Zuppa Toscana

Olive Garden-inspired Tuscan soup — Italian sausage, bacon, russet potatoes, and kale in a cream broth

Prep
15 min
Cook
55 min
Total
70 min
Yield
6 to 8 servings
Cuisine
Italian-American

Category: soup dinner

Tags: italian, sausage, kale, potato, cream, comfort-food

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 tablespoons bacon pieces
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • 2 tsp garlic purée (or 2 cloves minced)
  • 5 cubes chicken bouillon
  • 10 cups water
  • 1 lb russet potatoes (about 3 large), sliced
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 bunch kale, roughly chopped

Instructions

  1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot until browned. Drain excess fat; refrigerate sausage while preparing the rest.
  2. In the same pot, sauté bacon, onion, and garlic over medium heat about 15 minutes until onions are soft.
  3. Dissolve chicken bouillon in water and add to the pot. Bring to a boil.
  4. Add sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about 30 minutes.
  5. Add heavy cream and cook until heated through.
  6. Stir in the cooked sausage.
  7. Add kale just before serving.

Notes

Adapted Olive Garden copycat from Tuscan Recipes (Lourdes Flores). The sausage is browned separately so the drippings build flavor in the onion/bacon sauté base.