This Zuppa Toscana recipe is a delicious, homemade copycat of the Olive Garden soup. It’s tasty and oh-so cozy for these winter months.
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
Here at The Happy Haandi, there is nothing I love more than a hot bowl of soup. What is even the point of winter, if not for soup?? Cozy and warm, it seems to insist on a snowy evening, a fireplace, and maybe some fuzzy slippers. Enter this instant pot Zuppa Toscana recipe – a remedy we’ve been using to help us along our cold trudge to Spring.
This recipe is my take on the popular Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup. With more people staying home because of the COVID pandemic, I wanted to bring you all a delicious substitute for their Zuppa Toscana soup that comes together right at home with the added bonus of customization! Our Zuppa Toscana soup gets a great kick of spice from the spicy Italian sausage AND some (a lot) of red pepper flakes. Here I tossed in some colorful potatoes and kale and a dash of milk into the broth for a perfectly creamy texture.
For preparation, cut the potatoes into halves or quarter pieces to include in the Zuppa Toscana soup.
We’ll be using the instant pot today but I am VERY proud of its stovetop accessibility. At The Happy Haandi, I totally get the pain of finite kitchen space and not wanting ANOTHER appliance – so you do you, man! At the bottom of the recipe, you’ll find more detailed instructions on how to make Zuppa Toscana without an instant pot. Our Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana can be made in one large soup pot on the stovetop. Best of all, either cooking method allows for hands-off cooking (you can set it to cook and walk away) AND overall lower cooking times.
Hello, 30 minute weeknight dinner with leftovers!
Kale is a great way to add healthy greens into the instant pot Zuppa Toscana. You can also use spinach instead.
So go ahead and grab those fuzzy bunny slippers and try our super cozy Zuppa Toscana recipe!
Find more recipes to keep you warm through the winter.
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pictures of your creations on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok! Hashtag them #thehappyhaandi. And tag me @thehappyhaandi.
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Hot Italian Sausage
- 4 slices Turkey Bacon (Regular bacon is fine here we just chose a healthier option)
- 1 lb Medley Potatoes
- 2 cups Kale (Stems removed)
- 3 tbsp Pesto (If possible skim the oil off the top when using pesto from a jar)
- 1/4 cup 2% Milk
- 6-7 cups Water or Chicken Broth (We are just using enough to get the right broth quantity)
- 1 tsp Garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
- 1 tsp Salt (or to your liking)
- To taste Chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 Onion (medium, diced)
- To taste Parmesan Cheese (for serving)
- 1 Lemon (juice, for serving)
Instructions
For the Zuppa Toscana:
- Start by cutting the potatoes into halves or quarter pieces, Slicing or removing the casing from the sausage, Removing the stems from your kale, and dicing your onion.
- Next, turn on the instant pot and set it to "saute". Fry up the bacon in the instant pot until it is crisp. When ready, remove the bacon and place it on a clean plate.
- Next, add the italian sausage to the instant pot (*I removed the casing on the italian sausage to get a ground meat consistency but the sausage can also be sliced and browned if you'd prefer that texture*).
- When the sausage is cooked through, add in the pesto, garlic, salt, onion, chili pepper flakes, and potatoes.
- Let this mixture cook for about 2-3 minutes. Make sure you are stirring occasionally.
- Now add the broth to the instant pot. If you're a big fan of soups with a lot of broth (like me!) Go ahead and add more broth to the mixture! You should at LEAST add just enough broth to cover the potatoes.
- Turn off the "saute" function. Give the mixture a good stir and place the instant pot lid onto the pot. Set the instant pot to "pressure cook" mode on "high" for 8 minutes.
- Once the instant pot is finished (loud beeping), release the pressure with the "quick release" (watch out for that steam!). Stir your soupy mixture. Add in your kale and allow the kale to wilt in the hot broth (this can take 8-10 minutes).
- Now add the milk. Stir the soup and take one final taste test and adjust the salt and/or other seasonings to your liking.
- It's time to scoop the Zuppa Toscana soup into bowls and garnish it with lemon juice and the parm! Enjoy!
Notes
- Stove Top Instructions: Follow the above instant pot recipe and swap out the instant pot for a large soup pot. Once you've reached the step where you add in potatoes; I would recommend bringing the soup to boil for about 10 minutes (since everything is cooked we just need the potatoes to be a little softer). Check the potatoes for softness and take the pot off of the stove. Be sure to allow the recipe to cool before adding the milk to your Zuppa Toscana soup. Now you're ready to enjoy!
- Storage: This recipe can be refrigerated for up to a week or frozen. When frozen, be sure to thaw out and finish within 3 days to preserve its taste and quality.
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