Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana soup is a copycat Olive Garden recipe that tastes just as good, but better in the comforts of your own home. This easy soup recipe is packed full of flavor, Gluten Free, and made in under an hours time!
We love soup in my house! There is not a week that goes by that I’m not making a big pot of soup. We don’t eat at Olive Garden often; however, we do you love the Zuppa Toscana soup! That’s when I decided it’s time to try to make my own Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana. I made it years ago on the stove top and figured it would be an easy recipe to adapt to the Instant Pot. I always found that it took the kale a long time to break down. I like the kale on a softer side, so I knew the Instant Pot would work great. This soup is full of so much flavor and is done in a fraction of the time.
If you are a newer to Instant Pot cooking this soup is a good beginner soup for you to make.
Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you will need to make zuppa toscana Instant Pot.
- Italian Sausage – I purchase ground mild Italian Sausage to make this soup. However, if you can only find links you can remove the casing and break up the links while browning.
- Bacon – Bacon gives a nice smokey flavor to this recipe.
- Onion – White onion chopped works perfect for this recipe.
- Potato – Russet potatoes work best. I use my hand-held mandolin slicer to thinly slice the potatoes.
- Kale – The amount of kale for this recipe will look like a lot until it cooks down. The kale will shrink to a fraction of it’s size.
- Broth – I like to use chicken broth for a little extra flavor.
- Heavy Cream – This is added at the end and gives the soup that creamy flavor we all crave in this soup!
- Red Pepper Flakes – If you like a little spice add some red pepper flakes at the end or in individual bowls. Since my kids eat this soup I add it to each adult bowl as I serve it.
Directions
Ever wonder how easy it is to make Olive Garden’s signature soup? I’m going to share how to make it in the Instant Pot. I’ll also give some pointers on how to cook it on the stove top, too!
First, you’ll want to select the “sauté” mode on the Instant Pot. Pour in the olive oil then place the ground pork sausage and diced bacon into the pot. Sauté for five minutes until both the Italian sausage and bacon are cooked and browned. You will want to use a wooden spoon to break up the meat into bite-size pieces.
Next, add in the onion and minced garlic clove. Sauté for an additional minute and season with salt and pepper. Then, pour in the container of chicken broth, the thinly slice potatoes, and the chopped kale. Mix well then place the lid on the instant pot securing the valve to closed. Turn off the Instant Pot, then turn on to soup mode for 5 minutes.
Once the Instant Pot is done cooking let it naturally release pressure for 15 minutes. Carefully, force any remaining pressure out of the Instant Pot and open the lid. Stir in the heavy cream and a dash of the red pepper flakes. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated cheese on top if desired.
How do I adapt this soup recipe to another cooking method?
Stove Top Zuppa Toscana
If you want to adapt this to stove top you’ll follow all the same steps, but instead of cooking for 5 minutes on high pressure you’ll need to cook for about 30 minutes until the kale is soft.
Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana
Brown the sausage, bacon, onions, and garlic in a saute pan. Then add to the slow cooker. Add in the fresh sliced potatoes, kale, salt, and pepper. Pour in the broth and set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours. Half way through if your home, you can open the slow cooker and give the soup a good mix. Pushing down the kale into the broth.
Once the soup is done, add in the heavy cream. Ladle into bowls top with grated cheese and red pepper flakes if desired.
FAQs
Here are a few of the basic items you’ll need to make soup in the Instant Pot.
Cutting Board
Knife
Instant Pot (6 or 8 quart)
Ladle
Pot Holders
If you know me, by now you’ve learned that I absolutely love soup recipes! I’m constantly working on new soup recipes to make at home. I make a pot of soup At the start of every week. It gives me a quick lunches or even a little soup appetizer before dinner for my family. Whatever I have left over on Friday I freeze into either a large container that serves 2 to 3 for individual freezer containers to serve one.
