Published November 15, 2023.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This amazing Zuppa Toscana soup recipe includes Italian sausage, kale, cannellini beans, and potatoes. I’m not sure there is a heartier, more flavorful soup out there than this one.
There’s not much out there that makes me happier than a delicious warm pot of soup. It’s one of my favorite things to make and eat. If you love it as much as I do, try my Pasta e fa*gioli soup or Mulligatawny Soup.
Zuppa Toscana
Zuppa Toscana is a creamed stock-based soup with sausage, kale, and potatoes. It translates from Italian to English as Tuscan soup.Tuscany is a region in the Northwest side of Italy. There are variations to this soup depending on what’s available and in season and other additions like vegetables and beans.
While Zuppa Toscana is the common name in the United States, the soup comes from a recipe in Italy known as Minestra di Pane. The only difference between both soups is that the one in Italy also has bread in the soup, like Ribollita.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Sausage – You can use hot, mild, or sweet Italian Sausage in this recipe.
- Potatoes – Russet potatoes are traditional potatoes, but you can substitute them with red or Yukon gold potatoes.
- Kale – Regular kale or Italian Lucinato kale is best. YOu can also use Swiss chard, mustard greens, or collards.
- Onions – You can use white, yellow, or sweet onions. In addition, you’ll also need garlic cloves.
- Beans – I used dry cannellini beans in this zuppa toscana. However, you can substitute with great northern, borlotti, or white kidney beans.
- Stock – Chicken stock is the best liquid to use. Substitute with brodo, vegetable stock, or water.
- Cream – YOu will need heavy whipping cream for this. Feel free to swap with half and half.
- Carrots – This is optional, but I like the addition of carrots to the zuppa toscana.
- Celery – Another optional ingredient, but it helps to round out the soup’s flavors.
- Cheese – I garnish with Parmigiano Reggiano and use the rinds in the soup as I cook it. Substitute with Pecorino Romano.
- Flour – You will need some all-purpose flour to help thicken the soup.
- Bacon – I cook the vegetables in rendered bacon fat and then garnish them with crispy bacon lardons. You can skip this and use butter, ghee, olive or avocado oil instead of it.
How to Make Zuppa Toscana
Add the beans to a large container and cover them completely in water by about 6″ inches. Let them sit overnight and then drain. Set them aside.
Next, add the sausage to a large pot over medium-high heat and cook until browned and cooked through, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.
Add the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic to the pot and sweat the vegetables for 6 to 8 minutes over medium-low heat.
Stir in the flour until combined to make a roux.
Add back in the sausage, the beans, chicken stock, and cheese rinds, and cook over low heat until the beans are tender, which takes about 45 minutes.
Next, add in the potatoes and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender.
Add in crisp cooked and chopped bacon.
Finish by adding in the kale, heavy cream, salt, and pepper
Serve hot.
Make Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: If you keep the kale separate until it is ready to be served, you can make this soup up to two days ahead of time for freshness.
How to Store: This soup recipe will hold well in the refrigerator covered up for up to 5 days.It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup to a medium-sized sauce pot and heat over low heat until hot.
CHEF NOTES + TIPS
- A quicker way to soften dried beans would be to bring water to a boil, pour it over them, and let them sit for 1 hour.
- Substitute the dried beans with four cans of drained beans.
- When thickening the soup, you’re not looking for something resembling alfredo sauce, but you want somebody to this Zuppa Toscana soup recipe.
- Some other recipes call to render the bacon fat first, and you can do that, but if you did that and then cooked the sausage, you would have a pot of grease.
- You can also serve the kale into the individual bowls as you serve them one by one so that it does not wilt.
More Soup Recipes
- Ham and Lentil
- Cream Chicken Dumpling Soup
- French Onion Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Pork Confit and Split Pea
Video
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Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe
5 from 53 votes
This amazing Zuppa Toscana soup recipe includes Italian sausage, kale, cannellini beans, and potatoes to make the perfect meal.
