Delicious Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup (copycat recipe) made with Swiss Chard, Italian sausage (bratwursts will work too), potatoes, and bacon.
Zuppa Toscana Soup
- Zuppa Toscana means soup in the traditions of Tuscany, Italy.
- This version of Zuppa Toscana is made in one pot, and the soup takes only 40 minutes to make (including the idle time while everything is simmering)!
- This soup is usually made with kale, but in this recipe I use Swiss chard instead which works beautifully!
Substitutions
Zuppa Toscana is a super versatile soup and you can easily substitute certain ingredients:
- Use Italian sausage or bratwursts.
- Use Kale or Swiss chard or spinach.
- Use bacon or prosciutto or pancetta.
- Use heavy cream or milk or half-and-half.
Ingredients for Zuppa Toscana Soup
- olive oil
- onion
- Italian sausages or bratwursts
- water
- russet potatoes
- garlic cloves
- bacon
- Swiss chard
- half and half
- salt and red crushed pepper
How to make Zuppa Toscana Soup
The cooking process is very simple: everything is done in one pot!
- First, you cook the sausage with onions, then add water and bring to boil.
- Next, add potatoes and garlic, and simmer until potatoes are soft, about 15-20 minutes.
- Finally, add Swiss chard, bacon, and half-and-half. That's it!
- Serve in individual bowls, topped with the remaining amount of chopped bacon on top.
Below are some step-by-step photos of the cooking process:
This Zuppa Toscana Soup tastes even better the next day, or two and even three days later, after being refrigerated, which allows all flavors to blend in. Enjoy!
Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana Soup with Swiss Chard
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion , chopped
- 12 oz Italian sausages or bratwursts, about 2-3 sausages, chopped
- 5 cups water
- 2 russet potatoes , medium size or large, peeled and cubed into small chunks
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 6 strips bacon , cooked and chopped
- 3 cups Swiss chard , center stalks removed and sliced thin like ribbons
- 1 cup half and half
- salt and red crushed pepper
Instructions
- Chop uncooked sausages into small slices. Heat olive oil on medium heat in a soup pot, add chopped onions and chopped sausage and cook until both onion and sausage are cooked through.
- Add 5 cups of water to the pan, stir, and bring to boil.
- Add potatoes (peeled and cubed into small chunks), and minced garlic. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cook until potatoes are done, about 15-20 minutes on low simmer.
- For Swiss chard, make sure to remove center stalks and slice the Swiss chard leaves thin like ribbon. Then, add Swiss chard and half the bacon (reserve the remaining half for serving) to the soup pot. Add 1 cup half and half to the soup pot. Bring to hot temperature (not boil), mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste
- Serve in individual bowls, topped with the remaining amount of chopped bacon on top.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This is absolutely the best soup. Very easy with tons of flavor. I made it per your recipe. My husband loved it and with winter coming on it’s a perfect meal.
Carol, thanks for trying this recipe - it's one of my earlier recipes - glad you found it and that it turned out well!
Julia,
Hands down, this is the BEST soup I’ve ever made!!! It is perfect! My husband has talked about it for weeks. He invited family over to try it , he is in love with it that much! Thank you , thank you!
You are very welcome! Your comment made my day! So happy to hear your family enjoyed this soup!
Hi,
Changed it a bit, 1/2 hot sausage 1/2 mild sausage. Wasn't hot at all, just gave it some extra taste. Was a hit, will make this again. We loved it! Thank you
You're very welcome! So glad you liked it! Your addition of hot sausage sounds delicious!
Definitely a ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My husband and I ate the entire soup in 2 days.
I’m a soup and cracker girl but this didn’t need any crackers. I was surprised how flavourful it was just using water. I did add a lot more Swiss chard. We can’t keep up to it in the garden.
So glad you liked it! Thank you for such a kind comment! The more Swiss Chard in this recipe the better! 🙂
Thank you, upped the bacon just a bit but one of the best soups i have ever made!
Just came across this recipe, hope its not too late for a response. My question is, since I just made a pot of turkey stock, can I use that instead of water or will that change the overall taste too much? Oh and as for the sausage, do you think spicey is ok or is this better with mild? I'm sure its a preference but again, I don't want to change the overall taste of this apparently awesome soup recipe!