You will love this better-than-Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
If you love Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, I promise you will love my version too! My Zuppa Toscana recipe has all the creamy goodness of Olive Garden’s version but with more veggies like classic Zuppa Toscana to create this truly better than Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana that you can make in ONE POT in your own home while wearing your slippers. This Zuppa Toscana recipe is mega creamy, bursting with veggies and exploding with flavor. This is one hearty bowl of soup that you will never want to put down!
What is Zuppa Toscana?
If you aren’t familiar with Zuppa Toscana, which literally means, “soup in the style of Tuscany,” it is a Tuscan soup popularized in America by Olive Garden. Classic Zuppa Toscana, however is much heartier, often consisting of not only Italian Sausage, potatoes and kale (like the Olive Garden version) but onions, celery, carrots, cannellini beans, zucchini and powdered chili.
Zuppa Soup ingredients
Italian sausage: Use hot/spicy Italian Sausage – it will not make your recipe spicy, just flavorful. Italian sausage comes seasoned with Italian seasonings, primarily fennel. Fennel is crucial for authentic Italian flavor so if you swap the sausage for beef or turkey, make sure you add some Italian seasonings, fennel and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Bacon: Use thick cut bacon so it doesn’t get lost in the soup. Aromatics: Chopped yellow onion and 4-6 garlic cloves or substitute with 2 teaspoons onion powder and 1 teaspoon garlic powder – but the real stuff is so much better! Carrots and celery: You’ll need about 1 ½ cups each chopped carrots and celery, about 3 of each. Potatoes: Use 3 medium Russet potatoes chopped into bite size cubes. Don’t cube the potatoes too large or they’ll take longer to cook.
Cannellini beans: These canned beans are large, creamy-white Italian beans with a mild, nutty flavor and a tender yet slightly starchy texture. Rinse and drain before using. Corn: Use one 15 ounce can sweet corn rinsed and drained. You may use frozen corn but I don’t think its texture holds as well. Cream-style corn: This is a secret ingredient must to make this soup extra creamy. Spinach: It will seem like a lot of spinach, but will cook down significantly in the soup. Flour: This helps thicken the Zuppa Toscana by creating a roux. You may substitute with gluten free all-purpose flour. Cornstarch: This also helps thicken the soup which allows us to use lower calorie half and half as opposed to heavy cream. Seasonings: Dried parsley, dried basil, dried oregano, dried thyme, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, salt, pepper season our soup to perfection. Chicken Broth: Use low sodium otherwise your Zuppa Toscana will be too salty. Using low sodium broth also allows us to use chicken bouillon which ramps up the flavor. Chicken bouillon: Use bouillon powder, crushed bouillon cubes or base (like Zoup! or Better Than Bouillon). Add directly to the soup without dissolving in liquid first. Milk and half and half: A combination of both adds creaminess to the soup without making it too rich.
How to make Zuppa Toscana Soup
Mirepoix (pronounced “meer-pwah”), is simply a fancy French term for the combination of diced carrots, onions and celery sautéed in butter/olive oil and in this case, bacon fat – mmmm. Every chef will tell you that every great soup or stew should begin with a mirepoix. And I heartily agree. It adds richness and depth of flavor that can’t be achieved any other way. Chopping the celery, onions and carrots is probably the most time consuming part of this whole Zuppa Toscana recipe, but it’s so worth it. You can chop all your veggies in advance or you can even buy mirepoix by the jar and keep it in your refrigerator (I have a few friends with young children that swear by this shortcut)! 2. Next, we cook our sausage and garlic then sprinkle in our flour and cook for couple minutes to get rid of the raw flour smell then add our potatoes, creamy cannellini beans, creamed corn (also helps thicken the soup while adding flavor), and sweet corn. 3. Next, we whisk in our chicken broth. Now, a trick I use often in soups and sauces is to whisk some cornstarch into some milk before adding it to the soup. This makes the milk behave like heavy cream and helps thicken the soup. Finally, add our blend of handpicked herbs and spices… 4. Simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes) and you can barely resist the aroma escaping your soup pot. 5. Stir in half and half, spinach or kale and half of your chopped bacon. 6. Garnish individual bowls with remaining bacon and as much freshly grated Parmesan you heart desires.
Zuppa Toscana Recipe tips
Lean Ground Beef. Italian Sausage has wonderful flavor but you can substitute it with lean ground beef with a dash of Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes Buy/prechop Mirepoix. Chopping the celery, onions and carrots is probably the most time consuming part of this whole Zuppa Toscana recipe, but it’s so worth it. You can chop all your veggies in advance or you can even buy mirepoix by the jar and keep it in your refrigerator (I have a few friends with young children that swear by this shortcut)! Potatoes. You can peel and chop your potatoes in advance and them keep them refrigerated submerged in water so they don’t discolor.
How to store Zuppa Toscana Olive Garden soup
Let the Zuppa Toscana cool to room temperature, cover and store in your Dutch oven or transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Can I Freeze Zuppa Soup?
No, I don’t recommend freezing Zuppa Toscana due to the creamy nature of the soup and the potatoes. The potatoes will not freeze well and turn into an unpleasant grainy, disintegrating, mushy texture.
How to serve Zuppa Toscana Soup
Serve Zuppa Toscana Soup with my family favorite Ugly Duckling Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks for the ultimate Better than Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana experience! Cheesy Pesto Pull Apart Bread or Spinach Dip French Bread would also be fabulous. This creamy soup would also be delicious with a big green salad, Cucumber, Tomato Salad or Wedge Salad. See you in my slippers.
Looking for more One Pot Soup Recipes?
Thai Chicken Noodle Soup Lasagna Soup Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup Chicken Fajita and Rice Soup Cheesy Taco Soup Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder
You might also like these Italian soups:
White Chicken Lasagna Soup Italian Beef and Vegetable Soup Creamy Basil Parmesan Italian Soup Creamy White Bean, Ham Tortellini Soup
WANT TO TRY THIS BETTER THAN OLIVE GARDEN ZUPPA TOSCANA RECIPE?
Pin it to your SOUP, DINNER OR BEEF Board to SAVE for later!
Find me on Pinterest for more great recipes! I am always pinning :)!
©Carlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com ©Carlsbad Cravings Original Tag @CarlsbadCravings and Use #CarlsbadCravngs Leave a Review, I Always Love Hearing From You!
