Zuppa Toscana Recipe
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If you’re a fan of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, you’ll love this homemade version— brimming with Italian sausage and fresh veggies, it’s cozy and full of flavor. Perfect for chilly nights!
This is my take on the famous Zuppa Toscana recipe from Olive Garden—a hearty and comforting Italian-inspired soup with savory Italian sausage, tender potatoes, and fresh spinach, all simmered in a flavorful broth. While you’ll find plenty of versions of this soup online, what makes this one stand out is the slightly thicker broth, thanks to a touch of flour. It gives the soup a more substantial texture, turning it into a true main course. Pair it with an arugula salad and some good crusty bread, and dinner is done!
“Phenomenal soup. An instant addition to our winter meal rotation.”
What You’ll Need To Make Zuppa Toscana
- Italian Sausage: The hearty base of the soup, adding protein and giving the soup richness and that signature savory-spicy flavor (either mild or spicy sausage is fine, depending on your preference).
- Yellow onion, carrots & garlic: Create a flavorful base for the soup.
- All-Purpose Flour: Lightly thickens the broth so the soup feels a little more substantial without being too heavy.
- Chicken broth: The liquid base that ties everything together, adding depth and savoriness.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes & baby spinach: Yukon Golds have a naturally creamy texture that soaks up the flavorful broth, making the soup hearty. The spinach goes in at the end, adding freshness and a pop of color.
- Salt, Pepper, and Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Add balance, seasoning, and heat to the dish.
- Heavy cream & Parmigiano Reggiano (or Pecorino Romano): The finishing touches—cream makes the broth richer, and the grated cheese adds a salty, nutty punch that rounds out the flavors.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1. Cook the sausage. In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces as it browns, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a colander in the sink to drain, leaving some drippings in the pot for the vegetables.
Step 2. Sauté the vegetables. Add the onion and carrots to the reserved drippings and cook over medium heat until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Step 3. Add the flour. Sprinkle it over the vegetables and stir until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.
Step 4. Deglaze with broth. Gradually pour in the chicken broth, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
Pro Tip: Those browned bits on the bottom of the pot (called fond) are liquid gold. Scrape well with a wooden spoon so they melt into the broth and give the soup a richer, more savory flavor.
Step 5. Add the potatoes and seasonings. Stir in the potatoes, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
Pro Tip: Cut your potatoes into evenly sized chunks so they cook at the same rate.
Step 6. Add the sausage and spinach. While the soup simmers, blot the drained sausage with paper towels to remove excess grease. Add the sausage back to the soup along with the spinach. Simmer a few minutes until the spinach wilts.
Step 7. Finish and serve. Add the cream and cheese and let the soup continue to simmer until everything is warmed through. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve hot, passing more cheese at the table. The soup can be made up to 2 days in advance; freezing is not recommended.
Video Tutorial
Easy Ingredient Swaps For Zuppa Toscana
This soup is endlessly adaptable, so don’t be afraid to play around with ingredients depending on what you’ve got on hand. A few ideas:
- Swap the sausage: Use turkey or chicken sausage in place of pork.
- Toss in extra veggies: Diced bell peppers or mushrooms would be great; just sauté them first. If you want to swap out the spinach, kale or Swiss chard would work well. (Because they’re both sturdier than spinach, add them a little earlier so they can soften up.)
- Add beans for heartiness: White beans (like cannellini or great northern) give the soup one more layer of texture and add a creamy bite.
More Italian Soup Recipes You May Like
Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage (mild or spicy, depending on your preference), removed from casings
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, diced into ½-inch pieces
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional, for more heat)
- 2 cups baby spinach, stems removed, packed
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up into small pieces as it browns, 5 to 7 minutes. Once browned, use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to a colander in the sink to drain, leaving about 1 tablespoon of the drippings in the pot for sautéing the vegetables.
- Add the diced onion and carrots to the reserved drippings (if the pot seems dry, add a bit of oil). Sauté over medium heat until softened, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Do not brown. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir until fully incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Gradually pour in the chicken broth, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the potatoes, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using). Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent the potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
- While the soup simmers, transfer the sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. With more paper towels, blot the sausage to absorb any excess grease.
- Add the baby spinach and cooked sausage to the soup. Simmer until the spinach is wilted, a few minutes. Stir in the cream and cheese and continue to simmer until everything is warmed through. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve hot, passing more cheese at the table.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Hi Jenn,
I’m a huge fan, make at least one of your recipes weekly. Can’t wait to make this one. My only issue is the pop up ads, I’m having the hardest time loading your recipes, please help! Love your blog and cookbooks, thank you!
Hi Amy, So glad you enjoy the recipes and sorry you’re having trouble with the recipes loading. There shouldn’t be any pop-up ads on the site – may I ask what type of device you’re using to view the site?
Hi Jenn-I also have issues with the recipes loading slowly and disruptions from pop up ads. I am using an iPad.
Hi Vicki, On iPads, the ads can move around depending on how you’re holding it. Because I’ve gotten similar coments from other readers, I’ve spoken to my ad network about it, and they’ve definitely found that iPad users tend to have more complaints across the board because of the unique sizing and formatting on an iPad. You could try viewing the recipe as if you were going to print it. That will remove all the ads. So, you’d go through the process of preparing to print a recipe and just view it that way. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn, yes I’m using an iPad. I’ll try that, thank you!
I love this soup! I’ve never been to Olive Garden, so can’t say how this compares to their version, but this soup is so flavorful, creamy, and easy to make. I made it last week and making it again tonight! It also feels easily riffable (kale for spinach, chorizo for Italian sausage, etc.)
Can you make it in the slow cooker? If so how do you adjust?
Hi Ashley, while technically you could, there are several steps you’d need to do prior to adding everything to the slow cooker and, after that, it doesn’t cook for very long, so I don’t think it makes much sense.
Just delicious! Very easy too. Made enough for leftovers on a cold, windy day. YUM!
Oh my. Still can’t sit up from being so full after eating two whole bowls.
Ok, so the things I did not do:
the heavy cream since I didn’t have any but I used 2% milk and it was fine;
skipped the chili flakes (unfortunately) which would’ve given it ‘that’ kick so I upped the fresh ground pepper;
my Romano cheese turned out to be Parmesan (are you kidding me) but it worked for me!
I’ll be making this again for a Christmas get together with pals who will love it, for sure! And it’ll give me a break from making the broccoli cheese soup they always cry for yet no one else makes. And they all cook!
Thank you for another winner!!
Hearty and very filling but not heavy or greasy, which is just right for me. My husband doesn’t believe soup is enough for dinner, but this one won him over! I’ll be making this regularily.
Wonderful recipe! I used my homemade stock and herbs from my garden including some dried lemon balm. Only had fat free half and half but it didn’t detract!
Hi Jenn,
Wondering your thoughts on if this would be suitable to freeze? Looks delicious and can’t wait to make it. Thank you!
Yup, I think you could freeze it but I’d wait until you’re reheating the soup to add the cream. Enjoy!
We really liked this soup. I used chicken sweet Italian sausage and half and half but followed remaining recipe. Definitely recommend.
Can i freeze this soup?
Sure, I think you could freeze it but I’d wait until you’re reheating the soup to add the cream.
Loved the soup! Thanks for another great recipe, and I’ll definitely be making it again!