This homemade soup is warm comfort in a bowl! It’s creamy, savory, and packed with amazing ingredients like kale and healing bone broth. And with a simple swap out, it is Paleo and Whole 30 compliant! Did you know bone broth is good for digestion, immune health and helps prevent leaky gut?? I will be posting my super simple bone broth recipe soon. I’m telling you this soup beats the Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana any day. This is quite literally my favorite soup and it never gets old. It also makes for great leftovers too!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Soup Season!
I’m starting to embrace all the fall feels this September. The weather is starting to slightly get cooler and it just gets me excited for all the warm, cozy nights in. Cooler weather equals soup weather and I’m here for all of it. This made from scratch soup is highly versatile too, as you will see we can make it Whole 30 compliant with just one ingredient swap and it doesn’t compromise flavor. And to be honest, I prefer the Whole 30 version anyway. Try them both ways and see for yourself! Another bonus, it’s incredibly easy to make and one of those “one pot wonders”. I love those!
If you’ve never made soup from scratch, you’re in for a treat! When I first started learning how to cook from scratch, making soup seemed very intimidating but it’s surprisingly easy and you probably have most of the ingredients already. There are two ways you can make this: You can use a large pot like a Dutch oven or large soup pot or an instant pot. I usually use my Instant Pot because it is so incredibly convenient but rest assured, you can make it just as well with a big ol’ pot on the stove top! Let’s do this thing!
You will need:
- An Instant Pot or large pot such as a dutch oven
- 4 cups of chicken bone broth (I like to use homemade when I have it on hand, but you can totally use store bought too!)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup half and half OR for W30 option – 1 can coconut milk
- 1 lb sweet Italian ground sausage (If you like it spicy, use the spicy Italian Sausage!)
- 4-6 strips of bacon
- 1 large bunch of kale
- 1 medium onion (I’ve used white & yellow, whatever you have on hand will work)
- 4 cups peeled potatoes cut into bite sized pieces. (You can use any kind of potato you want)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped.
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Directions for Better than Olive Garden Zuppa :
- Preheat your pot on medium heat or set your instant pot to the “sauté” function until it reads “HOT”.
- Once your pot is hot, place the bacon strips in and cook until they are about to get crispy.
- Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.
- Add in your Italian sausage and cook until no pink is left.
- Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until onion becomes translucent (about 3-5 minutes)
- Next, add in your potatoes, broth, water and salt and pepper to taste.
- For stove top: bring to a simmer and place lid on your soup pot. simmer for 20-25 minutes, For Instant Pot: place lid on and set the lid to “sealing”. Press the “pressure cook” or “manual” button and set time for 10 minutes.
- While soup is cooking, chop bacon into bits and wash kale, removing stems and rip or chop the leaves into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
- Carefully release the pressure valve if using Instant Pot and Remove lid (potatoes should be fork tender).
- Stir in coconut milk. If not doing W30, you can use 1 cup half and half or whipping cream.
- Add in chopped kale and the cooked bacon bits, stirring together allowing the kale to soften.
- Serve hot and enjoy! (Optional: Top with a pinch of red pepper flakes.)
Make it a complete meal!
I like to serve this as a light dinner paired with a nice crusty piece of homemade sourdough bread (If I’m not doing W30) or warm bread sticks and a fresh garden salad. Welcome to your own personal restaurant with your own better than Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana!
Better Than Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
This zuppa is creamy, savory and packed with nutrients like kale and gut healthy bone broth. Warm up on a cold day with this comforting soup! And also can be easily modified to be Whole 30 compliant.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of chicken bone broth (I like to use homemade when I have it on hand, but you can totally use store bought too!
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup half and half OR for W30 option - 1 can coconut milk
- 1 lb sweet Italian ground sausage (If you like it spicy, use the spicy Italian Sausage!)
- 4-6 strips of bacon
- 1 large bunch of kale
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cups peeled potatoes cut into bite sized pieces.
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your pot on medium heat or set your instant pot to the "sauté" function until it reads "HOT".
- Once your pot is hot, place the bacon strips in and cook until they are about to get crispy.
- Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.
- Add in your Italian sausage and cook until no pink is left.
- Add chopped onion and garlic and cook until onion becomes translucent (about 3-5 minutes)
- Next, add in your potatoes, broth, water and salt and pepper to taste.
- For stove top: bring to a simmer and place lid on your soup pot. simmer for 20-25 minutes, For Instant Pot: place lid on and set the lid to "sealing". Press the "pressure cook" or "manual" button and set time for 10 minutes.
- While soup is cooking, chop bacon into bits and wash kale, removing stems and rip or chop the leaves into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
- Carefully release the pressure valve if using Instant Pot and Remove lid (potatoes should be fork tender).
- Stir in coconut milk. If not doing W30, you can use 1 cup half and half or whipping cream.
- Add in chopped kale and the cooked bacon bits, stirring together allowing the kale to soften.
- Serve hot and enjoy! (Optional: Top with a pinch of red pepper flakes.)
To store this soup, I keep it in an airtight glass container or a big ol’ mason jar. Make sure it’s cooled completely before putting in the fridge. Keep in the fridge up to 4 days. To reheat, transfer into a saucepan and warm up on the stove top or transfer into a microwave safe bowl and microwave until hot. This Better than Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana makes the best leftovers!
Save for later and check out my other recipes here where I make 2 posts a week!
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Better Than Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
If you try this recipe let me know how it goes in the comments or tag me on Instagram so I can see your Better Than Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana! @cooking_on_sunshine
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