Servings: 12
Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 2 hours hours
Ingredients
- 1 pound cannellini beans
- 2 pounds loose mild Italian sausage
- 1 peeled small diced yellow onion
- 3 small diced stalks of celery
- 2 peeled small diced carrots
- 5 cloves of finely minced garlic
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 96 ounces chicken stock
- 2 Parmesan cheese rinds
- 3 medium-sized sliced russet potatoes
- 8 strips of chopped crisp cooked bacon
- 1 head roughly chopped kale
- coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for garnish
Instructions
Add the beans to a large container and cover them completely in water by about 6" inches. Let them sit overnight and then drain. Set them aside.
Next, add the sausage to a large pot over medium-high heat and cook until browned and cooked through, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.
Add the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic to the pot and sweat the vegetables for 6 to 8 minutes over medium-low heat.
Stir in the flour until combined to make a roux, and then add back in the sausage, the beans, chicken stock, and cheese rinds, and cook over low heat until the beans are tender, which takes about 45 minutes.
Next, add in the potatoes and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender.
Finish by adding in the bacon, kale, heavy cream, salt, and pepper and then serve.
Notes
Make-Ahead: If you keep the kale separate until it is ready to be served, you can make this soup for up to two days before for freshness.
How to Store: This soup recipe will hold well in the refrigerator, covered up for up to 5 days. It will also freeze well covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for one day before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of soup to a medium-sized sauce pot and heat over low heat until hot.
A quicker way to soften dried beans would be to bring water to a boil, pour it over them, and let them sit for 1 hour.
Substitute the dried beans with four cans of drained beans.
When thickening the soup, you’re not looking for something resembling alfredo sauce, but you want somebody to this Zuppa Toscana soup recipe.
Some other recipes call to render the bacon fat first, and you can do that, but if you did that and then cooked the sausage, you would have a pot of grease.
You can also serve the kale into the individual bowls as you serve them one by one so that it does not wilt.
Nutrition
Calories: 352kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 15gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 746mgPotassium: 586mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1673IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 2mg
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Chef Billy Parisi
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88 comments
- Jean
I made this and it was fantastic!
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- Terri Riendeau
This is my second fave soup after beef barley. I just made this today. It’s getting hot in Florida but I’ll crank up the A/C just so I can enjoy soups. Why not? We eat other hot foods, why not delicious soup?
When I go back to New England for the summer, many times it will still be cool enough at night to make and eat soup.- Reply
- Atkinson Denise
Love it!! It’s so delicious. It’s my husbands favorite. Thank you for all you do!
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- Candy
Absolutely delicious. It made a big pot and I’m not tired of it. It is so flavorful.
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Shone Riley
Dude… This soup was awesome! I won’t get this at a restaurant again.
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Linda
I made the Zuppa Toscana, my favorite soup! What is the serving size? It doesn’t say.
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- Trish
Who knew you could put the Parmesan rinds in soup??
This is a wonderful soup that the family loved.- Reply
- Julie Johnson
Excellent, excellent I love this and it was a breeze to make!
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- Laura
Delicious. Hearty. Easy. I wanted to make a second pot as soon as we finished the first. It has a great, meaty flavor without feeling greasy. So good!
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- Patricia
What can I say other than IT’S GONE!!! All loved it! Thanks, another winner!
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- H. Campbell
This recipe is FABULOUS! We made this soup yesterday and can’t wait for leftovers!
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Made with homemade stock, delicious! It’s a keeper. Thanks so much.
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- Doris
delish…even better than I expected
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- Janet Steiner
The best!
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- Donna Barkell
Love this but what can you substitute for the kale?
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- Debra
Try Tuscan kale. It is so much better than regular kale. Flavor and texture so much better.
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- Valarie Collins
Omgosh this is just the very best version of this soup I’ve ever had!!!! Love it. Thank you for all your recipes you share, they are the best!!!
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- Vera
What can I use instead of four to thicken the soup because of Celiac disease
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slurry?
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- Kelly
We love this soup. Often, we leave out the cream and it’s still lovely.
