Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe

This amazing Zuppa Toscana soup recipe includes Italian sausage, kale, cannellini beans, and potatoes. I’m not sure there is a heartier, more flavorful soup out there than this one.

There’s not much out there that makes me happier than a delicious warm pot of soup. It’s one of my favorite things to make and eat. If you love it as much as I do, try my Pasta e Fagioli soup or Mulligatawny Soup.

 

Zuppa Toscana

Zuppa Toscana is a creamed stock-based soup with sausage, kale, and potatoes. It translates from Italian to English as Tuscan soup. Tuscany is a region in the Northwest side of Italy. There are variations to this soup depending on what’s available and in season and other additions like vegetables and beans.

While Zuppa Toscana is the common name in the United States, the soup comes from a recipe in Italy known as Minestra di Pane. The only difference between both soups is that the one in Italy also has bread in the soup, like Ribollita.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Sausage – You can use hot, mild, or sweet Italian Sausage in this recipe.
• Potatoes – Russet potatoes are traditional potatoes, but you can substitute them with red or Yukon gold potatoes.
• Kale – Regular kale or Italian Lucinato kale is best. YOu can also use Swiss chard, mustard greens, or collards.
• Onions – You can use white, yellow, or sweet onions. In addition, you’ll also need garlic cloves.
• Beans – I used dry cannellini beans in this zuppa toscana. However, you can substitute with great northern, borlotti, or white kidney beans.
• Stock – Chicken stock is the best liquid to use. Substitute with brodo, vegetable stock, or water.
• Cream – YOu will need heavy whipping cream for this. Feel free to swap with half and half.
• Carrots – This is optional, but I like the addition of carrots to the zuppa toscana.
• Celery – Another optional ingredient, but it helps to round out the soup’s flavors.
• Cheese – I garnish with Parmigiano Reggiano and use the rinds in the soup as I cook it. Substitute with Pecorino Romano.
• Flour – You will need some all-purpose flour to help thicken the soup.
• Bacon – I cook the vegetables in rendered bacon fat and then garnish them with crispy bacon lardons. You can skip this and use butter, ghee, olive or avocado oil instead of it.

How to Make Zuppa Toscana

Add the beans to a large container and cover them completely in water by about 6″ inches. Let them sit overnight and then drain. Set them aside.

Next, add the sausage to a large pot over medium-high heat and cook until browned and cooked through, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.

Add the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic to the pot and sweat the vegetables for 6 to 8 minutes over medium-low heat.

Stir in the flour until combined to make a roux.

Add back in the sausage, the beans, chicken stock, and cheese rinds, and cook over low heat until the beans are tender, which takes about 45 minutes.

Next, add in the potatoes and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender.

Add in crisp cooked and chopped bacon.

Finish by adding in the kale, heavy cream, salt, and pepper

Serve hot.

Make Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: If you keep the kale separate until it is ready to be served, you can make this soup up to two days ahead of time for freshness.

How to Store: This soup recipe will hold well in the refrigerator covered up for up to 5 days. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup to a medium-sized sauce pot and heat over low heat until hot.

More Soup Recipes

• Ham and Lentil
• Cream Chicken Dumpling Soup
• French Onion Soup
• Italian Wedding Soup
• Pork Confit and Split Pea