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Zuppa Toscana Soup 

I grew up way north, as in under 10 miles from the Canadian border. And when we wanted to go shopping we’d make the 3.5-hour road trip to Fargo, ND and when we really wanted to get fancy we’d go to the Olive Garden for lunch.

Let’s just say Olive Garden is still one of my favorite places to dine. Jamie’s – not so much. Soup, salad, and breadsticks unlimited, hello.

How can it not be?! But the Zuppa Toscana Soup will forever be a favorite of mine. And being Jamie will take me to dine there regularly I had to start making it at home.

And this is the best soup and recipe for this time of year now that the cold is here to stay! 

There are a lot of ways to make this Zuppa Toscana copycat recipe and I’ve tried them all – cooktop, crockpot, and instant pot. And I typically like to do it on the cooktop.

But if I know it’ll be a busy day and I want dinner done when I get home, I love a good crockpot too. Today, I’m going to share the cooktop and I’m sure you’ll understand how to make it into a crockpot recipe too.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground Italian Sausage – we prefer mild with the kids, or spicy when they’re on their own
• 6 – 8 Slices of Bacon
• 1 large Yellow Onion
• 32 ounces Chicken Stock
• 1 24 oz bag mini Potato Medley or 4 large Russet Potatoes – diced into small cubes
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 Bunch Kale
• 1 TBS Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 TBS Garlic 
• 1 TBS Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1 TBS Olive Oil 
• 1 12 oz bag of Parmesan Cheese
• … and always served best with warm bread

Instructions

1. Ground the Italian sausage in a skillet until done with a drizzle of olive oil. 
2. In a separate large pot, start boiling the water for your potatoes.
3. While the sausage is cooking, dice your one large yellow onion and potatoes into small quarter pieces.
4. Add the onion into the sausage skillet and cook for about 2 minutes with the sausage.
5. Cook your 6 – 8 pieces of bacon. You can do this by cooking it for 10 minutes in your oven at 425 degrees or frying it on the cooktop as well. 
6. Once your water is boiling, place your diced-up potatoes into the water. And cook for 8 minutes and until your fork goes perfectly through. If you are going to be placing this into a crock pot you want to make sure your fork can’t easily go through the potato or it will get mushy in the crockpot. 
7. Once the Italian sausage is cooked, drain and place into a larger pot or your crockpot. 
8. Once the sausage, onion, and potatoes are combined into your larger pot or crockpot – add 32 ounces of chicken stock. 
9. Add 1 cup of heavy cream into the same pot along with 1 TBS brown sugar.
10. Then add 1 bunch of Kale – or more. Remember, this will shrink when heated. 
11. And finally add 1 TBS red pepper flakes, a dash of salt and pepper, 1 TBS garlic, and 1 TBS garlic salt. 
12. If on a cooktop, let simmer for about 20 minutes. If in a crockpot, it can chill for 4 – 6 hours. 
13. Once ready to serve, top with a heaping of parmesan cheese and don’t forget those breadsticks or garlic toasts to serve with!
14. Enjoy!