I still like Olive Garden
We recently had a chance to go out to dinner with some friends of ours. That is a rare occasion around here. My husband and I don’t get many date nights. And it is even harder to go out with friends who have kids too. So when that chance happens, it sure is nice to get to go out as grown ups and talk about grown up stuff. Although conversation inevitably turns to our kids. You know how it goes. We all decided to hit the OG (that’s Olive Garden for those who aren’t hip to the term, OG). We all could probably just go there for the soup and salad alone. Our friends kept saying how much they love the Potato and Sausage soup at Olive Garden.
Anyhow, our friend is a really good cook. In fact, he manages a small family-owned restaurant in a small town near ours. He has a lot of tips and tricks on how to make food taste really good. Tip from ‘our friend who shall remain nameless’: Did you know you can crush up croutons to use for breading for Chicken Parmesan? He gave me that tip while I was digging into my Chicken Parmesan that night at OG. What a great idea!
Zuppa Toscana or Tuscan Soup
So I was telling him that I had a really good recipe for the sausage and potato soup if he ever wanted to try it. I’m pretty sure he could have come up with his own version but I was telling him that this one is so good. I think it tastes even better than Olive Garden’s. I got it a couple of years ago from a friend and fellow food blogger, Siggy Spice. And it really is very easy and you can spice it up as much as you like. You can use hot Italian sausage if you want it spicier and if you can’t find kale, you can use any type of greens you like such as Mustard or Collard Greens. I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know if you think it’s up to snuff.
Ingredients
5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (32 oz) container chicken stock (4 cups)
3 cups russet potatoes, cubed
1 tsp. salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
2 cups kale, washed and cut into bite size pieces
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
Garnish: Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste
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Directions:
First chop up your kale. If you’ve never worked with greens before, it’s important to remove the stems and wash any grit off. Cut the kale in a “V” pattern to separate the leaves from the stem. Chop up leaves into bite size pieces. You want about 2 cups worth of leaves.
Then throw kale into a colander and rinse well to remove any dirt or grit that might still be hanging on. Let it drain well.
Meanwhile, in a large pot, brown and crumble sausage along with onions. During the last couple minutes of cooking, toss in garlic. Once cooked, drain excess grease.
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Return sausage mixture back to pot and pour in chicken stock.
Then add in cubed potatoes.
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Cover and allow potatoes to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until tender.
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Once potatoes are tender, pour in heavy cream and stir. Season with salt and pepper.
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Then add in kale and chopped, cooked bacon.
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Stir again. Bring mixture back up to a simmer and allow the kale to soften and wilt.
Give it a test (be careful – it’s hot!) and see if you need more seasoning like salt or pepper.
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Then serve!
Enjoy!
You might like these other Olive Garden inspired recipes.
Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana is a hearty Italian, homemade, creamy sausage and potato soup. Serve with breadsticks and it is heaven!
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: Zuppa Toscana
Servings: 6
Calories: 623 kcal
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 32 oz container chicken stock or 4 cups
- 3 cups russet potatoes cubed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups kale washed and cut into bite size pieces
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- Garnish: Parmesan cheese grated, to taste
Instructions
- First chop up your kale. If you've never worked with greens before, it's important to remove the stems and wash any grit off.
- Cut the kale in a "V" pattern to separate the leaves from the stem.
- Chop up leaves into bite size pieces.
- You want about 2 cups worth of leaves.
- Then throw kale into a colander and rinse well to remove any dirt or grit that might still be hanging on.
- Let it drain well.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot, brown and crumble sausage along with onions.
- During the last couple minutes of cooking, toss in minced garlic.
- Once cooked, drain excess grease.
- Return sausage mixture back to pot and pour in chicken stock.
- Then add in cubed potatoes.
- Cover pot and allow potatoes to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until tender.
- Once potatoes are tender, pour in heavy cream and stir.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Then add in kale and chopped, cooked bacon.
- Stir again. Bring mixture back up to a simmer and allow the kale to soften and wilt.
- Give it a taste test (be careful - it's hot!) and see if you need more seasoning like salt or pepper.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
collard greens or mustard greens can be used in place of kale
Nutrition Facts
Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Amount Per Serving
Calories 623 Calories from Fat 477
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 53g 82%
Saturated Fat 24g 120%
Cholesterol 151mg 50%
Sodium 1097mg 46%
Potassium 729mg 21%
Total Carbohydrates 20g 7%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 1g
Protein 17g 34%
Vitamin A 62.1%
Vitamin C 42.3%
Calcium 10.3%
Iron 11.2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Olive Garden is a registered trademark of Darden Restaurants, Inc.
The bread sticks sound great. I have to try them. THanks for sharing!
Hope you like them. They don't always turn out as pretty as I would like since I'm kind of an impatient baker but they sure do taste yummy!
Winter has returned here in Wisconsin, so I am craving soup again! This recipe sounds delicious. Believe it or not, I have never been to an OG (I can be hip, right?). Looking forward to trying my first OG food 🙂
Hope you like this one!
When we would go to Olive Garden this soup and the salad are the only things I order. (I'm not a fan of their bread sticks too salty for me)
Pam, you should give the breadstick recipe above a try. You can tweak the salt to make it to your liking. I think you'd really love them!
I made a copycat version of this soup not long ago too, I 'healthified' it a little, and it was still delicious! I need to try the salad dressing and breadsticks at home!
This is one good looking, rich soup! Nicely done!
