I found this Zuppa Toscana recipe by Damn Delicious years ago on Pinterest, and my family still requests it repeatedly each winter! Reese doesn’t love potatoes, so I try to dish her fewer of those and more sausage.
Unlike some soup recipes, this one doesn’t give us a lot of leftovers for work or remote learning lunches, so if that’s of interest to you, you may consider doubling it!
Things I tweak: The Olive Garden uses kale and DD’s recipe calls for spinach. I leave both out because the one time I used spinach, everyone thought it was slimy and picked it out. Ha! I usually use jarred minced garlic. I add additional potatoes and bacon and only a half pound of sausage. Then I toss some shredded cheese on top when serving because what kind of psychopath doesn’t add cheese to a bowl of potato soup? If you’re dairy-free, try dairy-free half & half. My friend gets the Silk brand at Sprouts!
Ingredients (Adapted from Damn Delicious):
- 6 slices bacon
- 1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage, ground
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream or half & half
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; crumble & set aside.
- Add Italian sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks; drain excess fat and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in sausage and spinach until spinach begins to wilt, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in heavy cream until heated through, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnished with bacon.




Super easy and delicious. And honestly, better than the original restaurant soup! Perfect meal to warm up to this weekend. Happy Friday!

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