This delicious Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is the ultimate comfort food. It’s loaded with potatoes, sausage, onion, garlic, kale, and a touch of cream. It is both incredibly tasty and filling.
» You might also like this Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta.
This creamy, hearty, and absolutely delightful Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is the perfect wintertime comforting soup. It’s a really great copycat version of the popular Olive Garden soup.
I first found this recipe on the Damn Delicious website, where it became a very popular recipe. I think everyone I know has tried this recipe and loved it. So I wanted to give it a try myself and see what all the hype is about. I’m so glad I did, because it’s definitely damn delicious.
If you love this soup at Olive Garden, you’re really going to enjoy making it in the Instant Pot at home. Then you can serve it with this copycat Olive Garden salad and breadsticks and you won’t believe how simple it was to recreate.
What is Zuppa Toscana?
Zuppa Toscana (aka Tuscan Soup) is typically cooked with kale, potatoes, occasionally cannellini beans, onion, and carrots. The Olive Garden adds Italian sausage and heavy cream to the mix. While this version isn’t exactly authentic Italian cuisine, it’s a pretty darn good soup and worth trying in the Instant Pot.
Soups are quite simple to cook in the Instant Pot. It doesn’t take long to make your favorite comfort foods, like Chicken Gnocchi Soup and Chicken & Dumpling Soup.
This Zuppa Toscana will surely become one of your favorite soups to make, as it has for so many others. It’s packed with incredibly flavor and is so simple.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Olive Oil – You can use olive oil or any other type of cooking oil you choose. Olive oil offers a pleasant flavor and is healthy, which is why I prefer it.
- Hot Italian Sausage – I used Jimmy Dean hot Italian sausage. To me, it has just a slight kick, not really spicy. But you can use mild sausage if you prefer.
- Onion – You can use white or yellow onions for this.
- Bacon – This is the only ingredient that I added to the Damn Delicious soup. I just feel like this soup requires bacon. You can leave it out if you want.
- Garlic – Use only fresh garlic that hasn’t been sitting in the fridge for a long time.
- Potatoes – One large russet baking potato was perfect – or use two mediums. You can also use yellow or red potatoes. There’s no need to peel them, just make sure you thoroughly clean the outside. Use cauliflower florets in place of potatoes to make a low-carb version of Zuppa Toscana.
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth – To avoid adding excessive salt to the recipe, use a low-sodium broth. Additionally, you can use water and bouillon cubes.
- Seasonings – Salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning
- Butter – Butter adds to the silky mouthfeel of this soup. I use salted butter.
- Heavy Cream – This will give your sauce a nice creamy texture. You can use half and half if you want to but it won’t be quite as creamy. Don’t use milk, as it won’t be creamy enough and it can break easily if the soup is boiled.
- Kale – To avoid a rough and bitter bite, make sure to remove the tough stems.
How to Make Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
Heat the Instant Pot on saute mode. When the indicator says “hot”, add the olive oil, sausage, onion, and bacon. Break up the sausage and cook until the sausage is lightly browned, which takes about 5 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Turn off sauté mode. If your bacon or sausage was especially fatty, you might need to drain the excess fat. Leave it in if it’s anything less than about a tablespoon worth
Add in the potatoes, broth, salt, and pepper. Deglaze the bottom of the pot with a spatula to remove any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Put the lid on and set the vent to sealing (if that’s necessary for your model). Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes. It will take about 8-10 minutes to come up to pressure. When it’s done, allow a natural pressure release for 5 minutes, then release the remaining pressure and carefully open the lid.
Stir in the kale. If you use the whole 10 ounce bag, it will fill the Instant Pot to the top. Just stir it in and wait for it to wilt. If you don’t like a lot of kale in your soup, reduce it to 5 ounces and see how you feel once it’s wilted.
Add the butter and cream. Once the butter is melted, taste the soup and season it wth additional salt if necessary. Serve it with red pepper flakes, if you want it to have a bit more heat.
Notes & Additions
- The Olive Garden version doesn’t include bacon, but I think it’s integral. You don’t have to add it. It’s up to you.
- Use mild sausage if you don’t like spicy food, but it really doesn’t add a lot of heat. You can always add red pepper flakes at the end to make the soup spicier for those who do like spicy food.
- Russet potatoes are great for this recipe because they don’t hold their shape perfectly, which helps to thicken the soup. There’s no need to peel the potatoes, but be sure to scrub the skins well.
- You can double the recipe for the 8-quart Instant Pot or half it for the 3-quart Instant Pot, if you want.
Additional Helpful Tips
- I find that the potatoes add quite a bit of thickness to the soup as they breakdown and incorporate with the broth. But if you like a thicker soup, you can add a cornstarch slurry to thicken it. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water. While on sauté mode, pour the mixture into the pot and stir it into the soup. It will thicken slightly as it cooks.
- You can make a few substitutions in this soup to make it healthier and less fatty. Use turkey sausage rather than pork sausage, use half and half rather than heavy cream, substitute the potatoes with cauliflower florets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I freeze this soup?
The best time to freeze the soup is before adding the cream. The reason for this is that cream frequently breaks during the reheating process, leaving little bits of cream in your soup.
How long does this soup last in the fridge?
In an airtight container, Zuppa Toscana can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Can I make this dairy-free?
Replace the heavy cream in Zuppa Toscana with chilled coconut cream to make it dairy-free. Use only the solid white cream from the can of coconut milk, and make sure it’s refrigerated.
Will the soup still be tasty without the bacon?
The soup will still have plenty of flavor without the bacon!
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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat)
Note: Made in a 6-qt Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
- 1 pound (454 g) hot Italian sausage
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) Italian seasoning
- 4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic minced
- 3 medium potatoes cubed
- 6 cups (1.40 l) low sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons (12 g) salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) black pepper
- 1/4 cup (57 g) salted butter
- 3/4 cup (177 ml) heavy cream or half and half
- 10 ounces (284 g) kale stems removed and chopped
Instructions
- Heat the Instant Pot on saute mode. When the indicator says “hot”, add the olive oil, sausage, onion, and bacon. Stir and saute until sausage is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Turn off saute mode. Drain any excess fat.
- Add in the potatoes, broth, salt, and pepper. Deglaze the bottom of the pot. Place the lid on and set the vent to sealing (if necessary for your model). Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes and allow a natural pressure release for 5 minutes. Release remaining pressure and carefully open the lid.
- Stir in the kale. Once wilted (1-2 minutes), add the butter and cream. Once the butter is melted, season to taste with additional salt if necessary, and serve.
Notes
- The Olive Garden version doesn’t include bacon, but I think it’s integral. You don’t have to add it.
- Use mild sausage if you don’t like spicy food, but it really doesn’t add a lot of heat.
- Russet potatoes are great for this recipe because they don’t hold their shape perfectly, which helps to thicken the soup. There’s no need to peel the potatoes, but be sure to scrub the skins well.
- You can double the recipe for the 8-quart Instant Pot or half it for the 3-quart Instant Pot, if you want.
Nutrition
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Angela is a talented home cook and an expert at creating delicious, nutritious meals that can be prepared quickly and easily using an Instant Pot.
Thank you! Feeling the need to push fall along in Ohio, I made this for dinner tonight. My wife has always LOVED and talked about Olive Garden’s Zuppa but, I’ve never tasted it. She said it is SPOT ON and that the bacon is a perfect addition. Delicious!!! Thank you!
So happy to hear that your wife loved it!