Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup is a creamy, hearty soup made with bacon, sausage, kale, and potatoes that will be on your table in just under 30 minutes.

Pair this copycat Olive Garden  Zuppa Toscana with Garlic Toast and a Tossed Greek Salad for an easy and delicious family meal that everyone will love!

Back in college one of my favorite cheap meals was Olive Garden's soup and salad special. While I loved those garlic breadsticks, I really loved Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana.

It is a rich soup made with bacon, sausage, cream, and kale. Rich, creamy, and oh so satisfying!

I have to be honest in saying that I have not had the soup and salad special in decades, but I still enjoy making Zuppa Toscana at home--especially when it is so easy to prepare in the Instant Pot.

But not only is this  Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is easy to make, but it is also a family favorite. Which is great, as long as I know not to count on leftovers the next day--my family devours every last drop of this hearty soup!

Notes on Key Ingredients

• Sausage: Use any ground Italian style sausage you like--chicken, turkey, or pork.
• Bacon: Bacon gives this soup an incredible smokey flavor. However, you can omit the bacon. In place of rendered bacon grease, use olive oil to saute the sausage and onions.
• White Wine: A dry white wine adds a bit of sharpness and depth of flavor to the Zuppa Toscana. For a dry wine, use Chardonnay or Pinto Grigio.  Feel free to use additional stock in place of wine.
• Chicken Stock: Either homemade stock or store-bought stock is fine for this recipe, but I do recommend low sodium.
• Potatoes: Use russet, red, or yellow potatoes for the soup. There is no need to peel the potatoes, just scrub well before adding.

Step-by-Step Directions

• Turn pressure cooker to saute and allow to heat up.
• While Instant Pot is heating up, chop bacon into small chunks.
• Add the bacon to the inner pot and saute until browned and crispy.
• Remove bacon from Instant Pot with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel-lined plate.

• Add the sausage and onions to bacon grease and saute until the sausage is browned and onions are softened.
• Add in the garlic and saute for a minute longer.

• Add the wine, or chicken stock if not using wine into the inner pot and use a wooden spatula to scrape off all the browned bits on the bottom of the inner pot.
• Leave on saute function for 2-3 minutes, to allow the alcohol to cook off.
• Turn Instant Pot saute function off.
• Add in chicken stock, potatoes, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and kale.
• Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
• Let pressure release naturally for 15 minutes.

• After 15 minutes of natural pressure release, release any remaining pressure by carefully turning the vent knob to the vent position.
• Stir in cream and place lid back on the pressure cooker for 3-5 minutes to let cream heat through.

• Serve soup, topped with cooked bacon and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Recipe Tips and Notes

• Leftovers: Leftover cooled soup can be store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This is one soup that does not tend to freeze well as the cream may separate and the potatoes get mushy.
• Spice Level: If you don't like spicy soups, omit the red pepper flakes or decrease by half for a more mild zing.
• Frozen Kale: Feel free to use defrosted and drained kale in place of fresh kale. You don't want to add frozen kale directly to the soup, as the water content from the kale will water down the flavor.
• Spinach: While not traditional, feel free to substitute baby spinach for kale.
• Lower Fat Option: If you would like to lighten-up this soup, drain off the grease after browning the sausage and use milk or half and half in place of heavy cream. But for a soup that tastes like Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, do not drain off the grease and heavy cream is best.

More Instant Pot Soup Recipes

• Instant Pot Potato Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
• Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
• Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
• Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup

I hope you enjoy this recipe for Zuppa Toscana and I would love for you to take the time to leave a comment and/or review. 

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup is a creamy, hearty soup made with bacon, sausage, kale, and potatoes in a rich broth. This soup will be on your table in 30 minutes and tastes better than Olive Garden's version!

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Pressure Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

Calories: 500kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 slices bacon chopped
• ▢ ½ pound Italian Sausage casings removed
• ▢ 1 small onion minced
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ ½ cup dry white wine optional
• ▢ 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• ▢ 5 Russet potatoes cut into 1 inch chunks
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili flakes optional
• ▢ 3 cups fresh kale chopped and stems removed
• ▢ 1 cup heavy cream

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Instructions

• Turn Instant Pot turn saute and allow to heat up. Add in bacon and saute until browned and crispy. Remove bacon using slotted spoon and place on paper towel lined plate.
• Add in sausage and the onions, breaking up the sausage as it cooks. Once the sausage is browned add in the garlic and saute for one minute longer.
• Add the wine into the inner pot and scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the inner pot and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until alcohol is cooked off. Turn Instant Pot off.
• To the inner pot, add in the stock, potatoes, salt, pepper, chili flakes, and kale.
• Set to cook on high pressure for 5 minutes by hitting manual or pressure cook and using the +/- buttons to adjust the cooking time.
• Once cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes. Release any remaining pressure.
• Stir in cream and place lid back on the pressure cooker for 3-5 minutes to let cream heat through.
• Serve soup, topped with cooked bacon and Parmesan cheese if desired.

Equipment Needed

• Electric Pressure Cooker (6 or 8 quart)

Notes

Sausage: Feel free to use chicken or turkey Italian sausage in place of the pork sausage.

Bacon: If you want to omit the bacon, you will need 1 tablespoon olive oil to brown the sausage and onions.

Leftovers: Leftover cooled soup can be store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This is one soup that does not tend to freeze well as the cream may separate and the potatoes get mushy.

Spice Level: If you don't like spicy soups, omit the red pepper flakes or decrease by half for a more mild zing.

Frozen Kale: Feel free to use defrosted and drained kale in place of fresh kale. You don't want to add frozen kale directly to the soup, as the water content from the kale will water down the flavor. 

Spinach: While not traditional, feel free to substitute baby spinach for kale.

Lower Fat Option: If you would like to lighten-up this soup, drain off the grease after browning the sausage and use milk or half and half in place of heavy cream. But for a soup that tastes like Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, do not drain off the grease and heavy cream is best.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 898mg | Potassium: 1244mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1260IU | Vitamin C: 27.4mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3.1mg

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