This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup tastes just like the Olive Garden dish! Top this creamy sausage and kale soup with bacon and parmesan.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – use any neutral cooking oil like canola or avocado oil.
- Italian sausage – make your own homemade sausage or use store-bought sausage.
- Onion – yellow onion, white onion or shallots can all be used.
- Garlic – I prefer freshly minced garlic but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Yukon gold potatoes – russet potatoes are another popular choice and have a similar high starch content.
- Italian seasoning – use a combination of dried oregano, basil and thyme instead.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth would be the best substitute here.
- Heavy cream – you can use half and half or regular milk, but the soup won’t be as creamy.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast or Romano are good substitutes for parmesan.
- Red pepper – swap out the red pepper for another veggie like zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots or corn.
- Kale – spinach would also be good in this soup.
- Bacon – turkey bacon is a healthier option.
How to make Zuppa Toscana soup in the Instant Pot
- Turn the Instant Pot to sauté mode.
- Brown the sausage.
- Add the next 6 ingredients in order.
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream, parmesan, red pepper and kale.
- Garnish with bacon, serve and enjoy!
How to make homemade sausage
It’s actually super easy to make homemade sausage! All you need is some ground pork or ground turkey. Season the ground meat with 1 tbsp. fennel seeds, 1 tsp. paprika and 1 tsp. onion/garlic powder plus some salt and pepper. This is the easiest way to make your own sausage because you don’t need the casings that come with traditional store-bought sausages.
Another option is to purchase sausage from the grocery store and remove the casings to use just the ground sausage inside. This meat is often already seasoned so you don’t have to do much to it. The vast majority of sausage casings are edible, but in recipes like this one, we want the sausage to be in small chunks rather than held together with the casings.
To remove the casings:
- Cut a slit lengthwise down the sausage. Make it deep enough to go through the casing, but not deep enough to go through to the other side of the sausage.
- Flip the sausage over so the cut side is down.
- Pull back the casing and allow the meat to drop right into the Instant Pot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Zuppa Toscana means ‘Tuscan soup’ in Italian, since it’s a dish that originates in the Italian region of Tuscany.
This soup is filled with potatoes, red pepper, kale, Italian seasoning and Italian sausage with a creamy broth. I like topping it with bacon but it would also be good garnished with red pepper flakes, fresh herbs or an extra swirl of cream.
This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana soup is full of protein and veggies, so it can be a full meal on its own. If you want, you can serve it with a green salad, crusty bread, roasted veggies, whole grain crackers or cornbread.
Storing and reheating
This Zuppa Toscana soup will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. The leftovers are great for lunch the next day or your weekly meal prep!
After the soup has cooled down, you can divide it into individual servings and refrigerate. To reheat, bring it to a simmer in a pot on the stovetop or microwave until warm. Garnish with cheese, bacon or any other toppings you choose.
Can you freeze Zuppa Toscana soup?
If you decide to freeze this Zuppa Toscana soup, don’t add in the kale and heavy cream until reheating. The kale will wilt and the cream will curdle when reheated. You can reheat the soup without those ingredients for 2 to 3 months in freezer-safe containers or Ziploc bags.
When you’re ready to enjoy, let the soup defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat is in the stovetop. Stir in the fresh kale and cream, add on your garnishes and voila!
More Instant Pot soup recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this soup into your weekly lunches.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb Italian sausages, casings removed
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 bunch kale, chopped
- 6 slices bacon
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to saute mode. Add sausage and saute for 4-5 minutes until sausage is browned, then add the rest of the ingredients to Instant Pot in the order in which they are listed except for cream, parmesan cheese, red pepper, kale and bacon.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 5 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large frying pan on the stove.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Stir in cream, parmesan cheese, red pepper and kale until well combined. Garnish with extra parmesan cheese and top with bacon, then serve and enjoy!
