Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup is a fan favorite hearty soup with kale, potatoes, sausage, cream and bacon.
Soups are a hands down favorite of this site including our crazy popular Cabbage Soup, Beef Stew and Chicken Noodle Soup.
History of Tuscan Cuisine
Zuppa Toscana soup is an Italian dish that originates in the region of Tuscany, which it takes its name from. Compared to Sicilian cuisine, which uses olives and red wine vinaigrette more extensively, Tuscan cuisine takes full advantage of its rolling hills and fertile landscapes by using more meat and root vegetables.
Zuppa Toscana is an Italian dish from Tuscany that uses olives, Italian sausage, red pepper flakes, chicken broth, and more! In fact, you might have heard of it if you’ve ever been to Olive Garden!
What to Serve with Zuppa Toscana Soup:
For a complete Italian dinner, try adding Garlic Bread and serving it with my copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s Italian Salad Dressing. Garnish your soup with Parmesan cheese or my homemade Parmesan Crisps.
What is Zuppa Toscana Soup?
The soup is a cream-based potato soup, complemented by black pepper or red pepper (depending on taste), browned pork sausage, and leafy greens (we use kale; some people use spinach). We recommend making this hearty soup with a slow cooker. Still, to keep one of our favorite soups accessible to everyone, we’ve altered the recipe by replacing the crock pot or instant pot with a large pot set to medium heat.
This change in cooking method speeds up the total cooking time of the meal. However, it gives a slightly longer prep time than the standard method. When you’re softening the onion and garlic, you can replace the bacon fat with unsaturated fat olive oil and cook in a slow cooker using the “dump everything in” method. Look further to see this amazing recipe with a total cooking time of fewer than thirty minutes!
Healthy Options Are Available!
If you’re concerned about reducing saturated fat, there are alternative options to consider! You can replace the bacon fat with unsaturated fat olive oil when you’re softening the onion and garlic.
For an additional effect, use paper towels to absorb the residual fat from the bacon strips. Heavy cream can also be replaced with half and half in a pinch! Italian cuisine tends to be quite salty, even in more agriculturally diverse styles, like Tuscany’s. Use low-sodium chicken broth to lower the salt even further.
You can also reduce the sausage and bacon and increase the kale. However, I wouldn’t remove the sausage and bacon altogether, as this would change the soup’s flavor.
Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana Soup
Brown the bacon and sausage and remove them from the pan. Then, add the onion, garlic, broth, potatoes, and sausage to your slow cooker on low for 6 hours. Add the kale and heavy cream and cook for 2 additional hours on low.
Add the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes to a large dutch oven on medium high heat and cook until well browned. Once that's done, remove the sausage from the pot and discard the fat.
Reduce the heat to medium, then add in the bacon. Cook until slightly crispy, then remove the bacon - however, you should leave the fat this time around. Add in the onions and garlic, and cook them for 5-7 minutes until softened.
Finally, add the chicken broth, bacon, potatoes, and kale - bringing the ingredients to a boil. Once the broth reaches a rolling boil, continue to simmer the soup, leaving the pot uncovered for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add the sausage and heavy cream, stir together, and serve.
Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1054mg | Potassium: 818mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 520IU | Vitamin C: 17.4mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 2.1mg
Source link
French