Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat)
This Zuppa Toscana is a mouthwatering replica of the one served at Olive Garden, except that homemade is always better! Fresh, hot, and makes a big pot that tastes delicious as leftovers. It will be a sure hit!
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage, casings removed
- 12 slices bacon, cooked and diced
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 7 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ lbs russet potatoes, cleaned and sliced into thin pieces
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons table salt, plus more to taste if needed
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups half and half
- 2 cups kale leaves, chopped, packed tightly
- parmesan cheese , finely shredded, for serving
Instructions
- In a large heavy pot or dutch oven, over medium-high heat, cook sausage and break up into pieces while cooking.
- Transfer sausage to a separate dish, but reserve 1-2 tsp of the grease in the pot.
- Add diced onions to pot and cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, potatoes, sugar, fennel seeds, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Bring soup to a boil, and immediately reduce to medium-low. Stir in half and half, kale, and cooked sausage.
- Cover pot and simmer 10-15 minutes or just until potatoes are nicely tender. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- If desired, skim top to remove excess fat from soup. Ladle soup into bowls, garnished with diced bacon and parmesan.
Notes
- Cook the bacon until it's crispy and chop it into small pieces. This will give your Zuppa a delicious crunch and smoky flavor.
- Chop your onions finely so that they cook evenly and blend well into the soup. This also helps to avoid large chunks of onion in every spoon.
- Adding sugar may seem unusual, but it helps to balance the acidity of the tomatoes and the bitterness of the kale, giving your soup a more rounded flavor.
- This recipe is part of our Italian Recipe Collection.
- You can't go wrong with some Olive Garden Style Bread Sticks on the side. They're the perfect way to round out the meal!
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 510kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 90mg | Sodium: 1937mg | Potassium: 771mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1907IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 145mg | Iron: 2mg