Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup
This Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe is filled with bits of crumbled sausage, kale, potatoes, and diced onions in a rich, savory broth topped with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Exactly like the restaurant version!
Hearing my husband say “THITH IS MY FAVORITE THOUP EVER” (with his mouth full of soup, clearly), was pretty satisfying. (And entertaining.) We don’t always share the same taste in food so although I knew I loved this soup, (as I was eating it right off the stove, oops)… I wasn’t sure if he would appreciate the deliciousness of it the way I did. BUT, he did.
Can I just say, I miss the living heck out of Olive Garden. I could probably cry about it. It’s just that the good ol’ OG and my screechy, energetic toddler don’t really go hand in hand. It’s a tragedy. Luckily, Olive Garden copycat recipes have been holding me over and this Zuppa Toscana Soup is going to be my best friend all Fall and Winter long, no doubt about it. (PSST. Try my Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup next. It’s insane.)
You can totally make this zuppa toscana soup in the slow cooker too, (instructions on how are below), but I’m never patient enough for that, no way jose. When I want this soup, I want it now. Wa-bam, get in my bowl.
If you’re not a fan of hot sausage, you can use regular ground sausage instead and omit the red pepper flakes, I promise that it’ll be just as delish!
Perfect recipe pairing: Homemade Ciabatta Bread! 😉

Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup
This Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup recipe has bits of crumbled sausage, kale, potatoes, and diced onions in a rich, savory broth topped with a pinch of red pepper flakes. Exactly like the restaurant version!
Ingredients:
- 1 pound ground Hot Italian sausage
- 1 medium russet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 32 oz. chicken broth (equal to 4 cups)
- 1/2 bunch kale, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Pinch of red pepper flakes, optional
Directions:
Brown the sausage in a large pot over medium heat.
Grain any excess grease. Add the garlic, onions & potatoes, and stir to combine.
Pour in the chicken stock, and cover the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer for about an hour, or until the potatoes are soft.
Whisk together the heavy cream and flour until well combined. (It may be lumpy but the lumps disappear once mixed into the soup!)
Pour the flour mixture into the soup and increase heat to medium high, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until the soup has thickened slightly.
Stir in the kale, season according to your taste (a pinch of pepper flakes are delicious in there), and serve!
Slow Cooker Instructions
Follow same steps as above, however instead of simmering the soup for an hour, cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 3-4.
Once the flour mixture is added, heat on HIGH for another 30 minutes. Stir in the kale and serve!
Recipe Source: TheChunkyChef 🙂
All images and text ©Stephanie Melchione for The Cozy Cook*This post may contain affiliate links
Absolutely loved this soup, and it even tasted better then Olive Garden’s.
I’m SOO glad that you enjoyed it JoAnne! I have to say that I agree, it DOES taste better than Olive Garden.. I was tempted to say that in my recipe, and I know it’s quite a claim, but it really is soooo good! (And easy too!!) Thanks for letting me know how you liked it!! Have a great day 🙂
Honestly I’ve never had Olive Gardens Zuppa, but I can tell you one thing I made this last night and everyone loved it. My son told me when I was making it and he saw the kale he thought YUK but after the first taste he was sold on it and loved it. For my money I bet it was better then the original. I just about doubled it and most of it is gone. I did notice today when I pulled out the leftover out of the refrigerator it was more like a paste then a soup but once reheated it was back to soup. The soup is really good but very rich. Thanks for sharing a keeper!
Hi Dennis! I couldn’t agree with you more, I have had this soup from OG and I honestly do think it tastes better… it’s quite a claim, but it really does! And sooooo easy to make!! The kale is such a great addition in there but you’d never think it! Thanks so much for sharing how you enjoyed it!
This soup looks so flavorful, I can’t wait to make it. I think my husband will really like it; he loves dishes with hot sausage!
Pingback: Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup - The Cozy Cook
omgoodness, omgoodness. amazing recipe
Omgoodness! this is absolutely amazing! 2nd time making it. this time I doubled the recipe but 2 1/2 times the sausage potatoes. Husband wanted more of a “stoup” lol. still looks and smells delicious.
Hi Kav!!! I’m SOOO happy you guys love this soup as much as we go.. it really is amazing how delicious it is, especially given how easy it is to make! 🙂 It’s time that I make another batch soon myself! Thank you for taking the time to let me know how you like it! Have a great week!
Thank you for this! I have, in the past, made a similar concoction, whick was awesome! Has been a while, forgot the specifics. I do not eat pork, therefore use a seasoned ground turkey mix (it is a Clean Eating recipe, and quite quite good). so glad for Winter!! I LOVE SOUP!!
Hi Cindy! It’s so funny that you happened to comment on this soup today because I actually had some of it for lunch that I had in the freezer! 😉 A seasoned ground turkey in this soup actually sounds AMAZING… I’m DEFINITELY trying that next time, it’ll take out a smidgen of guilt. I LOVE SOUP TOO, oh my gosh…sooo much. hahaha! Have a great rest of your week!
Making this now ! Yummy…
YAAYYY!! What a great Sunday soup Barbara!! Enjoy!! 😁
I made this wonderful soup a couple months ago. We ate every drop.I’m making it again today!
EXCELLENT Patti! Isn’t soup season the best?! I might just have to make a batch myself! Thank you for letting me know how you like it! Have a great weekend!
Mmmmm, that was goood. Just got done eating a bowl. So easy to make and so delicious, thank you for sharing!!!
Hi Shari! Oh I’m sooo happy that you loved this soup! I can never get enough of it and I can’t believe how easy it is either! (Shoot. Now I want a bowl!) It actually freezes well and I think I have some in my freezer, so thank you for catching me just before lunch, haha! Have a great rest of your day, and thank you for taking the time to let me know what you thought of it! -Stephanie