Zuppa Toscana

I was searching around the Internet for recipes this past weekend when I came upon this soup recipe. I have never had Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden, or in general, but all of the ingredients in this recipe sounded like they would be delicious together. Not the least bit healthy but definitely delicious. :)

This made a nice and hearty soup that was comforting on a cold and snowy evening. My husband and I both give it two thumbs up. I look forward to making this again sometime soon.


I made a few changes to the recipe but nothing that would change it to dramatically. I really dislike fennel seed so I used country style sausage and added some black pepper and red pepper flakes to it. I omitted the onion and subbed in some onion powder. I used baby spinach instead of Kale and half and half instead of heavy cream. Since I used half and half instead of heavy cream I smashed up some of the potatoes to give the soup a thicker consistency.

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)

Source: Robbie's Recipes

Ingredients
1 pound spicy Italian sausage - crumbled
1/2 pound smoked bacon - chopped
4 cups water
2, 14.5 ounce cans (about 3 2/3 cups) chicken broth
2 large russet potatoes - scrubbed clean, cubed
2 garlic cloves - peeled, crushed
1 medium onion - peeled, chopped
2 cups chopped kale OR Swiss chard
1 cup heavy whipping cream
salt and pepper - to taste

Directions
1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces as you fry it; drain, set aside.

2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown bacon; drain, set aside.

3. Place water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in a pot; simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.

4. Add sausage and bacon to pot; simmer for 10 minutes.

5. Add kale and cream to pot; season with salt and pepper; heat through.