Zuppa Toscana OG Copycat Soup

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.