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October 2, 2011

THE. Best. Soup. Of. All. Time.

Brace yourselves.

I'm about to tell you guys about a favorite of mine.

Quite possibly, my favorite meal to eat right now.

No matter if it's 100 degrees outside, I'm still craving this masterpiece.

It's a little something called Zuppa Toscana. You've heard of it, I'm sure. Probably scarfed down a bowl or two at Olive Garden with some breadsticks. But have you tried Reeni's version? Because it completely blows Olive Garden's outta the water! I'm all for recipes that turn out better homemade than from the restaurant.


This soup is everything. 

Spicy. 

Creamy. 

Hearty. 

Filling. 

Satisfying. 

Meaty. 

Comforting.


The perfect fall and winter food. But like I said earlier, I can eat this soup when it's burning hot out!



Zuppa Toscana
from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice
  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 1 lb ground hot Italian sausage
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 cups (32 oz) chicken stock
  • 3 cups russet potatoes, cubed
  • 3/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups kale, in bite size pieces
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • parmesan cheese, grated
In a large pot, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain the grease. Add the sausage, breaking it apart as it cooks. Once sausage is browned and crumbled, drain off grease leaving a tbsp to saute the onion.

Push the sausage and bacon to the edge of the pot and add the onion to the center; saute until translucent; add garlic; saute until fragrant.

Stir in the stock and potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Add kale and heavy whipping cream. Bring to a simmer. Top with parmesan cheese, when serving. 
 
Printable Recipe







































I am contributing this to Souper Sundays over at Kahakai Kitchen.


*Notes: I have tried this soup using mild sausage, and it's just not the same. You've gotta use the hot stuff. The first time I made it, I also used hot sausage links, and had to remove the casings. If you can get ground hot sausage instead of the links, that's really better.


I can't say enough good things about this soup. Just make it, and you'll see for yourself what I'm talkin about :)

Perfection.


Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast, and Le Creuset!!!

48 comments:

Lisa @ Flour Me With Love said...

It sounds delicious!

scrambledhenfruit said...

This is soup weather, for sure, and this soup looks wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Done! The soup at the Olive Garden is my favorite, and now to make one at home... Yay!! ~ Courtney

S.V. said...

This does sound like perfection in a bowl. I have had the Olive garden's but it's literally been years lol. I will have to make this as it's cold and rainy in Seattle perfect weather for yummy soup.

Gerry @Foodness Gracious said...

Whoa, I love thick soups and this looks like a fall winner, even though it's in the 80's here right now, October..hellooo
Take care..

Unknown said...

I have had Zuppa Toscana before... I'm intrigued by your title.. the best of all time?? Wow, must try this soon!! :)

Mama Chef said...

This looks sooo good. It's amazing how people drop their iced lattes and start craving soups and stews at the slightest sensation of fall :) I'm all for it!

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog through Melt in Your Mouth Monday. It looks so appetizing that I think I'll follow you. :) This recipe looks delicious and simple too! Thanks so much for sharing!

Jaymie @ http://dancesdishesanddreams.blogspot.com

Vicky @ Mess For Less said...

There are no Olive Gardens near me but now I can make this soup. Thanks for posting. Sounds so yummy, I am pinning this! I am a new follower from Skip to My Lou. Vicky @ www.messforless.net

Vicky @ Mess For Less said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris said...

Reeni rocks, doesn't she? Everything I have made from her blog (and I have made at least a half dozen things) has rocked.

And I have not tried this recipe....which shall change shortly!

Desi said...

@ scrambledhenfruit - Is it getting cool where you are? It's on and off here but beginning to feel more like fall!

@ cookingmisadventures - I'll still have a bowl of that too if I'm at OG but I must say that I do prefer the homemade stuff :)

@ S.V. - I'm sorry to hear you're having cold and rainy weather there in Seattle This soup'll warm you up though!

@ Mama Chef - I'm all for the fall soups, stews, and chowders! Bring on the fall foods!!

@ Jaymie - You're a sweetie, thanks for the follow! I'm off to check out your blog :)

Robyn said...

I've never had the Olive Garden version of this soup but yours looks fabulous! Definitely going to remember this one. Thanks for the add on Food Buzz!

Rhondi said...

That's my kind of soup! Hearty and flavorful.

Desi said...

@ Rhondi - Oh it is just magnificent! Can't wait to make it again soon :)

Kelly | Eat Yourself Skinny said...

Oh wow this looks so delicious, what a great recipe! Love your blog, so glad to be a new follower! xoxo

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Oh, SO wonderful!!! Looks fabulous~

Abby said...

This looks like an AMAZING recipe. Thanks for sharing!

Reeni said...

Thank you for the rave reviews!! Its one of my all time favorites too. Since soup weather is here I'll be making it a LOT! And will probably blog it again. I agree the hot sausage really makes it!

