Instant Pot Soup Zuppa Toscana
Our Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana recipe is made with tender bites of Italian sausage, creamy potatoes, vibrant kale, and a touch of spice, this soul-warming soup is a celebration of simple yet bold ingredients. With the convenience of the Instant Pot, you can enjoy the rich and satisfying flavors of Zuppa Toscana in a fraction of the time.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
- Time-saving: The Instant Pot significantly reduces cooking time, allowing you to enjoy this flavorful soup in a fraction of the time it would take on the stovetop.
- Easy preparation: With simple ingredients and minimal prep work, making Zuppa Toscana in the Instant Pot is convenient and hassle-free.
- Versatile: This soup can be easily customized to suit different dietary preferences by adjusting the ingredients. For example, you can use turkey sausage for a lighter option or add extra vegetables for more nutritional value.
- Hearty and satisfying: Loaded with Italian sausage, potatoes, kale, and a creamy broth, Zuppa Toscana is a hearty and comforting dish that’s perfect for chilly days.
- One-pot meal: The Instant Pot allows you to cook everything in one pot, minimizing cleanup and making it an ideal option for busy weeknights.
- Crowd-pleaser: Whether you’re cooking for your family or hosting guests, Zuppa Toscana is sure to be a hit with its rich flavors and satisfying texture.
- Budget-friendly: Made with affordable ingredients that are easy to find, Zuppa Toscana is a budget-friendly option for satisfying meals.
Ingredients for Zuppa Toscana
- 1 small chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 2 cups diced potatoes
- 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage
- 6 slices of cooked bacon
- 1 cup milk or cream
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Recipe
- Heat your Instant Pot on the sauté setting and add olive oil along with onions, garlic, and sausage. Cook until the sausage browns and crumbles.
- Add diced potatoes and chicken broth to the pot, ensuring the bottom is clear of any residue; if necessary, deglaze the pot. Next, layer kale on top.
- Seal the Instant Pot and set it to manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Perform a quick release once the cooking time is complete.
- Switch the Instant Pot back to the sauté setting.
- Stir in milk or cream to add richness to the soup.
- Chop cooked bacon and stir it into the soup before serving.
Tips & Tricks
- Choose the Right Sausage: Opt for hot Italian sausage to infuse the soup with delicious flavor and a hint of spice. If you prefer a milder taste, you can use mild Italian sausage instead.
- Sauté for Flavor: Take the time to sauté the onions, garlic, and sausage before pressure cooking. This step helps to develop deeper flavors in the soup.
- Deglaze the Pot: After sautéing, make sure to deglaze the bottom of the pot by adding a splash of broth and scraping up any browned bits. This prevents the “Burn” error and ensures even cooking.
- Layer Ingredients: Layering the kale on top of the potatoes and broth helps to prevent it from overcooking and becoming mushy during pressure cooking.
- Use Low-Sodium Broth: Opt for low-sodium chicken broth to control the saltiness of the soup, especially since the sausage and bacon add plenty of flavor on their own.
- Quick Release for Greens: After pressure cooking, perform a quick release to prevent the kale from overcooking and losing its vibrant green color.
- Add Dairy Carefully: Stir in the milk or cream after pressure cooking and releasing the pressure. Adding dairy before pressure cooking can lead to curdling.
- Adjust Seasoning: Taste the soup before serving and adjust the seasoning as needed with salt and pepper. You can also add additional herbs or spices to suit your taste preferences.
- Garnish for Flavor: Garnish each serving with crispy bacon pieces and a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese for added flavor and texture.
- Let it Rest: Allow the soup to rest for a few minutes after adding the dairy. This allows the flavors to meld together before serving.
FAQs about Zuppa Toscana
More Recipes:
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
Yield:
6
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
20 minutes
Our Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana recipe is made with tender bites of Italian sausage, creamy potatoes, vibrant kale, and a touch of spice, this soul-warming soup is a celebration of simple yet bold ingredients.
