Description
Zuppa Toscana is a comforting Italian-style soup featuring ground Italian sausage, tender potatoes, kale, and a creamy broth enriched with heavy cream and bold seasonings. This hearty soup is perfect for warming up on chilly days and pairs beautifully with crusty bread.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat and Base
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage, hot or mild
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
Seasonings and Sauces
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce (can substitute Worcestershire sauce)
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
Thickening Agent
- 3 tablespoons flour
Liquids
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
Vegetables
- 3 to 4 small russet potatoes, about 1 pound
- 3 cups kale, roughly chopped
For Serving
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Roughly chopped bacon
Instructions
- Cook Sausage: In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook and crumble the ground Italian sausage until fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the drippings and set the sausage aside. If you don’t have drippings, use 1 additional tablespoon of butter.
- Sauté Onions and Aromatics: Add the reserved drippings and butter to the same pot. Add the diced onions and cook over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic, hot sauce, soy sauce, mustard powder, dried parsley, oregano, basil, and optional red pepper flakes; cook for 1 more minute until fragrant.
- Add Flour: Sprinkle in the flour and stir continuously for 2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste and create a roux base for the soup.
- Add Liquids: Gradually add the chicken broth in small splashes, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Then add the heavy cream in the same manner. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Prepare Potatoes: Clean and dry the potatoes. Cut each potato in half lengthwise, then slice into ¼-inch thick pieces. Add the sliced potatoes and cooked sausage to the simmering soup.
- Simmer Potatoes: Allow soup to simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are nearly fork tender.
- Add Kale and Finish Cooking: Stir in the roughly chopped kale and simmer for an additional 5 minutes until the kale has softened.
- Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese, chopped bacon, and additional red pepper flakes if desired. Serve hot with crusty bread.
Notes
- The mustard powder, hot sauce, and soy sauce enhance the flavor subtly without making the soup spicy; Frank’s hot sauce is a recommended choice.
- Hot Italian sausage is traditional, but mild Italian sausage works well for less heat; Jimmy Dean Original Pork Sausage is a good option.
- Cooking sausage over medium heat helps retain juiciness and produces flavorful drippings for the roux.
- Spinach can be substituted for kale if preferred.
- Pair this soup with crusty, airy, no-knead bread for a complete meal.
- For a slow cooker version, omit flour and follow the described method in the notes, cooking on low for 5–6 hours or high for 3–4 hours, adding potatoes in the last 45 minutes and stirring in cream and kale at the end.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Cream-based soups may slightly change texture after freezing, so avoid overcooking the potatoes if freezing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl (about 1 cup)
- Calories: 350 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 750 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 12 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 13 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
