Zuppa Toscana Soup (Printable)
Hearty Italian soup with sausage, potatoes, kale, and creamy broth for cozy evenings.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Meats
01 - 14 oz Italian sausage (mild or spicy), casings removed
→ Vegetables
02 - 4 medium russet potatoes, thinly sliced
03 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
04 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 5 oz fresh kale, stems removed and chopped
→ Dairy
06 - 1 cup heavy whipping cream
07 - 1 oz grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
→ Liquids
08 - 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
09 - 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
→ Seasonings
10 - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
11 - Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
# How To Make It:
01 - Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the sausage, breaking it into small crumbles with a wooden spoon. Cook until evenly browned throughout, approximately 5 minutes. Transfer the browned sausage to a plate and set aside, leaving any rendered drippings in the pot.
02 - In the same pot with the residual drippings, add the diced onion and cook over medium heat until softened and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir continuously for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Add the sliced potatoes and chicken broth to the pot. Bring the liquid to a rolling boil, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
04 - Return the browned sausage to the pot along with the chopped kale. Stir to combine and continue simmering for an additional 5 minutes until the kale has wilted and the flavors meld together.
05 - Reduce the heat to low. Slowly stir in the heavy cream, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Gently heat the soup through without bringing it to a boil, which could cause the cream to separate.
06 - Ladle the finished soup into warmed bowls. Garnish each serving with a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately alongside crusty bread if desired.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The creamy broth, studded with crumbled sausage and tender potatoes, tastes like it simmered all day but only asks for fifty minutes of your time.
- Kale wilts into the soup so gracefully that even people who swear they hate greens come back for seconds.
- It freezes beautifully, which means you can stash away a batch for the next rainy night that catches you off guard.
02 -
- Adding cream to a boiling soup is the fastest way to curdle it, so always reduce the heat to low first and stir gently.
- The soup thickens as it sits overnight in the fridge because the potatoes release their starch, and many people actually prefer it the next day.
03 -
- Slice the potatoes as evenly as you can so every piece finishes cooking at the same time and you never bite into a hard chunk.
- Letting the finished soup rest off the heat for ten minutes before serving allows the flavors to marry and the broth to settle into its creamiest texture.