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fantastic
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- Jennifer
Thank you, Chief!
I made this wonderful soup this afternoon. It was delicious!Jennifer Harned
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- Kathryn Campbell
I wasn’t going to make it. You see I have a good recipe for this soup already and have been told it is the best soup some have ever had. But every turn I took on line, there it was, Chef’s recipe. Beans? Bacon? OK, I’ll try it. Made it today after soaking beans last night. Made half the recipe because it’s only 2 of us. WISH I MADE IT ALL -AND- I THREW AWAY MY OTHER RECIPE. My goodness this is amazing. The flavors and creaminess, the garlic, it’s all good. So glad I tried this. It will be my go to soup going forward. It really deserves 8 stars. Really
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- Merilee Milburn
I made this, my first Billy Parisi recipe, last night and really enjoyed it! The flavor improves overnight; it was even better for lunch today. I only made ½ recipe and used 2 cans of cannellini beans. After reading some of the comments, I may substitute fresh spinach next time. I added the potatoes, beans and broth at the same time since the beans were already cooked. It actually came together rather quickly. I’ll probably use the dried beans next time because I can tell the difference in soups. I forgot to get bacon, but the soup is good even without it. I LOVE homemade soup and I try to keep individual portions in my freezer year round. I am always looking to try something new. This one is a keeper!
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- Kevin S
Family loved it.
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- Kim Santre
Can I use something else in place of kale?? I don’t like the taste of it at all.
Thank you for sharing you’re recipes. I am enjoying making them immensely.- Reply
spinach
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- Carol
Hello Chef Billy – I’m getting ready to make this wonderful soup using your recipe – did I read that you sauté ‘ the carrots, celery, onions & garlic in the pan from bacon drippings for more flavor? I watched the video where you mentioned to sweat in soup pot after removing sausage? It’s cloudy bone chilling day here in St. Louis- Thanks Chef ❤️ 12-4-2023
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- Donna A Pollock
Oh WOW!!! Chef, this looks so delicious. I’m so hungry right now too. I love soup and can eat it all the time. This one is right up my alley. The good thing about this soup you already have all of the ingredients in the fridge already. I can’t wait to make this soup, This is the soup I get when I’m at Olive Garden. I just have the soup and bread only. Thank you for another great, fantastic, delicious recipe….
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- Denise
I have made this several times and it is soo delicious. It the first request, from my husband, once summer ends. Thank you!
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- John
This is the best soup recipe that I have made.
Everyone loves it.
I am asked to make it all the time.- Reply
- Melissa
What a wonderful soup recipe. We love it!!
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- Cynthia Beckwith
The absolute best! I thought I had the best in a restaurant in Little Italy in NYC but this recipe put “mine” right up there! Thank you chef!
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- Esme
Finally took a leap of faith to make this amazing soup, and it came out Great!
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- Chef Billy Parisi
Appreciate you trying this!
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- Rowena Tebaldi
It’s very good! So rich and creamy. I enjoyed every spoonful of it. Thank you.
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- Chef Billy Parisi
Thank you for trying this!
- Reply
- Tierney Clark
I made just a few days ago, Chef, and it was outstanding!
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- Chef Billy Parisi
thank you!
- Reply
- Maryann
Not yet but it looks delicious
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- Chef Billy Parisi
thank you!
- Reply
- Lisa Wilcox
Excellent recipe Chef. We loved it. Love you additional goodies added
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- Chef Billy Parisi
thank you!
- Reply
- Juliet
Perfect! Delicious
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
Thank you!
- Reply
- sue Macleod
Yes thank you 😋
- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
no, thank you!
- Reply
- Lezlee
This is an AWESOME recipe! My family loved it!
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- Valarie Collins
I LOVE this soup!! Your recipe is AMAZING. Thank you, I’ve made and love so many of you recipes.
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- Roxanne McLean
My new favorite soup…so full of flavor and so hearty. Served with a crusty loaf of bread it’s perfect for a cold winter night. Love love love it!