Whenever, you are freezing any food you always want to make sure it is at room temperature before goes into the freezer. I use anything from leftover plastic Chinese takeout containers, freezer proof glass containers, or even freezer ziploc bags. Like I mentioned above, for soup I will freeze and either a large batch or an individual serving batch depending on how much I have left, and what I think I might want to eat it later on down the road. Just like all other foods that you freeze– soup will last around three months in the freezer.
Tips & Tricks
I have been making this Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana recipe for a few years now and have a few tips and tricks to share with you.
- Pressure Time – If you are new to cooking with the Instant Pot you might not know that it will take about the same amount of time you have selected the item to cook to come to pressure. Once you start the Instant Pot you will hear it beep, then it will show that it’s on. Once it has gotten to pressure. In this case it should take about 5 minutes, it will then start the timer to count down the cooking process.
- No bacon? No problem. I always have a bacon fat jar in my refrigerator. I will scoop a tablespoon of bacon fat when the ground sausage is cooking in place of pieces of bacon. I have also done that plus cut a few pieces of the precooked bacon or refrigerated bacon bits for salad in the soup as well.
- Garlic – If you don’t have fresh garlic or maybe don’t feel like taking the time to chop the garlic you can use dehydrated garlic, garlic in water, frozen minced garlic, or even the squeeze garlic.
- Freeze – If you have leftovers and want to save for a future meal, you can! Simply cool the soup to room temperature, place in a freezer bag or container (make sure to label and date the contents), and freeze for up to 3 months!
Soup Recipes
I love soup and because of that I have dozens of delicious soup recipes here on Katie’s Cucina. Here are a few of my favorites!
So if your like my family and love Zuppa Toscana soup, but don’t want to head out to the restaurant I hope you’ll give my easy recipe a try.
If you make this recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 lb. Ground mild pork sausage
- 5 slices Bacon diced
- 1 medium White onion diced
- 6 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- 32 Oz. Chicken broth
- 3 small Russet potatoes cleaned and thinly sliced
- 3 cups Kale chopped
- 1 cup Heavy cream
- Dash of red pepper flakes
- Grated Parmesan for topping
Instructions
- Select the “sauté” mode on the Instant Pot. Pour in the olive oil then place the ground pork sausage and diced bacon into the pot. Sauté for 5 minutes until both the Italian sausage and bacon are cooked and browned. You will want to use a wooden spoon to break up the meat into bite-size pieces.
- Next, add in the onion and minced garlic clove. Sauté for an additional 1 minute and season with salt and pepper. Then, pour in the container of chicken broth, the thinly slice potatoes, and the chopped kale. Mix well then place the lid on the Instant Pot securing the valve to closed. Turn off the instant pot, then turn on to soup mode for 5 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot is done cooking let it naturally release pressure for 15 minutes. Carefully, force any remaining pressure out of the Instant Pot and open the lid. Stir in the heavy cream and a dash of the red pepper flakes. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated cheese on top if desired.
Notes
- Pressure Time – If you are new to cooking with the Instant Pot you might not know that it will take about the same amount of time you have selected the item to cook to come to pressure. Once you start the Instant Pot you will hear it beep, then it will show that it’s on. Once it has gotten to pressure. In this case it should take about 5 minutes, it will then start the timer to count down the cooking process.
- No bacon? No problem. I always have a bacon fat jar in my refrigerator. I will scoop a tablespoon of bacon fat when the ground sausage is cooking in place of pieces of bacon. I have also done that plus cut a few pieces of the precooked bacon or refrigerated bacon bits for salad in the soup as well.
- Garlic – If you don’t have fresh garlic or maybe don’t feel like taking the time to chop the garlic you can use dehydrated garlic, garlic in water, frozen minced garlic, or even the squeeze garlic.
- Freeze – If you have leftovers and want to save for a future meal, you can! Simply cool the soup to room temperature, place in a freezer bag or container (make sure to label and date the contents), and freeze for up to 3 months!
Nutrition
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Did you make this recipe? Let me know!