Zuppa Toscana

Rich and delicious zuppa toscana is a favorite around here. You’ll love this hearty soup as much as we do, thanks to its slightly-spicy Italian sausage, tender potatoes, savory bacon, and creamy broth. An every-day version of the healthy zuppa recipe our readers have been loving for years!

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• A more traditional version of our wildly popular Whole30 zuppa, this zuppa toscana uses rich heavy cream, Italian sausage, yellow potatoes, kale, and bacon, creating an amazing, filling one-pot meal that everyone in the house will LOVE.
• It’s a fantastic meal prep option, and you can easily double or triple it to feed the family for the week. Zuppa refrigerates and reheats really well. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave when you’re ready to eat.

Chef’s Tips

• Make sure you wait until the very, very end to add the kale. If it cooks too long, it’ll become super slimy and unpleasant. It should only be cooked a few minutes, just until it’s bright green and a little soft.
• If you’re not big on heat, leave out the crushed red pepper flakes but keep everything else the same. The zuppa toscana will still be unbelievably delicious, I promise you – it just won’t have that little pop of spice.
• Just like our other zuppa toscana recipes, you can absolutely make this one in the Crockpot. Cook the sausage, bacon, onions, and garlic on the stove as instructed below. From there, add everything but the bacon, heavy cream, salt, pepper, and kale to the slow cooker. Cook 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. When the cook time’s up, stir in the heavy cream and kale and let the zuppa cook (covered) in the slow cooker for 15 minutes, then stir in the bacon, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Other Tasty Soup Recipes to Carry You Through Winter

• Buffalo Chicken Soup
• Creamy Cajun Chicken Soup
• 15 Bean Soup
• Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup
• Italian Meatball Soup with Homemade Meatballs
• Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
• Hot Dog Soup

Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

5 from 1 vote

Zuppa Toscana

Prep 15 minutes minutes

Cook 45 minutes minutes

Total 1 hour hour

Rich, creamy, and deliciously hearty, this incredible zuppa toscana will be a favorite in your family, any time of year.

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6 servings

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Equipment

• 2 medium bowls
• Paper towels
• dutch oven or medium heavy-bottomed pot
• Slotted spoon
• Tongs
• Fork

Ingredients

• ▢ 6 slices bacon cut into ½-inch long pieces
• ▢ 1 pound Italian sausage
• ▢ ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ▢ 1 ½ pounds yellow potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces
• ▢ 1 medium white onion diced; or yellow onion, diced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons minced garlic approximately 8 cloves
• ▢ 6 cups chicken stock
• ▢ 1 small bunch kale stems removed, leaves chopped; approximately 6 cups
• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream at or close to room temperature
• ▢ salt to taste
• ▢ freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

• Line medium bowls with paper towels and set aside. Heat dutch oven over medium heat.
• When pot is warm, add Italian sausage and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, breaking up pieces of sausage with spoon, until meat is browned and cooked through.
• Use slotted spoon to remove sausage from pot, draining any fat, and transfer sausage to one bowl lined with paper towel. Set aside.
  
• Add diced bacon to dutch oven. Cook until bacon is crispy, approximately 5 to 10 minutes, turning pieces as needed to prevent burning.
• Use slotted spoon to remove bacon from dutch oven, leaving rendered bacon fat in pot. Transfer cooked bacon to other bowl lined with paper towels. Set aside.
• Add chopped onion and minced garlic to dutch oven with rendered bacon fat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and translucent – approximately 5 minutes.
  
• Pour chicken stock into dutch oven and increase heat under pot to high. Scrape up any browned bits stuck to bottom of pot, then bring liquid to boil.
  
• When chicken stock begins to boil, add diced potatoes. Boil potatoes until fork tender, approximately 10 to 20 minutes.
• When potatoes are cooked through, reduce heat to medium. Let soup cool slightly, then stir in heavy cream and cooked sausage, until ingredients are well incorporated. Cook over medium heat until warmed through.
• Immediately before serving, add cooked bacon and fresh kale to zuppa. Stir to incorporate and cook only until kale is bright green and softened.
• Taste zuppa and season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve warm.

• Avoid adding cold heavy cream to the very hot soup, or the cream may curdle or separate.
• Make it Dairy Free: Use a non-dairy heavy cream or coconut cream.
• Make it Whole30: Use my Whole30 Zuppa Toscana recipe.
• Make it Keto: Use my keto zuppa toscana recipe.

Nutrition Info

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 615calProtein: 22gFat: 47gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 117mgSodium: 1241mgPotassium: 1026mgTotal Carbs: 26gFiber: 4gNet Carbs: 22gVitamin A: 2808IUVitamin C: 47mgCalcium: 129mgIron: 3mg

Nutrition Disclaimers

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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