Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is a creamy Tuscan sausage potato soup recipe that's easy to make. This Olive Garden copycat is comfort food and one of the best soups you'll ever eat!
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This easy sausage potato soup recipe is loaded with cubed Yukon gold potatoes, flavorful Italian sausage and kale leaves in a creamy broth. Top it off with crumbled cooked bacon and grated Parmesan cheese, and you've got a hearty meal in one bowl!
I used to have a bowl of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup whenever I had lunch with friends at the Olive Garden. I liked it so much that I even made it at home a few times.
I'm not sure why it took me so long to make Zuppa Toscana in the pressure cooker -- probably because I have picky eaters who aren't crazy about kale!
You guys, I am so glad I finally converted this favorite soup recipe into an Instant Pot recipe, because this Tuscan soup is amazing. And, it's so much quicker in the Instant Pot!
Ingredients
Zuppa Toscana is Olive Garden's take on a rustic soup of Tuscany. The Italian version has beans, more veggies and a lighter broth.
The American version is a hearty soup with potatoes, Italian sausage, kale and crispy bacon with a creamy base. Definitely comfort food!
- Butter
- White onion
- Ground Italian sausage
- Sea salt
- Garlic powder
- Italian seasoning
- Ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- Yukon Gold potatoes
- Low sodium chicken broth
- Fresh kale leaves
- Heavy cream
- Chopped or crumbled bacon
- Grated Parmesan cheese
How to Make Zuppa Toscana in the Instant Pot
Quick and easy recipes are my favorite, so I made this creamy soup as easy as possible.
- Use leftover cooked bacon instead of cooking it in the pot
- Use ground sausage instead of sausage in casing
- Use unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes
Start by cooking some chopped onions until they are slightly soft. Then, add your ground Italian sausage and cook until no longer pink.
Sometimes, I'll even use ground breakfast sausage because it's so easy to work with and leads to less excess grease.
Season the meat, stir it, and turn off the pot. Then, add your chopped potatoes and chicken broth to the Instant Pot.
If you have some sausage bits sticking to the bottom, deglaze the pot when you add the broth. This will prevent the dreaded burn notice!
Cooking Time
Pressure cook the soup for 5 minutes on high pressure and allow a 5 minute natural pressure release, followed by a quick pressure release. This helps prevent liquid spraying everywhere.
Total cook time depends upon how long the pot takes to reach pressure and release pressure.
After removing the lid, add your chopped kale, then stir in the heavy cream while the pot is on Keep Warm setting. The soup is hot enough that it will cook the kale.
Give it a few minutes, and you're good to go. You can add chopped cooked bacon bits and grated Parmesan cheese to the soup or serve it on the side for people to help themselves.
Variations
This soup is not super thick, so you may want to thicken it. You can mash some of the potatoes right in the pot before serving or use a cornstarch slurry for an even thicker soup.
If you don't like kale, use chopped fresh spinach or baby spinach. Just remove the stems before adding it to the pot.
A great way to alter these copycat recipes to your personal taste with minimal effort is to change-up the type of sausage you use.
Zuppa Toscana is after all a sausage soup. You can use breakfast sausage, mild Italian sausage, hot Italian sausage, or spicy sausage.
How to Store and Reheat
This Zuppa Toscana Instant Pot recipe makes a lot of soup--enough for the whole family and then some!
You can refrigerate the leftover zuppa toscana soup in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. It keeps well for 4 about days.
Reheat leftover potato soup in the microwave, in the Instant Pot on the saute function or in a large pot on the stove.
How to Freeze
You can freeze any leftover Zuppa Toscana for another time. BUT, keep in mind that soups with cream or milk may separate and develop a slightly grainy texture once reheated.
If this doesn't bother you, you can freeze the leftover soup in freezer bags to save for later.
If you know you'll be freezing the soup, you can freeze all or some before adding the cream and stir in the cream when you reheat it next time.
More Comforting Instant Pot Soup Recipes
Be sure to check out these Instant Pot recipes of some more favorite soups:
- Instant Pot Cheesy Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Kielbasa Cabbage Soup
- Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Roll Soup
- Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup
Recipe
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small white onion chopped, or half a large one
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- pinch red pepper flakes optional
- 4 Yukon Gold potatoes unpeeled, cut into roughly ½-inch pieces
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 3 cups fresh kale leaves washed, stems removed and torn or roughly chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- crumbled or chopped cooked bacon
- grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Hit SAUTE on the Instant Pot, and when it reads Hot, add the butter and onions, and cook until onions are slightly soft
- Add the ground sausage, breaking it up as it cooks, and cook until no longer pink
- Stir in the sea salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, black pepper and red pepper flakes if using, and hit CANCEL to turn pot off
- Deglaze the bottom of the pot if necessary, with a little of the chicken broth, then add the potatoes and chicken broth to the pot
- Place lid on pot, make sure vent is on Sealing position, and hit PRESSURE COOK or Manuel for 5 minutes. Hit START if your pot has this feature
- Pot will take a few minutes to reach pressure, then begin cooking and counting down as it cooks. When pot beeps, allow a 5 minute natural release, then quick release remaining pressure. If pot starts to release liquid, do a gradual quick release
- When pin drops, carefully remove lid, and stir soup. Stir in the chopped Kale, then stir in the heavy cream, and keep stirring until well combined and kale is soft
- Serve topped with the bacon and grated Parmesan cheese and additional red pepper flakes if desired
Notes
Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.
Nutrition
Recipe published in 2020 and updated in 2021
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Matt says
Made this today! Raining over here so I thought it would be great to keep you warm! Tastes and smells great!
Dee says
Thanks, Matt! I'm so lad you liked the soup!
sylvia says
'4 Yukon Gold Potatoes'--- how about a hint on the weight.
Potatoes come in different sizes.
Dee says
It's about 1 1/2 pounds, maybe slightly less depending on what potatoes are available.
Ana says
So delicious and easy!
Dee says
So glad you liked the soup, Ana!
James says
Made this last night and it was awesome! Supper easy too!
Dee says
So glad you liked the soup, James. Thanks!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This sausage potato soup looks incredibly delicious!
Dee says
Thank you so much, Erin. We just love it!
Beth says
We love zuppa toscana! The instant pot version is so good and I love how easy it is to make!
Dee says
It's super easy. Thanks so much, Beth!
Kimberly says
Such a great soup and I'm happy to see an IP version, great idea!
Amanda says
This is one of my all time favorite soups. Always amazing!
Dee says
Same here, Amanda. Thank you so much!
Sara Welch says
What a great family dinner recipe! It has easily become a new family favorite recipe, indeed!
Dee says
Thanks, Sara. It's definitely a favorite here!