Ingredients
- 1 small chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 2 cups diced potatoes
- 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage
- 6 slices cooked bacon
- 1 cup milk or cream
Instructions
- Heat your Instant Pot on the sauté setting and add olive oil along with onions, garlic, and sausage. Cook until the sausage browns and crumbles.
- Add diced potatoes and chicken broth to the pot, ensuring the bottom is clear of any residue; if necessary, deglaze the pot. Next, layer kale on top.
- Seal the Instant Pot and set it to manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Perform a quick release once the cooking time is complete.
- Switch the Instant Pot back to the sauté setting.
- Stir in milk or cream to add richness to the soup.
- Chop cooked bacon and stir it into the soup before serving.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 279Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 502mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 15g
This was super yummy! I’m avoiding dairy so I skipped the milk and just added a little more broth and potatoes, then partially blended it at the end for a creamy texture. The whole family loved it – even the kale haters!
This was the first thing I cooked in my instant pot! I saw so many great reviews on Facebook IPot pages that I had to try it myself. It was a hit with the whole family! Thank you so much for sharing this.
How many servings did you get? I didn’t see anything that told me the amount of servings?
Recipe says 6 servings.
@Nina Irwin, on my computer, it says 10 servings
I wait and stir in the kale just before the milk and cream. It just needs to wilt, not cook.
Agreed!i was thinking the same thing
Me too! Just add kale at the very end to wilt it.
If you are using fresh potatoes, not frozen, how long would you cook it for? I would think that 15 minutes would be too long for diced fresh potatoes.
@Dawn, I have the same question. I want to use fresh and am new to using an InstantPot. Did you ever figure this out? I don’t see a response….
Yes you can use fresn
We made this last night and LOVED it! So easy to prepare and so delicious! Thanks for the recipe, we will definitely be making it again.
I made this today, and am now enjoying my first bowl — scrumptious! I have rheumatoid arthritis and cannot stand for very long; so, I used Italian sausage links, cut into 3/4-inch chunks, which seems to require somewhat less tending to. I will try frozen cubed potatoes next time, but the fresh potatoes came out just fine for the suggested 15-minute cook time.
I made this today and marveled at how it turned out. It was so good it would make a jackrabbit kiss a hound dog! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Top comment of the day you cracked me up!
Made it today, delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I think we all add our little tweaks to the recipe, which makes it more fun! Mine was delicious!
I add white cannelloni beans – delish and adds protein and fiber 🙂
How many servings?
Recipe says 6.
This was fantastic! I doubled the recipe in my 6qt Duo and it still worked great! I think 10 minutes is long enough if your broth is already hot. That way your potatoes hold up better. I added New Mexico green chiles and used hot Italian sausage. Talk about amazing!
So delicious! My husband was recently diagnosed with diabetes so I cut out the potatoes, but still amazing!! Thanks!
Could I substitute the sausage for hamburgers. I don’t like Italian sausage.
I just use regular sausage not Italian, as it’s too spicy for my young kids. Hamburger is less flavorful than sausage so you may have to add spices if you use it.
Made this tonight for dinner. It was so good. It will be one of my go to recipes. Thank you for this recipe.
This was very good! A few things we did: 1) use sweet Italian sausage instead of hot because we wanted our daughter to be able to eat it, 2) used fresh diced potatoes (they were very soft, but still mostly held their shape after 15 minutes), 3) used Canadian bacon because I realized last minute I didn’t have any “normal” bacon, 4) added kale to wilt right before milk, 5) used 1% milk. It came together very quickly, and was SO flavorful!
