This Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup is a lightened copycat version of the classic using poultry sausage and then filled with creamy russet potatoes and hearty kale. This healthy soup recipe is delicious and is better than the restaurant version.
This post contains affiliate links. I am an affiliate for Amazon Associates and other brands and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. You’re by no means obligated to use my links but, if you do, thank you for supporting Organize Yourself Skinny.
I know I have mentioned this before, but I worked as a waitress at the Olive Garden a long time ago (in another life). Those were fun times filled with lots of salad, breadsticks, and yummy food.
Pasta e Fagioli, Healthy Baked Ziti, Baked Chicken Parmesan, Healthy Fettucine Alfredo, and Healthy Artichoke and Spinach Dip are healthier copycat versions of my favorite Olive Garden recipes. And, you’d never know these recipes are lightened up because each one is delicious.
Today, I’m sharing my version of creamy Zuppa Toscana.
5-Star Recipe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I made this one for my husband and it was an absolute hit. The recipe was easy to follow and turned out IMO better than Zappa Toscana from Olive Garden – Thank you for posting this one. I will definitely be making this one again.” – Molly
“Me and my boyfriend used to both work as servers at the OG and toscana was our absolute favorite!! I never imagined i could make it from home so easily! It was delicious thank you so much for sharing! Best recipe I’ve found online yet!!!” – Fernanda
Reasons you’ll love this recipe.
- Nutritious and delicious. This healthier version of Olive Garden’s most popular soup is filled with lean protein, high fiber kale and potatoes, and a lighter creamy base. It’s still comforting and super tasty without all of the fat and calories. It’s also gluten-free and Whole30 compliant.
- Make-ahead. This creamy soup can be made on Sunday for the week or frozen for a quick lunch or dinner later on.
Ingredients
- Italian poultry sausage. You can either purchase ground Italian sausage or poultry links. If you get links, then remove the casing before using the sausage in the recipe.
- Onion and cloves of garlic. The starting foundation for this healthy Zuppa Toscana.
- Dried basil, oregano, and thyme. This seasoning blend adds the perfect layer of flavor to this soup.
- Crushed red pepper flakes. This gives the soup a nice spicy kick.
- Russet potatoes. To make a classic Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup, you should use russet potatoes. However, you can also use Yukon gold potatoes, also called yellow or butter.
- Low-fat milk and chicken broth. Instead of heavy cream or half and half, I decided to use 1% milk with the chicken broth. It adds the perfect amount of creaminess to this soup without the extra saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories.
- Chopped kale. To save time, you can purchase bags of cleaned and chopped kale from the produce section. If you buy whole kale leaves, then clean the leaves thoroughly and remove the stem before chopping.
Did you know that you can freeze kale and other greens? That’s right, so don’t worry about leftovers. Check out this tutorial on how to freeze kale.
Cooking Tips
- Leave the skin on the potatoes. I’ve made it both ways, and both are tasty. Make sure to clean the potatoes thoroughly to remove any dirt or debris.
- Use other greens. If you don’t want to use kale then baby spinach, Swiss chard, or other greens will work fine as a substitute.
- Switch up the potatoes. Classic Zuppa Toscana calls for russet potato recipes, but yellow or Yukon golds are delicious too.
- Adjust the spice level. If you like a spicier soup, then add in extra crushed red pepper flakes. You can also control the spice by using either mild or hot Italian poultry sausage. Keep in mind that you might need crushed hot pepper flakes if you’re using hot Italian sausage. It depends on how spicy you want the soup.
- For extra flavor, add in bacon. Cook 4-6 slices of bacon, remove it from the pan, and set it aside. Crumble it once it cools. Drain most of the bacon grease and then cook the sausage and continue with the rest of the recipe. After the soup cooks, stir in the bacon, saving some to sprinkle on top.
- Adjust the consistency of the soup. If the soup seems too thin, then mash up some of the potatoes to thicken it up. On the flip side, if it starts to thicken up as it sits, then you can stir in some chicken broth to loosen it up.
- Make it low-carb. You can reduce the carbohydrates in this recipe by swaping in cauliflower florets for potatoes. This change will make it a low-carb keto-friendly Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe.
- Bulk up the veggies. You can add celery, carrots, and other vegetables to this soup.
Serving suggestions
This soup is a meal in itself, but if you want some different sides, then try these ideas:
- Caesar salad or other green salad.
- Roasted broccoli or asparagus.
- Crusty Italian bread.
