Name: Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
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 (skinned, thickly sliced, and quartered); 4 cups chicken broth; 2 cups 1% milk; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3-4 cups chopped kale

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Zuppa Toscana Soup is a lightened- up version of the classic Olive Garden kale soup using poultry sausage and then filled with creamy russet potatoes and hearty kale. This Olive Garden copycat recipe is perfect for a rainy fall day!

I know I have mentioned this before but, a long time ago (in another life), I worked as a waitress at the Olive Garden. Those were fun times filled with lots of salad, breadsticks, and yummy Zuppa Toscana.

If you never tried the Zuppa Toscana soup from the Olive Garden, then you’re missing out! It is filled with Italian sausage, potatoes, kale, butter, cream, and I am sure other yummy ingredients. It is soooooo good and I used to love sopping it up with breadsticks.

If you haven’t guessed already, I wasn’t exactly health conscious back then.

How I Created This Copycat Healthy Version Of An Olive Garden Classic!

When I first started to prepare this recipe, it was not my intention to make a copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana. I originally planned on making a slow cooker sausage and kale soup I found in one of my cookbooks. But, I didn’t have time for a slow cooker recipe so I decided to make it on the stove.

I also wanted to change it up a bit and add potatoes for richness, some milk for creaminess, and I substituted Italian chicken sausage. And that, my friends, is how this delicious lightened-up Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana recipe was born.

Anyway, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I was blown away when I took a taste of this Zuppa Toscana. It’s delicious and tasted almost exactly like the Olive Gardens!

Zuppa Toscana Soup Ingredients

Alright, let’s get to this recipe! Here is a list of ingredients you will need to make homemade sausage and kale soup:

Olive oil
Ground turkey or Italian chicken sausage
Onion
Garlic cloves
Dried basil
Dried oregano
Crushed red pepper
Dried thyme
Russet potatoes
Chicken broth
1% milk
Salt
Chopped kale

Note: Grab the exact measurements for all of these ingredients in the recipe card below

How To Make Potato, Sausage, And Kale Soup (Zuppa Toscana)

Honestly, in all the soups, I’ve made I can easily say this is one of my favorites. It’s really good!

The flavors of the sausage, onion, garlic, and spices are great.

I started out by heating up some olive oil in a medium to large soup pot and cooked the Italian sausage until it was no longer pink. The sausage will break apart and crumble as it cooks.
To the pot, add the onion, garlic, basil, oregano, and thyme.
Cook that for 5 minutes or until the onion and garlic start to soften.
Add in potatoes, chicken broth, and milk and cook until potatoes are soft, for about 25 to 30 minutes.
Give it a taste and then add in the salt.
Stir in the kale and cook for another 15 minutes or until the kale is tender. Serve hot!

Cooking Tips

I added a ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes as this gives it a nice kick. If you’re using a hot sausage, you might not need it. But, if you like it spicy, then throw it in.
Instead of cream or half and half, I decided to just use 1% milk – mostly because that is what I had on hand. It added the perfect amount of creaminess to this soup.

How To Store And Make-Ahead Zuppa Toscana Recipe

This soup can be made ahead completely then frozen in individual containers. Thaw the container out in the refrigerator and then warm it up on the stove or microwave.

Tip: When you freeze the soup, make sure to leave about 1 inch of room to allow for expansion.