The only thing I’ll probably change for next time is to experiment with increasing potatoes, broth, kale, and bacon by half (so, 3 cups potatoes, kale, 8 pieces bacon, 48oz broth). The reason is we really only got 2 dinner-size portions and 2 lunch-size portions out of this (and we’re not crazy huge eaters). I know I could just double it, but I feel like the recipe could hold up to increasing those ingredients and staying with 1lb of sausage, and we could get at least 2 solid dinners and a lunch out of it. I’ll see how it goes — it was so tasty, I’m sure it’ll be delicious even with those adjustments! Thanks! 🙂
Although I have never had The Olive Gardens Zuppa, this was easy to make and very good. I will have to try some of your other copy cats.
The Zuppa soup was really yummy! My only issue was the milk/cream seemed to separate once I added it to the pot (after cooking). It still tasted great but wasn’t so visually appealing 🙂 Any tips or suggestions?
Absolutely delicious!
Did you copy Olive Garden or Pressure Luck? Slightly different from the recipe on Pressure Luck, but causes me to wonder about the origin of what you posted and how you can claim authorship (especially when you read the comments on PL’s post).
Well since I made this recipe 2 years ago and Jeffery 2 weeks ago…..
Recipes are ALL taken from some base, and EVERYONE, including myself makes their own adjustments. Recipes for the most part cannot be copyrighted. 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
Well seeing as my recipe came before pressure luck Jeffery is a friend of mine I actually encouraged him to start a blog for his recipes!!!
Looking forward to trying this. My question is after I do the quick release, the directions say to place pot back on sauté and then stir in cram and add bacon.
So do I turn the sautés mode back on? If so, for how long? Just enough when adding the other ingredients or for a set time?
Just want to get this right. 🙂
Just for a couple minutes and to mix in the cream
Omg this turned out amazing and so easy to make! I ran out of cream so I used sour cream. Came out great.
Wow! It really does taste just like what you get at Olive Garden. I usually don’t write reviews because I tweek recipes too much and it is not a true review on the recipe. This time, I did tweek some but believe I stayed with the heart of the recipe. I used Turkey Hot Italian Sausage, to be a little healthier. When I put the two cups of the frozen hash browns, I was afraid it would not be enough, so I added another cup. I used Half and Half also. My husband and I both enjoyed it so much. I am eating leftovers as I write this. A definite keeper. Thanks!
This soup is so delicious! It is better than Olive Garden’s. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you for sharing this recipe. 💜
Can I use spinach instead of kale?
Just curious…….why does this have bacon in it? I’ve been eating the Zuppa Toscana soup for years at Olive Garden and I’ve never tasted or found any bacon in it! Maybe it’s a regional thing, but the soup I’ve eaten there definitely had no bacon.
Do you add the bacon on top of each bowl of soup or do you just add it to the whole pot of soup?
Riga tasted wonderful! And so easy! Definitely will be one of my go to recipes.
This tasted wonderful! And so easy! Definitely will be one of my go to recipes.
Tastes like the restaurant soup! So yummy! Kale melts in your mouth. My 4 and 5 year old devoured it.
HELP
I hate anything with fennel seed, like Italian sausage. What would be a good substitute. Regular breakfast sausage?
Great recipe. The only thing I would change is that I would not put the kale in until after pressure cooking for 10 minutes as it came out a little overcooked. It still tasted great, but the canned-spinach color lessened the eye appeal, IMO. I prefer the kale to retain that “healthy” dark green color as much as possible and to be a bit more Al dente. I would either steam it separately, or maybe put it in the IP afterwards and let it saute a bit longer.
Would you add any extra pressure cook time if doubling?
Nope 🙂
Do you think doubling the recipe will fit in a 8qt IP?
Yes
Made this and substituted pork sausage with hot Italian turkey sausage. Also left out the cream but cooked a head of cauliflower on top of the soup with a cup of extra broth, then pureed the cauliflower in a blender and mixed it back into the soup. Trying to stay a little healthier. Original recipe was very good though. Tried that one first except for cooking the kale. I add that at the end and just set the lid on the pot and let it cook for a few minutes
I made this tonight with no alterations and it was delicious! My wife has had the soup before and I hadn’t – wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but I do! This will be in the soup rotation now!