it a deeper, earthier base before it’s blended smooth.
- Cheeseburger Soup: ground beef and potatoes in a cheddar broth, with one pound of meat feeding six.
Ingredients
- 1 pound spicy Italian sausage ground
- 8 slices bacon diced
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 4 large russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 bunch kale stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes optional
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add a small drizzle of oil and cook the sausage, breaking it up as it browns. Drain well and transfer to a plate.1 pound spicy Italian sausage
- Using the remaining sausage fat, cook the bacon until crisp. Transfer it to the plate with the sausage, then drain all but 1–1½ tablespoons of the grease.8 slices bacon
- Add the onion to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic during the last minute.1 cup yellow onion, 3 garlic cloves
- Gradually pour in the chicken stock. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil.4 cups chicken stock, 4 large russet potatoes
- Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Add the cooked sausage, most of the bacon, the heavy cream, and the kale. Cook for 5–10 minutes, until the kale wilts.1 cup heavy cream, 1/2 bunch kale
- Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if desired. Top with the remaining bacon and parmesan cheese, serve hot.Salt, Black pepper, Pinch of red pepper flakes, Parmesan cheese
Notes
- Brown the sausage with space around it so it caramelizes instead of steaming, since those browned bits flavor the whole broth.
- Cook the onion in a spoonful of the reserved sausage and bacon fat for a richer base rather than a fully drained pot.
- Cut the potatoes into even half-inch pieces so they finish cooking at the same time.
- Stir the cream in at a gentle simmer, never a rolling boil, so it doesn’t separate.
- Cook the sausage through to 160°F, and reheat leftovers to 165°F.
- To freeze, hold off on the cream and kale, freeze the soup base in portions, then stir them in fresh as you reheat.
- Add the red pepper flakes gradually and taste as you go, since the spicy sausage already brings heat.