PERMANENT POSIES said...

Peace and Bacon Grease to you too! I love me some bacon....what can I say? It makes everything taste better, doesn't it? Just read your Tuesday's Tasty Tidbits from last week (my bad) and here it is time for another. Sure was glad I didn't miss this one. Yum!

Kami said...

Just ate my first bowl of this soup and it is amazing. thanks!

Amy said...

Made it tonight and it was perfect!!

Christine said...

This was very good!! I didn't have heavy cream (and forgot to buy some), but I did have half and half. I can see where the cream would be so much better, but this soup has so much flavor!! I also only had mild sausage, so I sprinkled in a little crushed red pepper for a little heat.

Desi said...

@ mother of 3 - So glad to hear that you liked it! And I like your modifications... I may try some chardonnay and beans in mine next time!

susan said...

Not a fan of sausage do I really need it in the soup?

TheMoonAndMe said...

This is definitely going in my recipe stash. I LOVE this soup and look forward to making this version! Thanks for sharing!
Kelly

simple.just.practical. said...

I found this via Pinterest. I made this last night and it was awesome! I can't wait to eat some leftovers.

Lesley Ann said...

Made this tonight for dinner on a cold rainy night, and it was a HIT with my family! Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

I made this tonight and oh my goodness.....it was FANTASTIC!! My husband is still raving about it! Thank you for posting this recipe! The only thing I did different was use hot sausage (because I thought I had bought the hot Italian sausage and I guess I hadn't!) and I boiled the potatoes before putting it all together because I hate it when potatoes don't get done and I cubed half of them and mashed the other half. So we are sitting here on this cool, fall evening very full from a fantastic meal! Thank you!

Jennifer said...

Holy cow this was so delicious! I didn't have an onion and I accidentally bought linked hot Italian sausaages but they were easy to uncase. Both my husband and I loved it! And I'm excited to eat leftovers this week as the flavors meld even more!

Mark & Rachel said...

Can this be done in the crockpot?

Looks delicious, will be trying soon!!!

Sara Robson said...

i made this and it was so good i blogged about it! i mentioned you and started following you! i'm learning to cook and i plan on using your blog! thanks!

Desi said...

@ Mark & Rachel - I'd say yes it can be done in the crockpot!! You will want to saute the bacon, sausage, onion, garlic...I'm not sure how browned it would get in the crockpot. Hope it's a success!! (hope this finds you, I couldn't find an email address to reply to!)

Kayla said...

Can it be done with beef stock? That's all I have.

Anna said...

I NEVER post on blogs, but I had to on this one. This recipe is DELISH. So good. I've made it many times, and my husband raves about it every time. Thank you!

Casey Hester said...

This us The best soup! Even my 7 year old likes it!

Becky Diann said...

Tried this tonight...SUPER YUMMY! A hit with the hubby. :)

Unknown said...

Thanks for the recipe - kinda cool that I found this on Pinterest and you are from Cincy! I am from close by there, too. Just finishing making this soup now and my house smells amazing.

Desi said...

@Ashley Steinke - that is so cool! so glad you found this on pinterest and that it led you here :) so cool that you live near cincy!! hope you loved the soup! I sure could use some on this cold cold day!

Moochie said...

My daughter absolutely love olive gardens zuppa soup. I made this for her an she said its better... So good with the bacon.. Cant believe how it taste identical.. Even better!!! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Looks delicious. I will make it tomorrow. Do you know how many people this serves?

Toots said...

I've had this saved forever and finally made it. It was really good. Definitely need to use spicy sausage. It thickened after it had been in the fridge overnight too. Will make again and wouldn't change anything.

Unknown said...

Ok Y'all...I made this soup last night for dinner and...OMG...IT WAS AWESOME!!!! PLEASE MAKE!!!!
The ONLY things I would have done different was 1 more cup of Chicken Stock & 1/2 cup more of Heave Cream. And I would have "De-Veined" the Kale. I used the Pre-Cut Kale and the "vein/stem" part is like gristle if you don't remove. I followed the recipe exact, which is rare for me to do as I'm ALWAYS "tweeking" something in a recipe but glad I followed it because it was soooooo good!!! Of course, I did add extra BACON though...that's always a MUST! Ha! ENJOY!!!!

Unknown said...

This is our family's favorite soup recipe. I have made it dozens of times over the past few years since finding your recipe. I recently went back to Olive Garden and tried their soup. This recipe definitely is far better than the original. I agree with the comment about using additional chicken broth and cream. We love the broth!

Unknown said...

My husband and I LOVE this soup! You rock!! I do have a question, I would like to make this for our family’s non-traditional Christmas meal...can I make this soup 2 days before and, if so, any modifications to make it still taste this fabulous? Thank you!

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