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.
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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
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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 and serve hot!
- 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.
Am I missing something on the nutritional info? It doesn’t have calories? I can’t wait to make it, though!
Just fixed it. Sorry.
do you have the sodium count on this?
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/7 of recipe Calories: 316 Fat: 11 Carbohydrates: 34 Fiber: 3 Protein: 20
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1/7 of recipe Calories: 316 Fat: 11 Carbohydrates: 34 Fiber: 3 Protein: 20
Will the potatoes freeze okay with this recipe? I have read that they typically don’t freeze well?
My husband is dying for me to try this!!
Yes only raw potatoes have issues freezing. try this recipe. You will love it – and so will hubs 🙂
Yay!! So excited 🙂 thank you!
Super recipe Kale is the latest in thing.
Absolutely delicious!!! Thank you
The recipe reads 7 servings, but how much is a serving? Is it a cup, two cups? I want to use the nutrition information but need to know the portion size. Thanks for all you do! Can’t wait to try this.
Hi. I was looking for kale recipes and came upon your website.
Tried the kale soup last nite and it was delicious and easy to make. I will definitely be trying some more of your recipes!!
PS funny thing is I am from Buffalo!
Awesome!! Love my fellow buffalonians!
can we substitute spinach?
Have done that with success, as my family does not care for kale.
So delish. Thanks for sharing!
I made this last night and my hubby and I both love it! There wasn’t any left to freeze. Next time I will double the recipe and have some to freeze. Thank you for the good healthy recipe!
Really great. My boyfriend wanted us to try to make his favorite Olive Garden soup, and I was hoping to find a recipe that used milk instead of cream. This recipe was perfect. We used lean pork sausage instead turkey. Great flavors, loved the texture of the broth.
Very good. I would add note not to worry about exact amounts, etc. I added more broth and only one c 2% milk (all I had). Simmered only five min after kale added because I like it crunchy. Thank you for posting!
YUM! It smells amazing simmering on my stove right now! I added extra red pepper flakes to make it spicy! I can’t wait to try it!
This is the first time making this recipe, easy to follow instructions. I omitted the red pepper flakes and used Tuscan spice blend with sweet Italian sausage. Smells amazing.
Thanks! I’ve still got kale in the raised bed, and a huge bag in the freezer. Everything on hand except the sausage. So, this goes to the top of my list once I finish freezing and canning from the garden. I’m really enjoying your blog!
hi this recipe sounds delicious but I’m asking about the kale in your freezer. can kale be frozen fresh is there anything I need to do to it before freezing it I bought the only kale I could find and it was a super large bag and I would like to use only half of it so freezing would be ideal how do you freeze kale Thanks
Yes you can just throw kale into a freezer bag and freeze. I do it all the time and it works great.
I absolutely love this recipe! Have made it twice already! But how much is 1/7th of the recipe? A cup? A cup in a half?
This was so good, we spiced it up much more for our taste profile. Definitely a new recipe in our rotation!
I make a very similar recipe only I slice up raw cauliflower, looks like little sliced potatos, and throw them in the pot the last 10 minutes. They keep a firmness and are still yummy the next day.
Much more than 10 minutes and they add a sweetness to the soup that I dont like.
I made this yesterday and it was delicious! The only thing I changed was the turkey sausage. My grocery store was out and I couldn’t bring myself to buy the regular sausage links (21g of fat per link! YIKES) so I just bought the ground turkey (98% fat free) and it was still good. Thank you sharing, I’ll definitely make it again!
I made this yesterday for my brother who had pancreatic surgery a month ago I substituted omion powder for onions and garlic powder for the garlic and he loved it and wanted the rescipe . It was so good! Thank you for the lighter version of Zuppa Touscana.
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.
Absolutely delicious! M new favorite for me. I used hot Italian pork sausage and omitted the red flakes. Magnificent!!!
Could this be made in the crock pot?
I made this tonight for my family and it was a hit. The taste is so close. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Made it tonight, couled not be more pleased! This was delicious, thanks for sharing.
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!!!
Turned out amazing. Very savory, and you don’t even miss the heavy cream.
Thank you for sharing your story and for all the guidance and recipes that you offer.
I would like to make a suggestion for recipes, especially soup. I would love to see serving sizes listed in cups (when possible) instead of 7 servings or the like. I find I avoid some recipes when the serving size isn’t a “no brain-er”.
My daughter loves this soup. She keeps going into the kitchen to smell it while it is cooking.
Is the serving size of 1/7 equivalent to 1 cup or?????
Thank you
Family member made this, and it was Awesome!!!!👍👍👍
Awesome! So glad everyone liked it!
What’s the sodium for a serving of this?
So good!!! A go to time and time again.
Ooh, most excellent! We’ll definitely be having this dish again! Used fat free half and half instead of milk since that’s what I happened to have in the fridge and it turned out great!!
Could spinach be substituted for the kale?
Yes that would work.
Thank you for the recipe. I chose to sub carrots for potatoes and almond milk for 1% milk to meet my personal nutrition goals. It tasted great! Thanks again!
I made this for my BFF…she’s dieting and I’m serving as coach. 🙂 I used spicy Italian sausage and omitted the red pepper flakes, and used 3 teaspoons of Italian seasoning instead of dried thyme, oregano and basil. She loved it and said it tasted better than Olive Garden! Ask anyone who knows me well…I don’t like any type of soup for some reason. Strange…I know LOL (I always order salad at Olive Garden). I, of course, tasted the soup before giving it to my friend and it was so delicious. You broke my “don’t like soup curse”…I plan to make this again for myself next time. Thanks for a great recipe! God bless 🙂
Read so many remarks on this soup can’t wait to try it.
I made this as per your recipe with a few changes. I doubled the amount of kale, halved the spices, and added red pepper flakes. Didn’t use milk as I had some heavy cream and half & half and used them. It was excellent. Will definitely save this recipe and make it a lot in the future.
Has anyone used almond milk?
I made this tonight. We are trying to follow a low carb/KETO style of eating so I substited cauliflower for the potatoes. Wow! Great flavor! My husband said “you could feed this to the Pope”, his highest compliment and he’s not even religious! Very good! Thank you!
wow thats amazing! Tell him I’m so happy he loves it.
How well do the potatoes freeze?
They freeze great in the soup.
Can coconut milk be used instead of the 1%? Very sensitive to dairy but would love to make this soup.
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.
Easy to make and so delicious!! This is a wonderful recipe.
This is one of our favorites too!