Sadly, i order my soup the same as your friend! I can never remember the name of the soup! Its the sausage potato soup.
Nothing wrong with that Joy. They know what you are talking about. I think it is cute 🙂
It's been years since I've been near enough to an Olive Garden to go but I do remember the endless salad bowl and breadsticks and all the girlies around the table sipping wine. 🙂 Love this soup!
EAU MAH GAH!! I love this soup! Not a huge OG fan in general (too pricey and too commercial) but I go for the soup at least twice a month. I've been wanting to recreate this recipe for a while and I've seen others online but since your recipes never disappoint, I'm using yours!
Mandy, this recipe got my husband to eat kale. The man has never eaten kale in his life. So I definitely consider it a winner!
I am wishing so hard that someone would come up with a home made version of the OG chicken gnocci soup!!!!
Might have to work on that one next! I am terrible and totally impatient when it comes to making gnocchi though. Might have to make a cheater version. Haha.
Maybe with instant mashed potatoes?
I have made it using pre-made gnocci found in the pasta isle at Wal-Mart. The soup was so delicious! I'm wondering if OG makes their own? I'm thinking they don't;)
I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious! It's a keeper that is for sure. Thank you so much!
Hi Kathy! I'm so happy you had a chance to try this one and that you enjoyed it! I appreciate you letting me know 🙂
You have such yum inspiring recipes. I have pinned this.
Thank you so much Bintu!
This is just amazing! I pinned this and I am quickly becoming hungry! I would love for you to link up this recipe @ http://ahandfulofeverything.blogspot.com/2013/04/great-idea-thursday-1.html! Krista @ A Handful of Everything
Never had the soup. I get too filled up to eat my other food but I always thought it looked good. Thank you for the recipe. I can eat it at home now.
Consider yourself hugged,
http://simpleesue.com/try-one-new-recipe-a-week-bed-and-breakfast-cherry-crumb-coffee-cake/
Oh my this looks good! I never have soup at OG. We go maybe once a year. I guess am missing out! I pinned it last night and it has been repined 14 times by this morning. People must love this stuff. We are having a cool off here this coming week so I will be making it. Eating kale sounds different, but I am game for a change. Thanks for your blog and all the posts.
And I forgot, I use vegetable broth instead of chicken and I use different greens. Spinach is very good as well, if you don't like kale. Any green you have on hand and like best will work.
I have made all their soups and they are all just like OLIVE GARDEN's de lish!
I can't wait to try this! I love OG soups. Is there a health reason to cut off stems from leafy greens?
They are very fibrous. And difficult to chew.
I love love love this soup recipe!! Lol, and by coincidence I work at OG & I grab a bowl of this for a get up & go between shifts 🙂 I wonder if you can freeze it though with the kale inside? Believe it or not, we do add our fresh kale to this soup & the spinach to the gnocchi soup just right before we bring it up to serve.. Oh, one more thing.. let your friend know he's in about 85% of our guests.. The hardest time saying those two soups 😀 But you just let us know an ingredient & we happily know exactly what you're looking for-it's a little gift we try to have for you 🙂 And if you ever want to try the breadsticks but without so much salt, just let your server know.. We will happily serve without the seasoning on top 🙂 Happy Monday everyone!!
So this is the husbands fav soup ever from the olive garden, i made it the other night and he said it was far superior to the Olive Garden and one of the best things I have ever made.
Fabulous recipe thank you so much!
This is a great recipe! To make it lighter, I use Turkey Sausage and Half and Half rather than heavy cream. Still turns out great. Recently discovered your website, I'm excited to try more of your recipes.
I just wanted to let you know this has become one of my favorite soups to make! My six year old son loves it and I always find myself coming back to your recipe!
The Zuppa Toscana is my favorite soup from Olive Garden and I’ve been making it almost exactly like yours for years! Really, the only difference is that I add Fennel Seed. It makes it perfect in my opinion!
Can this soup be frozen?
Hi Brandie!
Can this be made in a crockpot I wonder?? Has anyone tried it that’s way?
What do you mean by whipping cream? Are you talking about the whipped cream that goes on top of pies etc….
Hi Devonne, check out my ingredient photo above and you’ll see what I am talking about. Heavy whipping cream is a liquid and you can find it where the milk is located in the grocery store. Hope that helps! 🙂
This is a great recipe but I was wondering if there’s a healthy version of it?
Wow! This soup turned out perfect. Thanks for the great recipe!
My family loves this soup!! Thank you for posting it!!! Definitely will make this again !!!
I made this soup last night, and my husband commented that it’s better than the OG version. Thanks so much for posting this.
Love this recipes! I also add a can of white cannelini beans and use once can of evaportaed milk instead of heavy cream. A sure winner in this household, thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for this recipe!!! The Zuppa Toscana is my absolute favorite soup. I followed your recipe and it tasted exactly the same as Olive Garden. I’m so glad I can make it from home now!
Recipe turned out well. I added one chicken bouillon cube for flavor and used real Bacon bits pieces in place of fried bacon.
We love this soup! My Husband is a huge fan of it and says that its better than Olive Gardens! we enjoy it so much that I make it year round! Gotta love a really good one pot meal too!
I love Olive Garden but I like this recipe even more. I really don’t like Kale so I add fresh spinach to each bowl before adding soup. Delicious……….. btw, I never have whipping creme so I add milk or half and half or whatever I have (sometime condensed) Still delicious…..Thanks!