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so good!!
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- Debbie
This recipe is delicious! I left out the beans and it was still great. Thanks Chef Billy!
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Michelle
This is Best version of this recipe I’ve ever made. I adjusted to 1/2 recipe, 8 servings. Love that you can toggle recipe/serving size. I used frozen chopped kale cause I had it already, rinsed canned beans, and found Parmesan rind at Whole Foods (cheap). Followed his techniques/steps exactly. I baked whole package of bacon the night before and told husband “I better see 5 strips left tomorrow for my recipe!” 😉😋 will definitely make again
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Renee Kerkstra-Swab
This quickly became a family favorite!
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Love it!
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- Eileen Schwaller
Amazing!!! I substituted spinach instead of kale only because I have a problem digesting kale. Definitely will keep this as a go to.
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- ROXANNE M
Today was rainy, cold and blustery…a perfect day for a bowl of homemade soup. And, Billy, this soup did not disappoint. In fact I think it was the best soup I have ever made (and I am an old lady).
Hearty, with robust flavors, thickened just enough and perfect with warm artisan rolls.
So easy to make…not everyone in my house likes kale, so I substituted baby spinach… absolutely love it! It truly is so much better made fresh at home.- Reply
- Marie
This is one of the best soups I have ever made, and I have tried several zuppa toscana recipes. My husband took some with him to work and he called to tell me it was the best soup he’s ever tasted (he might have even thrown some expletives in there for emphasis). Absolutely amazing – going in the big keeper binder. Thank you!
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- Steven
I can’t eat potatoes so I use cauliflower instead. Great recipe
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- Kalya
Making this soup right now and can’t wait to eat it for lunch. Made it before and it is awesome.
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kale comes in a bunch.
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- Red
Awesome recipe!!! I did use italian sausages, which we baked along with the bacon (just happen to enjoy nice large sliced pieces in my soup)… note that did change the flavor profile just a tiny amount, as all the fat from that baking process didn’t end up in the soup. Other than that, it was delicious!!! Thank you, a keeper!!!
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- Jane
Love the soup but dislike kale! Can I use spinach?
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sure
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- Mary M Wozniak
I have made the Cream of Potato Soup, the Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup and today its the Ham and Bean Soup. Love them all cause I can share with family and also enjoy all week. I do have one question, what exactly is Parmesan Rind? Is it just the rind of the cheese? And if that is correct, how do I know how much to put into the soup? Thanks for sharing your recipies.
Mary W- Reply
any size rind will do. Usually they have them pre-packaged in the specialty cheese section of your grocery store.
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- Ashley Lingerfelt
I made this soup for my family and it was so good and easy! I found it on Facebook and I really find your personality to be very warm and friendly and I love that you offer prayer to your followers. Thanks for sharing prayers and good soup!
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- Shelly Geoffroy
So delicious and super easy perfect for chilly Sunday evening!
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- Debbie S
What size is the “bag” of cannellini
Beans?- Reply
1 lb
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- Christine Master
Making this soup now. I’m at step #4 cooking over low until beans are tender. Do I put on the pot lid or leave uncovered? This smells so good!!! Thank you.
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either!
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- Terry Miller
If you didn’t plan ahead can you used canned beans?
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yup
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- Rehab
So goood!!!❤❤❤
Thank you for sharing!- Reply
- Eric
Looks delicious. Don’t see any cream in the ingredients. Would 1 cup of light cream do the job?
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- Rachael Yerkes
This is my new favorite soup
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- Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert
This couldn’t look any more perfect! This is so picture-perfect!
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- Aimee Shugarman
One of our family’s favorite soup recipes!
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- Rachael Yerkes
Love this copycat recipe!!
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- Theresa
I was thinking Olive Garden? No contest! This is the bomb!
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- Chef Billy Parisi
appreciate you trying this!
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- Jamielyn
This soup is one of my favorites! So comforting and delicious!
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- Charity
The October chill has set in, so this soup looks like a perfect dinner for the season! Thanks!
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