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Instant Pot Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat is inspired from Olive Garden's soup and tastes even better. This luscious comfort food is loaded with Italian sausages, potatoes, baby kale, heavy cream and amazing seasoning. Don't miss the great tips & the recipe video.
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Zuppa Toscana Instant Pot
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is loaded with crumbled Italian sausages, baby kale, tender un-peeled potatoes & awesome flavors!
"Zuppa Toscana" literally translates to "Tuscan Soup", however, you'll be mistaken if you imagine the traditional Tuscan Style Soup. This popular Copycat Olive Garden Recipe is similar to the famous USA restaurant chain Olive Garden & not the Italian authentic version of Tuscan Soup.
Ingredients
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Sausage: We prefer Mild Italian Sausage. Bratwurst Sausages are a good sub.
- Aromatics: Onion & Garlic.
- Potatoes: Yukon Gold and Russet are our favorite pick. Peeled and un peeled potatoes both works. We personally prefer un-peeled potatoes.
- Kale: Baby Kale, use only the leaves.
- Dairy: Heavy Cream and Sour Cream.
- Liquid: We love using better than Bouillon diluted in water. You can also use chicken stock.
- Seasoning: Oregano, Italian seasoning, crushed black pepper and red pepper flakes.
- Oil: We love light olive oil or avocado oil.
Tips & Tricks
- Best Potatoes: Our best picks are Yukon Gold Potatoes or Russet Potatoes. They yeild tender potatoes in the soup with a buttery mouthfeel. So so good! I avoid using Idaho potatoes because they tend to turn mushy. Again it's a personal preference.
- Favorite Sausage: Our top pick is Mild Italian Sausage. However, Bratwurst sausage is also a great option.
- Brown Sausages: Browning the sausages would make the best Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana. Don't skip browning.
- Zuppa Toscana that's not watery: We do not like super watery Zuppa and hence, I make a quick and easy flour roux that enriches the soup with a good body.
- Kale: Do not simmer the soup accidentally after adding the Kale. The kale will awfully over cook is simmered. Add the leaves at the very end and the residual heat will do it's job. The leaves will just begin to wilt and not get over cooked. You can also sub the Kale with baby spinach.
- Dairy: We recommend that you always add the dairy after the pressure cooking cycle is over. Dairy when pressure cooked might curdle.
Method
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #1 Brown Sausage
Brown the sausage on SAUTE function set on HIGH settings. Once, nicely browned set the sausage aside. The browned sausage will add tons of good flavor to the soup.
Step #2 Prepare Roux
You may rinse the pot if you do not want the extra fat from the sausage. I did just that. But, it's totally optional, if you do not mind the extra fat you can begin the rest of the recipe in the same pot.
Saute the onion for about a minute and than add the garlic and saute until the onion just begin to turn soft.
Add the flour and stir briskly to saute for 30 seconds. Add chicken stock bit by bit to form a lump free roux.
Step #3 Pressure Cook Potatoes
De-glaze the pot with the help of a spatula scraping the bottom of the pot. There should not be any food particles stuck at the bottom of the pot. Add the seasonings, potatoes, give a quick stir.
PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 4 minutes followed by a Quick pressure release (QPR). You'll have amazing tender and buttery potatoes.
Step #4 Add Dairy, Sausage, Kale
Add heavy cream (at room temperature or slightly warm) and the sour cream. Turn back SAUTE function and set it on LOW heat. Bring the soup to a simmer.
Add back the browned sausage, mix well and turn off the Instant Pot. Add the kale leaves, check for seasoning and salt. Give a quick stir. Serve hot with sprinkles of red pepper flakes. You may also top the Zuppa Toscana soup with crispy fried bacon.
Note: This Post has been updated with new photos, new video, new content & an updated recipe.
Readers thoughts who tried the soup
This is the best Zuppa Toscana I've ever made. We tried various recipes from the web and not a single one turned out amazing, they all lacked the flavor and creaminess. But, this one had to stay with us forever! Thanks so much Meghna for the fantastic recipe, it's simply outstanding."
- Jenny Fisherman.
Instant Pot Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copycat
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Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian Sausage (**we used ground mild Italian Sausage.)
