Zuppa Toscana Soup is one of my most popular soup recipes, have you tried it yet? It’s packed with slices of tender russet potatoes, flavorful Italian sausage and bacon, fresh kale and a rich and creamy broth. So much comforting flavor in one bowl of soup!

This soup is a regular in my home, it’s one of my families favorites! I love that it’s so easy to make and it has such an incredible flavor thanks to those hearty bits of sausage.

This recipe is inspired by the Zuppa Toscana Soup at Olive Garden but when you make it fresh at home it’s that much better (plus my version seems to be less brothier meaning you get more potatoes, bacon, kale and sausage). Plus it’s made with love right?

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 lb Italian Sausage (casings removed if necessary)
• 4 oz bacon (about 4 slices), diced into small pieces*
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (about 1 small onion)
• 3 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 lbs Russet potatoes, scrubbed and rinsed then sliced into halves, halves diced into 1/6-inch slices
• 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups half and half
• 1 1/2 cups packed chopped kale
• Finely shredded Romano cheese for serving, optional

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat. Crumble sausage into 1-inch pieces and add to saucepan.
2. Cook sausage, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Drain sausage onto a plate or baking dish lined with paper towels, set sausage aside.
3. Add diced bacon to saucepan, return to heat and saute 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add diced onions and saute mixture until bacon is cooked through and onions are translucent, about 3 - 5 minutes longer.