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Zuppa Toscana is a flavorful soup comprised of sausage, bacon, potatoes, onion, garlic.. all things good, obviously! Skip the restaurant and make this Copy Cat Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe instead!

zuppa toscana soup made in the instant pot, served with breadsticks

What is Zuppa Toscana?

Zuppa Toscana is a popular soup made at the restaurant Olive Garden. It is creamy, slightly spicy and full of potatoes, sausage, bacon and kale. 

Zuppa Toscana Recipe in the Instant Pot 

Have you ever gone to Olive Garden and gotten a bowl of Zuppa Toscana soup? Isn’t it delicious? This easy Zuppa Toscana soup recipe will have you making a pot full of it at home so you can avoid the long wait lines and stay in your pajamas.

Going out to eat is always a nice treat, but sometimes staying at home and keeping yourself cozy in your favorite soft pajamas is a feeling that can’t be beaten. I’m sure you know exactly what I mean! So getting to enjoy bowl after bowl of Zuppa Toscana at home is great.

Thanks to your Instant Pot you can have your Zuppa Toscana soup ready to eat within about a half hour- but it will taste like it was slow cooked all day. No one needs to know that you didn’t slave away over a hot stove… unless you want them to- promise I won’t tell 😉 

Instant Pot zuppa toscana soup, being eaten.

What’s In Zuppa Toscana Soup?

Listed below is a quick snapshot of all of the ingredients you’ll need on hand when making this soup. You can find specific amounts in the printable recipe below. 

  • Italian Sausage- whether you pick mild or hot is up to your depending upon how spicy you want the final soup to be. I tend to use mild. 
  • Bacon
  • Onion
  • Minced Garlic
  • Chicken Broth
  • Water
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Russet Potatoes
  • Kale
  • Half and Half- you can substitute evaporated milk or heavy cream if you’d like!

How to Make Zupa Toscana Soup

There is a fair amount of prep work when it comes to this soup, but it is oh so worth it! If you are looking for more of a dump and press start type of meal, check out my list of Dump and Start Instant Pot Recipes.

First, In the bottom of your Instant Pot, brown the sausage. Remove from pot when done using a slotted spoon and let it sit on a plate covered with a paper towel. This will help soak up the extra greases. Leave the sausage grease in the bottom of the pot then add in your bacon and cook until preferred doneness- mine is crispy! ** a little word to the wise, prep your potatoes while your sausage and bacon are cooking**

Remove the bacon, again, with a slotted spoon. Place on a paper towel covered plate as well. Next, we will want to discard all of that oil except for a few tablespoons worth.

Now for a little trick I use- Grab a pair of tongs and some paper towels, use your tongs to move the paper towels around in the grease until they have soaked up the desired amount. This is how I always clean up grease, with paper towels and then they go in the garbage. No worrying about pouring it down the drain or having to store it somehow. 

using a paper towel to soak up grease in the Instant Pot for Zuppa toscanna soup

See all of those stuck on bits on the bottom of my Instant Pot? You know what I call those? FLAVOR. 😉 Now, add the diced onion and minced garlic to the pot and then sauté for 2 minutes. Then the chicken broth, water, salt, pepper, and potatoes go in.

The potatoes should have been washed, quartered and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices.

potatoes cut for zuppa toscana

Cook on manual high for 2 minutes, quick release of the pressure when the 2 minute cook time is complete. Because the pot is quite full, I recommend staying near the pot as it releases the pressure. If any liquid starts coming out of the vent, quickly close the vent with the back of a spoon and wait 30 seconds or so to let things settle a bit before releasing the pressure again.

Once the pressure has released, remove the lid and hit the saute button. Add in your chopped kale and cooked sausage.

Once everything is boiling, stir in the half and half and bacon. Season with salt and pepper to your liking and then enjoy!

zuppa toscana soup in the Instant Pot

What Goes with Zuppa Toscana Soup?

When you think of a bowl of Zuppa Toscana you often picture the soup, salad, and breadsticks they have at the restaurant, so I usually like to recreate all of that at home! Copy Cat Olive Garden Breadsticks are a definite must! plus, did you know you can find Olive Garden’s signature salad dressing in most grocery stores? Yum!

Can You Freeze Zuppa Toscana?

Many people enjoy freezing leftovers of this soup so that they can enjoy it another day. Some even make double-batches of this soup exclusively for that reason! 

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5 from 4 votes

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup

Zuppa Toscana is a flavorful soup comprised of sausage, bacon, potatoes, onion, garlic.. all things good, obviously! Skip the restaurant and make this Copy Cat Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe instead!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients 

  • 1 lb italian sausage , I like mild, but you can use hot!
  • 1/2 lb bacon, cut into 1 inch peices
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 4 -8 cloves garlic, minced, can substitute 2 tsp dried minced
  • 32 oz chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 6 russet potatoes, scrubbed, quartered and then sliced into 1/4 inch slices
  • 1 bundle kale, chopped
  • 1 cup half & half, or heavy whipping cream
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • In bottom of Instant Pot, brown the sausage. Remove from pot when done with a slotted spoon, leaving grease in the pot.
  • Brown the bacon, remove bacon from Instant Pot and discard excess oil, keeping about 2 tbsp in the pot.
  • Add in the diced onion and miced garlic to the pot and sauté for 2 minutes.
  • Add the chicken broth, water, salt, pepper and potatoes.
  • Cook on manual high for 2 minute. Quick release the pressure.
  • Hit the saute button, add in your copped kale and sausage.
  • Once everything is boiling, stir in the half and half, bacon and season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Nutrition

Calories: 495kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1332mg | Potassium: 1025mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 130IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 2mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

 

 

About Karli Bitner

This blog is a little glimpse into my kitchen, family & life. I hope you’ll giggle the days away with me and enjoy the craziness that goes on at my house. If you are Cookie obsessed like I am, check out my Sister Site, Cookies for Days.

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Recipe Rating




6 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made this for dinner last night and it was excellent. There was enough for the two of us for dinner, some for leftovers and enough to freeze for another meal. This will definitely go in the rotation. The only thing I changed was to leave out the salt because we often find things made with chicken broth too salty – even with low sodium. So we just salted to taste when we served.

  2. Hi Dorothy! I am happy to hear you enjoyed my version of Zuppa Toscana! Thanks for the stars and leaving a comment. 🙂

  3. 5 stars
    SO YUMMY! Everyone in the family loves this recipe, even the picky toddler! Highly recommend!

  4. 5 stars
    Christmas parties , Church potluck, Baby Showers,,feeding Teachers for ptc you name it…THIS is the soup to bring!! Watch out Sophisticated Sally who brings her famous soup that everyone devours in minutes , because if you bring this.. YOU my friend will be going home with a licked clean pot,, instead of last year when you quickly loaded your untouched soup and cried in your car as you watched Sally leave in her car that probably doesn’t even have smashed french fries and dreams in the seat . New year- New You- New Soup!! Cooking with Karli got you boo