Name: Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
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

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This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup tastes just like the Olive Garden dish! Make sure to top this creamy sausage & kale soup with bacon & parmesan cheese!

Ingredients in Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

Zuppa Toscana is a traditional Tuscan soup made popular by The Olive Garden.

The ingredients you will need to make this soup are as follows, plus pantry staples like broth and spices:

Italian sausages (turkey or pork)
Onion
Garlic
Potatoes
Heavy cream
Parmesan cheese
Red pepper
Kale
Bacon

How to make Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

Using an Instant Pot means you get this Zuppa Toscana soup on the table in about 30 minutes instead of simmering all day.

You get to use all the versatility of your Instant Pot with this recipe. To start, you will put your Instant Pot in saute mode. This works just like a pan on the stove top, but you don’t need an additional dish. Remove the casings from the sausages and brown the meat in the bottom of the Instant Pot.

Then you will add the ingredients in this order:

Onion
Minced garlic
Chopped potatoes
Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
Chicken broth

Set the Instant Pot to cook for five minutes. You will perform a quick release when it is done cooking.

While the Instant Pot is doing its thing, cook the bacon.

At the end, stir in the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, red pepper and kale. Top each bowl with more Parmesan and bacon crumbles then serve and enjoy!

How to make homemade sausage

If you are feeling very ambitious and have a meat grinder, you can start with a piece of pork and end up with your own homemade sausage.

You can also buy ground pork or ground turkey and season with 1 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp onion/garlic powder plus some salt & 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 in the 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 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.

Ingredient substitutions

It is easy to swap any other kind of ground meat into this Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana soup recipe. Use ground chicken or turkey. You can use other seasonings as well to flavor the meat. You could also use cannellini beans for more protein.

Other veggies you may want to include in your Zuppa Toscana are:

Zucchini
Tomatoes
Spinach
Mushrooms
Carrots
Corn

For the potatoes, I prefer Yukon gold. Russets are another popular choice because they are similar in starch content. You could also use sweet potatoes if you prefer not to eat white potatoes.

Optional garnishes

I serve my Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana with more Parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon. You can add as much or as little as you prefer that way.

Other garnishes you could offer are:

Red pepper flakes
Herbs like parsley or fennel
An extra swirl of half and half or heavy cream
Turkey bacon works just as well as pork bacon and is healthier

What to serve with Zuppa Toscana

This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana soup offers lots of protein and veggies. Add some side dishes to create a complete meal that will warm your table on cold winter nights.

Side dishes that go well with Zuppa Toscana are:

Green salads
Bread
Roasted veggies like broccoli and zucchini
Whole grain crackers
Cornbread

Storing and reheating

This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana will last in the refrigerator for five days. This means the leftovers are great for lunch the next day or you can use this as a meal prep recipe!

This recipe makes six servings. After it has cooled, you can divide it into individual servings and refrigerate.

To reheat, put your individual serving in the microwave until warm and garnish with cheese, bacon or any other toppings you choose.

Freezing Zuppa Toscana

This is a freezer-friendly meal. Let the Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana cool completely and transfer it to a freezer safe container.

It will last in the freezer for two to three months.

While using your Instant Pot, it’s easy to double this recipe. The Instant Pot will take longer to come to pressure, but no additional cooking time is needed. Double the recipe and freeze half for later!

Thaw the soup overnight in the refrigerator and reheat it on the stove. You could also reheat it in the slow cooker and keep it warm for a longer time.

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 resources

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