There’s something about Olive Garden. People love it or hate it, but they’ve cracked the code on how to keep America’s diners happy and coming back. My folks are big fans, and when we go, I love their unlimited soup and salad option, especially Zuppa Toscana Soup. Luckily, it’s fast and easy to make at home. You just need Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat recipe.

Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat

For years, OGs Zuppa Toscana and their Pasta Fagioli Soup were right on Olive Garden’s Recipe Page. They recently removed both recipes. Since I can’t be dragging out my recipe box all the time, posted below is the original Olive Garden’s official recipe for their Zuppa Toscana. And yes, it tastes exactly like that at the restaurant.

About Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat:

My folks loved Olive Garden, and I didn’t mind at all that we’d come home with enough leftovers so I wouldn’t have to cook the next day or two, either.

We celebrated my Stepmom Pat’s 91st birthday there. We got wine, and I got carded. Laughing as I pulled out my license, I pointed out she didn’t card the folks and that I’m a Grandma. Five times over! (She didn’t care lol!)

When we came up to the Twin Cities, looking at an assisted living center near my home, of all the places we could eat, we chose Olive Garden. It was the perfect comforting touch for the folks who were seriously out of their element.

And Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat is the perfect comforting soup. Potatoes, Italian sausage, and kale, flavor for days, all in a light broth with just a touch of cream. I love this soup; I even crave it. Now, if only I had breadsticks! (Maybe you’d like some of my easy overnight, no-knead Crusty Bread instead?)

Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat

Making Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat:

This is a fast, easy soup, but I made a couple of minor alterations. One was to streamline the directions. The other is to use one pot, so the tablespoon of oil in the original recipe, used to saute the onions in a separate pan, was eliminated.

I also remove most of the residual oil from cooking the bacon and sausage. It’s too much. Don’t be crazy about it, just get most of it. There should and will be a little floating to the top (the orangey tint) just like at Olive Garden – that’s flavor! BTW, if your soup doesn’t taste exactly like OGs, blame the sausage.

Make it easy when cutting bacon for recipes. Cut across the package and all, from top to bottom, in thin slices (You can cut frozen or thawed). Regular bacon is 16 slices to a pound, so 4 bacon slices are 1/4 of the package. Chopped finely, it all but disappears in the soup; you don’t want large pieces floating around.

The kale, when the soup is finished, is bright with a good bit of texture, just like OG’s, and is so much better in the soup than spinach, which easily becomes slimy. When cooked right, the potatoes should be mostly intact, with a few slightly crumbled, although some will lose their skin. Be careful not to overcook or the potatoes will disintegrate.

Don’t sweat the exact amount of chicken broth; if the carton or can amounts are a little short, make it up with water. If there’s extra, put in a ziploc, label and freeze. The amounts wasted every year from partial cans or cartons sitting in the fridge to be eventually tossed must be astronomical.

Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat

Saving Money on Groceries:

To see my list of what will be on sale before every holiday, check out my post: Win at the Grocers.

Russets:

Once home, store in a dark, cool, dry area, well-ventilated, away from onions. Remove from plastic. A paper grocery bag with the top folded is ideal. It keeps them in the dark and reduces condensation.

• For best value, larger bags are cheaper per pound unless there’s a great sale on another size.
• Don’t pass on value if the potatoes look “dirty.” Those that aren’t washed absolutely clean store better.
• The largest bags might have a mix of sizes; sort and pick out larger ones for recipes needing whole potatoes; reserve others for recipes where size doesn’t matter.
• A large russet runs about 8 ounces, a medium about 5 ounces, a smaller a few ounces less.
• Think seasonally; although never expensive, russets are in season and at their lowest from late summer through winter. Take advantage and use more often.
• Large bakers packaged and wrapped are never a good value; they’re pricy and way over normal serving sizes. Save for special occasions and pick them up at your buyers’ club.

Stock & Cream:

• Watch for sales, especially during pre-Holiday and Holiday weeks, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, for great prices on Chicken Stock and Cream. Check Lidl, Aldi, and Costco, too. Stock up for the year at rock-bottom pricing. If your store is sold out, get a raincheck.
• I make my own stock when possible. Cream keeps for weeks past its “buy by” date.

Kale:

• Kale can be tricky and large bags might be the only option. Make sure to have a use for what you don’t use. Check out my post What to Know about Kale for more shopping tips and Freezing Kale the Right Way so the remainder isn’t wasted.
• My Big, Fat Green Smoothies on a Budget are always an option for the tough stems and not so pretty leaves.

Italian Sausage:

• Watch for sales, especially through the summer when sausages go on sale in response to grilling season and in early to late fall after the hogs go to market.
• Take advantage of great sales by buying and freezing. Sausage can develop an off taste in the freezer; to prevent add extra wrapping and freeze for up to six months in a fridge/freezer or up to a year in a stand-alone.
• If using in a recipe, compare the pricing of links to bulk. Don’t stress if your package isn’t exactly the one pound called for. Close is just fine.

Bacon:

• Know your prices, the regular store price, a good sale, and a great one with rock bottom pricing. Stock up at rock bottom, which is usually about half price, and usually before a holiday. Not being brand loyal will give more opportunities to save.
• Discount stores like Aldi or Lidl have great pricing, but beware of the cheapest. As a rule, buyer’s clubs have better quality at low, not necessarily the cheapest price.
• Bacon freezes well and takes up little room.

Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat

Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat

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• Author: slightly adapted from Olive Garden
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
• Category: Soups
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 slices bacon, about 1/2 inch dice
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage or Italian sausage with casing removed, mild or hot, whichever you prefer
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 1/2 cups (28 ounces) chicken broth
• 4 cups water
• 1 1 /2 pounds russet potatoes, halved and in 1/4″ slices (see note)
• 2 cups kale, roughly chopped into 1 1/2″ pieces, lightly packed
• 1 cup cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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Instructions

Add bacon to a large pot or dutch oven. Turn heat on to medium-high and cook, stirring now and then until fat is rendered but bacon is not quite crispy; remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Add Italian sausage and red chili flakes to the skillet and break the sausage up into small pieces (a potato masher works well for this) cooking until no red remains on the outside, two to three minutes or so. Add in the onion, stirring often and cook until onion is translucent and sausage is lightly browned.

Turn off heat and drain well; this is best done by putting the sausage/onion mixture on one side of the pan and tilting the pan for several minutes so the rendered fat accumulates on the far side, then spooning the fat off. Tilt by setting the pan slightly off the burner; if your burner isn’t raised, put a large spoon or some other heat-proof item underneath one side to raise the side of the pan with the sausage.

Return pan to medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute. Stir in chicken broth and water and bring to a simmer. Add the potatoes and cook until just barely tender, about 10 minutes; no need to stir which will break up the potatoes; just give them a little nudge now and then to make sure they’re evenly distributed and all cook at the same time. When the potatoes are just tender, add kale and reserved bacon, cover and let cook an additional three to four minutes.

Gently stir in heavy cream until heated through, about 1 minute; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes is 24 ounces, which is five medium potatoes, about 5 ounces each. A medium potato is about 2 1/4 inches across.

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I’ll be sharing Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Copycat at Fiesta Friday #251 where this week I’m one of the co-hosts along with Monika @ Everyday Healthy Recipes.