Just a Reminder That Zuppa Toscana Is One Of The All Time Greats.
A few nights ago, Bjork and I sat down for dinner with the girls. It’s pitch black out. Freezing cold and windy.
On the stove: a Dutch oven with browned bits of sausage, tender potatoes, and wilted kale, all wrapped in a a creamy, rich, slurpable broth. House smells amazing, we’re all feeling real cozy.
I ladled steamy zuppa toscana into bowls. Handed out chunk of warm, crusty bread. There’s buttering, there’s soup dunking, and honestly, just silence and clinking bowls and spoons.
And then there’s this moment where we looked at each other and almost started laughing, like, “oh my gosh. this is so good right now.”
Zuppa toscana (the one I’m channeling here) is the Italian-American classic Olive Garden soup that we all know and love. But it hits really different when homemade.
The thing I want you to know most of all is that the broth here is BROTHY. It’s creamy while being highly slurpable. When you dip a piece of bread in there, it’s going to sop, soak, saturate in the best way. (I have a very similar recipe – sausage, kale, and white bean stew – which is highly rated and I love it. But the difference is that one tends to be thicker. This one is truly brothy.)
We’re talking *MINIMAL* ingredients. Humble simplicity. Just the easiest recipe ever, and somehow the end result is just so incredibly delicious.
Wishing you a cozy zuppa toscana night with lots of bread!
Welcome To My (NEW) Kitchen! Let’s Make This Zuppa Toscana.
1
Brown The Sausage, Onions, and Garlic.
I start with the sausage, then add onions and garlic. Let it cook down for a good 5-10 minutes until super soft.
2
Add Potatoes and Broth.
I add water and then use Better Than Bouillon for my broth base!
3
Add Kale and Cream.
Let it hang out over a low simmer so all the flavors lock in and the kale wilts down.
4
You’re Done!
This is such a great moment. Soup, bread, coziness at its peak.
Guys, I live in Minnesota and I make so much soup. I love it so much. Click here for a list of 30 more of my favorite, top-rated soup recipes!
Zuppa Toscana
Total Time: 35 minutes
Yield: 5–6 servings 1x
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Zuppa Toscana:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb. ground mild Italian pork sausage
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 3–4 cups)
- 6 cups chicken broth (see notes)
- 2 stalks of kale, stems removed, finely chopped (2–3 cups)
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
To Season / Serve:
- salt and pepper to taste
- freshly grated Parmesan
- crusty bread with butter (this one is so easy – or just a store-bought take and bake loaf!)
Instructions
- Sausage: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the sausage until fully cooked.
- Onions and Garlic: Add the onions and garlic to the sausage. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until soft and fragrant. FYI your house will smell AMAZING.
- Potatoes and Broth: Add the potatoes and the broth. Simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. (Be careful not to let it go for too long, because the potatoes will start to get really soft.)
- Finish with Cream: Add the kale and heavy cream. Simmer for 5 minutes until kale has wilted.
- Serve: Season with salt and pepper, top with Parmesan for even more flavor, and dunk into that glorious broth with hot crusty bread.
Notes
Broth: I always use 6 cups water + 2 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor base. It’s amazing. Highly recommend. If you’re not using this, you’ll probably need to add a bit more salt.
Pork Fat: This soup will have small beads of the pork fat distributed throughout the soup and/or pearling on top of the soup. That’s a good thing – it is a sign of both amazing flavor and a luscious mouthfeel. These will incorporate as it gently bubbles, and they will rise to the surface as it cools. To re-incorporate, just heat it back up again and give it a stir.
Bacon: Hot take, but I don’t think it’s necessary which is why I didn’t include it. You get so much flavor already from the pork sausage. I have never eaten this and wished it had bacon in it.
Potato Peels vs. No Peels: If you want to save a bit of time, use baby potatoes and just cut them into quarters – you don’t have to peel them! It has a slightly different, more earthy taste (as potato peels do), but can confirm, it’s still delicious.
White Wine: For weeks now, I’ve considered adding white wine to this recipe to deglaze the pan after the sausage, onion, and garlic; in my mind, it would add a nice layer of acidity to a very savory, rich broth. However, I have made this so many times and never had white wine in the house on any of the times, and I have loved every batch so much exactly as it is. Let me know if you try it with white wine in there!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Keywords: zuppa toscana