Try this delicious Tuscan soup paired with fluffy dinner rolls, an Italian Panzanella salad and a refreshing Lemoncello-Prosecco spritz.
★ Why You’ll Love this Recipe ★
There's a lot to love about this Tuscan soup, well known as "Zuppa Toscana" thanks to the popular restaurant chain, Olive Garden. You'll love this easy recipe. All you need is one pot.
This is a super easy, one-pot recipe.
I'm hoping you'll find that this is THE EASIEST recipe for "Zuppa Toscana" Tuscan Soup out there.
There are a lot of copycat recipes inspired by Olive Garden's tasty soup. But some have lots of steps and lots of pots and pans involved. So, I set out to simplify the cooking process as much as possible without sacrificing awesome flavor.
To make this all in one pot, you'll ideally want to use a large dutch oven. A 6 qt or larger pot works best. If you don't have a dutch oven, you can still make this working using a large pot, you just may need to stir more to prevent sticking.
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★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
Surprisingly, it's a short shopping list.
You don't need a super long or complicated list of ingredients to make this soup. A few key ingredients bring a lot of flavor to this rich and tasty soup.
There are several star players.
- Bacon. I mean, who doesn't love bacon? You can cook your own bacon or save time by using real bacon bits.
- Kale. Kale adds a hearty dose of healthy vitamins but since we're starting with bacon, it actually tastes good.
- Sausage. Flavor is the ultimate goal here so the richness of Italian sausage pairs up with the bacon for a meat match-made-in-heaven.
Plus some important supporting ingredients for maximum flavor.
- Onion and garlic. The basics in any great Italian dish.
- Chicken broth with a bit of extra bullion for the most delicious broth. I like to use Better than Bullion but any bullion will do.
- Half and half to add a creamy component to the broth. I prefer to keep it light, but you can add more or less cream to taste. You can also use milk or heavy cream if you prefer. Experiment and see what you like best or go with what works with your diet.
- Navy beans. These creamy soft bean are something I added to the recipe, different from Olive garden's recipe. Beans are optional but do add some nice texture and extra protein. Leave them out if you want! You can use any white bean like cannellini beans, but I really like navy beans because they have a melt-in-your-mouth quality and a slight rustic flavor that's perfect for this soup.
- Potatoes. We're keeping them rustic, just like Olive Garden does, with the skin on. Just be sure to scrub the skin well to remove any grit before chopping. Last but not least, you can't forget th
Optional Ingredients
There are a few extra ingredients you could throw in, if you want, that I feel would be a great compliment to the flavors happening in this soup:
- corn
- zucchini
- bell peppers
- spinach
- mushrooms
★ How to Make this Recipe★
This recipe is made using just one pot when you use a dutch oven. Hurray for easy clean up!
The full recipe is outlined below but here's a quick preview of the steps involved from start to finish:
- Wash potatoes and poke skin to vent.
- Microwave potatoes then chop.
- Fry bacon. Drain excess grease.
- Add sausage, cayenne pepper.
- Add onion and garlic.
- Add chicken broth.
- Add chicken bullion.
- Add kale, beans and potatoes.
- Add half and half, stir then serve.
That's it! This recipe for Zuppa Toscana is very simplified but does not lack in flavor. I think you'll love it.
★ Variations ★
Make this soup mild or spicy.
You can leave out the cayenne pepper or reduce it or if you want to live on the wild side, add more!
You can start with spicy Italian sauce but I recommend starting with regular sausage so you can add cayenne pepper to your liking to the choose your level of spiciness.
If you know you like a little heat, and want to keep things simple, you can just cut out the cayenne pepper and use hot sausage instead.
Lower the Calories
This soup is rich and delicious but that's partially because it's high in fat. If you're ok with sacrificing a little flavor in order to lighten this up, here are a few tricks:
• In addition to draining the bacon grease, pat bacon to absorb extra grease
• Try turkey sausage or plant based "sausage"
• Half the amount of potatoes and cut them into smaller chunks
• Use milk instead of half and half to cream the soup
★ Tips & FAQs ★
I like russet potatoes. They have a rustic flavor and an airy texture that goes well with this soup. You could, however, use any potato you prefer.
In Italian, Zuppa Toscana simply means "Tuscan Soup."
According to Wikipedia, the original ingredients for this Tuscan soup, made famous by Olive Garden, are: carrot, celery, onion, bacon or sausage, chili powder for spice, potatoes, kale, cannellini beans, olive oil and/or cream.
Even "real bacon bits" are not as tasty as cooking your own bacon. Since bacon is a main ingredient, I recommend starting with a good quality, raw bacon and cooking it yourself either the quick microwave method, frying it or cooking it on a sheet pan in the oven at 400ºF for 15-20 minute or until crispy.
★ More Italian Recipes ★
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Zuppa Toscana "Tuscan Soup"
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz bacon (about 8 slices), chopped
- 8 oz breakfast sausage
- ½ tsp teaspoon cayenne pepper more or less to adjust spice level
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 russet potatoes
- 6 cups cups chicken broth
- 1-2 tablespoon chicken bullion to tastes
- 1 bunch kale, chopped w/ stems removed
- 15.5 oz can navy beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
- ½ cup half and half more or less to taste
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Instructions
- Rinse but don't peel potatoes. Poke with a fork several times each and place in the microwave. Cook for 9-12 minutes or until potatoes are softened on all sides. (I use a clean dish towel to lightly squeeze and check them since they are hot). Chop cooked potatoes into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
- While potatoes are in the microwave, chop and cook bacon in a large dutch oven over high heat for 10 minutes or until edges are crispy. When done, scoop out cooked bacon pieces and set aside on a plate or in a bowl. Drain excess bacon fat and return unwashed pot to stove. Keep heat on high.
- Add sausage to dutch oven along with cayenne pepper and diced onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring every minute or so. Add minced garlic then cook for an additional minute or until sausage is browned.
- Add cooked bacon to pot along with potatoes, chicken broth, chicken bullion, kale and drained navy beans. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, stir in half and half. Then remove from heat and serve.
Estera Mezera says
Thank you, Angela! And Yes, I did make the recipe twice now and it is wonderful! It is easy to make so hearty! Thank you!
Estera Mezera says
Hi! I really like to try this! It looks easy and delicious! However, in the recipe you forgot to tell us when we add the potatoes. I kind of assumed it would be with the beans and everything else, but it is left out of the written recipe although it is included in the video. Just wanted to mention this to correct the written recipe. Thank you for a wonderful soup made easy!
Angela G. says
Thank you Estera, I updated the recipe to note when to add the cooked potatoes back in. Thanks very much for the feedback. Hope you love the soup!
Sherrie says
Zuppa toscana does not have any beans!
Angela G. says
Hi Sherrie, You're right! The original Olive Garden recipe does not have beans. That's something I like to add for extra texture and protein. You can leave them out if you want!