This is the best zuppa toscana copy cat recipe you'll ever eat! This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is fast and easy, and delivers a flavor identical to the soup served at Olive Garden. Add this to your weeknight dinner rotation!
Why This Recipe Works
This popular soup is served at the Olive Garden restaurant. This recipe comes together in under 30 minutes in your pressure cooker, and uses simple ingredients. While this may not be the exact recipe that Olive Garden uses, it is pretty dang close - and maybe even better!
About The Ingredients
Potatoes - Olive Garden uses russet potatoes in their soup, but you can also use Red Potatoes. More on that below.
Italian Sausage - you want to use ground Italian sausage in this recipe.
All About Potatoes
Baking Potatoes
Baking potatoes are FULL of starch. A starch called amylose starch this makes them have a dry texture, but when cooked they are beautiful. They are light and creamy when mashed, fluffy when baked, and probably the only potato (excluding the sweet potato) worth frying.
In the store you will find them as russets, russet burbank, russet arcadia, and Idaho..and many more. They have a brown rough texture on the outside.
Boiling Potatoes
Boiling potatoes have starch, but a different kind of starch called amylopectin (the same pectin in jams!). This pectin is what holds the potato together when it is boiled and simmered for hours at a time. They are perfect for soups, casseroles, potato salads, roasting, BBQing, because of this starch. They hold their shape.
If you have ever mashed a red potato you probably notice it tasted fine but kind of had a texture of glue. They are not the best for mashing.
Boiling potatoes have a waxy, thin skin, in the store they are titles as red, yellow, salad, round white, etc potatoes.
With that being said - both types of potatoes work in this recipe. If you are using your pressure cooker, you may want to choose a russet. If you want to simmer this all day - go from a red potato.
How to make zuppa toscana
1. Set pressure cooker to saute, and brown your ground sausage. I like to use a meat chopper for this task. Once meat is browned, add in your diced onion and cook until softened. Add in the bacon pieces, and garlic.
2. Add in broth.
3. Add in sliced potatoes.
4. Add in chopped kale.
5. Seal pressure cooker and cook on high for 4 minutes. Use a quick release to release the pressure.
6. Stir in cream. Serve hot.
Zuppa Toscana FAQ
This soup is full of healthy ingredients like kale and potatoes. It is also gluten free. If you want to cut your carbs you can substitute your potatoes for cauliflower.
This soup will keep for 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
The work zuppa means "soup" and the word toscana means "tuscan". So it is a tuscan inspired soup. However - this soup was names but the Olive Garden restaurant. So it isn't really tuscan.
We do not recommend freezing this soup because it contains dairy. Dairy products do not freeze well.
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Pressure Cooker Zuppa Toscanas
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground italian sausage
- 2-3 medium russet potatoes or 5 red potatoes sliced, also see potato notes
- 1 small onion chopped
- ¼ cup real bacon pieces
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 1 cup chopped kale
- ¼-1 cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Stove Top instructions:
- Brown sausage in pan drain excess grease.
- Add garlic, onion and saute for a few more minutes until onions soften. Add chicken broth, sliced potatoes and kale in pan bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 min-to 1 hour.
- Before serving add desired amount of cream.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Brown sausage and onions in a large skillet.
- Add cooked sausage/onions, chicken broth, garlic, potatoes in slow cooker with along with broth.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours until potatoes are soft.
- 30 minutes before serving add cream and kale to crock pot.
Pressure Cooker Instructions:
- Brown sausage on saute mode drain excess grease.
- Add garlic, onion and saute for a few more minutes until onions soften. Add chicken broth,potatoes and kale.
- Cook manual high pressure 4 minutes. Use a quick release to release the steam.
- Stir in cream. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Erin V says
A million times better than Olive Garden.
Maryanne says
I assume I'm supposed to slice the potatoes before cooking?? It doesn't say...or am I just missing it...?
Kayleigh Larkins says
This is my favorite recipe!
Anna says
Made this last week and it turned out GREAT! One of my favs at OG.