My Favorite Dutch Oven To Use For Soup
Buy Now →
How to Make Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup Copycat
- Start by heating olive oil in a large soup pot and cook the Italian sausage over medium-high heat until it is no longer pink. Use a large spoon or spatula to break apart the sausage into small pieces as it cooks. Because you’re using poultry sausage, you won’t need to drain any grease.
- Add the onion, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes to the sausage and cook that for 5 minutes or until the onion and garlic start to soften.
- Stir in the potatoes, chicken broth, and milk and bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are soft – this takes about 15-20 minutes. Give the soup a taste, and then add in the salt.
- Stir in the kale and cook for another 15 minutes or until the kale is tender. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve hot!
Storage Tips
To meal prep for the week.
After the soup cools, place it into an airtight container and refrigerator for up to 4 days. I like to use individual containers to keep portions under control and also so I can quickly heat and eat.
To freeze for later on.
I’ve frozen this Zuppa Toscana recipe numerous times. I’ve never had a problem with the dairy separating or curdling. I think this is because it includes more broth than dairy.
After the soup cools, place it into containers leaving an inch from the top for expansion and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. I also love to use Souper Cubes 1-cup portion silicone trays to freeze this and other soup recipes. You can get more tips in my how-to freeze soup tutorial.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
If you are looking for a couple of more healthy and delicious soup recipes, take a look at this list:
Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Equipment
- 5 1/2 quart dutch oven or soup pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground Italian turkey or poultry sausage or 6 links with casings removed
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 4 medium russet potatoes (about 2.5 lbs) skinned, thickly sliced, and quartered
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups 1% milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3-4 cups chopped kale
- grated parmesan cheese optional
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot and cook the italian sausage until no longer pink. As it's cooking use a spoon or spatula to break into small pieces.
- Add the onion, garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, and crushed red pepper flakes to the sausage and cook that for 5 minutes or until the onion and garlic start to soften.
- Stir in the potatoes, chicken broth, and milk and bring to a boil and then simmer until potatoes are soft – this takes about 15-20 minutes.
- Give the soup a taste, and then add in the salt.
- Stir in the kale and cook for another 15 minutes or until the kale is tender.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese (optional) and serve hot!
Video
Notes
Storage Tips
To meal prep for the week. After the soup cools, place it into an airtight container and refrigerator for up to 4 days. I like to use individual containers to keep portions under control and also so I can quickly heat and eat. To freeze for later on. I’ve frozen this Zuppa Toscana recipe numerous times. I’ve never had a problem with the dairy separating or curdling. I think this is because it includes more broth than dairy. After the soup cools, place it into containers leaving an inch from the top for expansion and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. I also love to use Souper Cubes 1-cup portion silicone trays to freeze this and other soup recipes. You can get more tips in my how-to freeze soup tutorial.Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Have you tried this Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat Recipe? I can’t wait to see it! If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe and leave a comment below. We all learn from each other’s experiences. Also, it would be awesome if you could share a picture on Instagram and tag it #organizeyourselfskinny.
Suzanne K says
I’ve made this several times for my husband but just noticed tonight the recipe talks about the kale and salt twice. Looks like you included steps 4, 5 and 6 in step 3. Might want to give that an edit to reduce confusion. Excellent recipe – thank you!
Tammy Overhoff says
Thanks so much! I just made that adjustment.
Southern Agenda says
We have been making Zuppa Toscana since my daughter worked for Olive Garden over 10 years ago. She took a copycat recipe and just kept experimenting. My daughter now uses sweet potatoes in her version and more red pepper. I use an entire bag of kale usually and never use cream. I save my calories for chocolate ❤️
This was my first time using this recipe. I needed to use up the greens growing in my garden before I lose them to our freezing temps. I followed it completely, but used COLLARD GREENS and it turned out fabulous! #itsakeeper #comfortfood
Tammy Overhoff says
That’s great! I’m so glad you loved it!
Ashlee says
I’ve made this so many times for different family members and they’ve all loved it!
However, I don’t have milk on hand right now and I want to make it before my mom gets home, can I add the milk in at the end and heat it up?
Tammy Overhoff says
Yes that will work. And I’m so happy every loves this soup, it’s one of our favorites too.
Kimberly N Riefstahl says
Easy to make and so delicious!! This is a wonderful recipe.
Tammy Kresge says
This is one of our favorites too!
Hannah says
Can coconut milk be used instead of the 1%? Very sensitive to dairy but would love to make this soup.
Tammy Kresge says
yes I’ve substitute coconut milk in MANY soup recipes and it works great. I even use it in mac n cheese and nobody notices.