- 2 cups potatoes (**1.5 inch cubes. We used un-peeled Yukon Gold potatoes. 2 medium potatoes.)
- 2 cups kale (**use only leaves)
- 1 cup onion (**roughly chopped)
- 1 tbsp garlic (**minced)
- 3 cups chicken stock (**or 1.5 tbsp better than Bouillon diluted in 3 cups warm water)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1.5 tbsp all purpose flour
- 4 tbsp Olive Oil (**divided into equal parts)
- Salt (to taste) (**according to taste)
Seasonings
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- ⅛ tsp oregano (**dried)
- ⅛ tsp Italian seasoning (**dried)
- Ground Black Pepper (**according to taste)
Equipment Used
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE function and set it on HIGH heat setting.
- Add 2 tbsp oil and when the oil becomes really hot add the sausage and saute it until nicely browned. To keep nice and big chunks of sausage do not stir the sausage vigorously while sauteing. Set it aside once browned.
- Now, you may discard the sausage fat, rinse the pot and begin fresh just like we did or use the same pot.
- Add 2 tbsp oil and release the chopped onion. Saute for about 1 min.
- Now, add the garlic and saute until the onion just begin to turn soft.
- Add the flour and stir briskly for 30 seconds. Than, pour the chicken stock in 2-3 batches, stir briskly to fully incorporate the flour without any lumps.
- De-glaze the pot very well with the help of a spatula scraping the bottom and the sides of the pot so that there are absolutely no food particles stuck at the bottom of the pot. This is to prevent the BURN error,
- Add the seasonings and the diced potatoes. Give everything a quick stir,.
- CANCEL the SAUTE function. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 4 minutes.
- Once, the pressure cooking cycle is over do a quick pressure release (QPR) by manually moving the valve from the SEALING to the VENTING position.
- CANCEL the PRESSURE COOK function. Open the lid carefully and add the heavy cream (room temperature or warm) and the sour cream. Give everything a quick stir. Add crushed black pepper.
- Now, bring the soup to a low simmer on SAUTE function kept at LOW heat.
- Add the browned sausage, mix gently and simmer the soup for 1 minute just to blend in the flavors.
- Turn off the Instant Pot. Add the Kale Leaves, more seasoning if you want to. The residual heat will wilt the Kale leaves. Serve hot, you may garnish with crispy fried bacon.
Notes
- Flour: The quick and easy roux helps thicken the soup slightly making it delicious in every way. However, if you prefer super brothy, watery soups than skip adding the flour and proceed with the recipe.
- Best Sausages: We love to make this soup with spicy Italian ground sausage, mild Italian ground sausage. If using links, remove the casings and using the meat. Brats also work well for the recipe.
- Bacon: You can add crisp fried bacon bits in the soup, garnish it with crispy bacon for more flavor.
- The Soup Consistency: You certainly control the consistency of the soup by adding more or less liquid. If you feel that the soup is thick you may add more chicken stock or water to dilute it further.
- Storing Tips: The zuppa toscana soup will last for 5 days in the fridge when stored in air tight containers. If you add the flour mentioned in the recipe, the soup will thicken further in the fridge. You can add some water/chicken stock/half & half while re-heating it.
- Can you freeze Zuppa Toscana? Well, we would not recommend freezing cream based soups as they have a tendency to separate and curdle.
- Re-heating Tips: Re-heat in the microwave oven until warm. The Kale will turn soft.
- Serving Ideas: You can serve this soup with crusty bread or a light salad. This soup is very filling and hence, makes a great meal all by itself.
Nutrition
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Laurie Fuhry says
Anyone subbed to make it dairy free? I use cashew or oat based, but not almond. I can make a cashew based sour cream substitute and cashew or an creamy oat milk.
Matthew says
OMG ...OMG .... this is the best zuppa soup I ever had. Terrific taste, extremely creamy and such good flavors! Guys this is even better than Olive Gardens soup. OG'S soup is crap...Lol! Thanks for the fantastic recipe Meghna. I won't make any other zuppa recipe ever.
tiffany mott says
This recipe is a win!! It was easy to make and tasted amazing!!
Foodies Terminal says
Thank you so much Tiffany for your wonderful feedback 🙂 We are so glad that you enjoyed the soup 🙂 Take Care Tiffany. - Meghna.