Hearty and flavorful, this copycat Zuppa Toscana based on Olive Garden’s delicious recipe is a rich and filling soup made a little lower in fat and calories. It is the perfect blend of potatoes, spinach, sausage, and a creamy broth. Serve it with a fresh baguette for dipping and you don’t need any other sides for a complete meal.
⏲️ Time needed
Zuppa Tuscano is a quick “prep then simmer” recipe. It takes about 15 minutes to get everything prepared, then about 45 minutes to simmer to delicious perfections.
🥘 Ingredients
This version is a lower fat version of the Olive Garden soup that inspired it, using turkey sausage and turkey bacon instead of pork (this saves about 130 calories per serving).
🍲 Vegetarian option
To make a vegetarian version, use Beyond Sausage Hot Italian, omit the turkey bacon, and use vegetable broth in place of chicken broth. If you like the smoked flavor of cured meat without the meat itself, add a drop of liquid smoke to the soup (a little of this goes a long way).
📋 Instructions
Start by sautéing the Italian sausage and onion in a large pot until sausage is cooked through and onion is tender.
Add turkey bacon and garlic and sauté until garlic is slightly tender, about 2 minutes. When it is tender, add the broth and bring it to a boil. Add the diced potatoes and spinach and turn the heat to low. At this point, simmer for 30 minutes—this is a good time to prepare any sides or bread.
After 30 minutes, add the half and half and cook over low heat until just heated. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.
📖 Recipe
Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian turkey sausage, removed from casings and cut into bite size pieces
- 1 large onion, diced
- 6 turkey bacon slices, cooked and chopped
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half
- 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
- 10 oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach, or fresh equivalent - about 2-1/2 cups chopped
- 4 tbsp Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Sauté Italian sausage and onion in a large pot until sausage is cooked through and onion is tender.
- Add bacon and garlic and sauté until garlic is slightly tender, about 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Add potatoes and spinach, turn heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add half and half and cook until just heated.
- Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
🥗 Side dishes
Soups like Zuppa Tuscano that have meat, green vegetables, and starchy vegetables don’t need sides if you use large servings, but making smaller servings allows for bread for dipping (to me, soup isn’t worth having if I can’t dip a nice crusty bread in it!) and a salad to go with it.
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