Hi everyone! Since it’s raining today, I thought I’d share one of my favorite soup recipes: Zuppa Toscana. I love to make soup on a rainy day! This is a copycat recipe of a soup served at a very popular Italian chain restaurant 😉 My friend Holly shared her recipe with me 15 or so years ago, and with a few tweaks, I’ve been making it ever since. It’s a filling soup that is definitely a meal in itself. The main ingredients are Italian sausage and potatoes, so if you’re a fan of those ingredients, chances are you will love this soup. I know many of you probably already have some version of this recipe that you already use, but some of you may not. This recipe makes a big pot of soup- probably 8-10 servings. Here’s my version:

Zuppa Toscana

3 slices of bacon cut into small pieces
1- 16oz. package of hot Italian sausage links
1 medium onion, diced
4 med-large Russet potatoes, scrubbed clean, skin on, sliced into 1/4″ slices
1 Tablespoon of butter
3 cloves of garlic, minced
64 oz. chicken broth
1 bunch of kale, large stems removed, roughly chopped
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste(optional)

In a large stock pot, saute chopped bacon pieces over medium heat until they begin to crisp.

Add your diced onion and 1 tablespoon of butter into the same pot as the bacon. Saute over medium-low heat stirring frequently, until onions begin to soften and become translucent. This should take about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile remove casings from your Italian Sausage links(just cut a long slit in the casing and peel it off).

Place sausage links into a large frying pan and crumble into small pieces. Cook over medium heat until sausage begins to brown.

I like to use this tool to help break up the sausage into small pieces:

It’s a handy little gadget called a meat chopper. It really helps break up the sausage quickly. I also use it when I need to break up ground beef for Sloppy Joe’s or tacos. You can get one on Amazon for about $10. Link below:

The Pampered Chef Mix N Chop

I like to cook it until it has a good amount of dark-browned bits. This gives the soup a lot of flavor, so don’t rush this step.

While your sausage is browning, add the minced garlic to your other pot with the onions and bacon. Reduce heat to low.

When you sausage is done, drain away any excess grease and add the sausage to the stock pot with the onions, bacon, and garlic.

Next add your chicken broth to the stock pot.

Bring it all to a low boil, then add your potatoes.

Next add the 1/2 teaspoon salt and the 1/4 teaspoon pepper. You may need to add more salt at the end depending on how salty the sausage you’re using is.

Simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While soup is simmering, prepare your kale. I chop the large stems off and throw those away.

Then I chop the kale into bite size pieces. Add the kale to your stock pot for the last 10 minutes that soup is simmering.

It will look like too much kale at first, but it will wilt down quickly.

When the 20 minutes are up, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the heavy whipping cream.

Your soup is all done! I like to serve this with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top. Then I’ll leave a shaker of crushed red pepper flakes on the side for those who like to add a little more spice 😉