Cooking Time:
3-4 hoursServings:
4-6
Ingredients
1 lb. sausage16 oz. can chicken broth
1 quart water (4 cups)
2 garlic cloves , minced
2 large russet baking potatoes , sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices
1 large onion , chopped
1/4 c. bacon bits (optional)
2 c. kale or swiss chard , chopped
1 c. heavy whipping cream
One of my favorite recipes, Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana, is a family favorite. It’s one of those WOW dishes that when you serve it, people cannot believe YOU made it! Note: I’ve used link or crumbled sausage, it really depends on your preference. They will both add flavor and great texture to the soup. Enjoy this as a main dish or a starter.
- Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink.
- Place cooked sausage, chicken broth, water, garlic, potatoes and onion in a 6-Quart slow cooker.
- Cover & Crock on High for 3-4 hours until potatoes are cooked and soft.
- Optional: Mash the potatoes a bit with a potato masher for texture.
- Turn the slow cooker off and add the kale.
- Return the lid and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Stir in whipping cream and serve.
NOTE: If you are adding bacon, you can also fry 5 strips of bacon crisp, drain on paper towel and crumble when adding to the soup. (I made it this way because I didn’t have bacon bits) YUM!
Happy Crocking!
For over 450 more Slow Cooker recipes, click here to get my eBook!
XOXO,
Jenn
This soup is amazing! Even my husband and kids like the kale in the soup!
This looks amazing! I think I’ll try it tonight! Question about the recipe though: Where does the quart of water come in? And how many cans of chicken broth?
Hi Sarah! Thanks for the question! The water and chicken broth goes in right before you cover and cook, and the chicken broth is enough to make 16 oz. Happy Crocking!
The recipe doesnt say what kind of sausage i am assuming it is pork sausage. Is this correct/
I’ve made it with different sausages, and if you read through what others have done, you will see everyone will put their own twist on this recipe, and it is delicious. Several also use the sausage in the casing, and take the casing off. Hope this helps, and Happy Crocking.
This IS a good soup, but why put it in the crock pot for 3 hours when you can make it on the stove and have it ready to eat in an HOUR? It doesn’t make sense to spend 25 minutes cooking sausage in an oven, when the original recipe is to throw it all in the pot. Sorry to be negative. It just sounds like a waste of a clean crock pot. This is just not a slow cooker meal. It would be wonderful to see some more truly slow cooker meals wherein it typically takes all day to… Read more »
Hello Jenna, You can fix this recipe on the stove. In the crock pot by cooking the mixture together for a longer length of time it will mesh the flavors more and therefore, for me it makes a better meal. The big thing I like about the crock pot is that you don’t have to watch the crock pot, yet on the stove you need to check it from time to time. But with that said you are correct you can also make this on the stove, if that is your preference.
Love that the reason to use a crock pot is that you can fill it, turn it on and come back after a fun filled day to a finished meal. Keep the recipes coming! Love love love every one of them.
Maria you are so sweet.. thanks for the very nice message! Happy Crocking!
I got overzealous and tried doubling this recipe to avoid having to refreeze the stick of sausage that would’ve been left over. Well, it, of course, was way too much for my 6-quart slow cooker. So, I wound up pulling out my 16-quart pot and making this a stovetop meal. Sure, the soup only took about 45 minutes to cook compared to the 3-4 hours in the slow cooker, but it was only after it sat in the fridge overnight that I could fully taste all the ingredients and tell just how well they complemented each other. So, next time,… Read more »
You can make it fast in the Instant Pot too.
Hi Jackie, how long in an instant pot
In response to the ‘why mess up a clean crockpot…’ Reynolds makes Crockpot Liners that are wonderful—before finding them I hated using my crockpot because of the clean-up being the worst part of using it…now I keep the liners on hand year round…
The BEST part of the crock pot is that if you are busy all day, you can throw everything in the crock pot in the morning and know that supper is ready whenever you get home! I’ve adapted many non-crock pot recipes specifically for this reason. why sit in the kitchen for an hour babysitting some soup, when you don’t have to. Time is too precious to waste it 🙂 .
I just had this soup at Olive Garden today and can’t wait to try this recipe. The thing I like about “optional in the slow cooker” meals is that I can prepare them during my kid’s nap time and POOF dinner is ready when hubby comes home. Otherwise when he comes home there are screaming children tugging on my legs while I try to finish dinner and the house is a mess from me having to cook…. so yeah, anything I can throw in my slow cooker, bring it on! 🙂
About how many servings does this make? I am gonna make it tonight for dinner. My husband loves this soup. I wanna make enough to have seconds. We are a family of 4.
Thanks!
Hi Moncia… the serving size is in the upper right hand corner, although this will make 4-6 servings. Happy Crocking!
Thank you for sharin this recipe, I can’t wait to try! One question though…Can I use ground sausage or does it have to be link? Thnk you!
Hi Nicole – I think ground sausage will be ok. If you make it that way, please share with us all and let us know how it turned out. Thanks for your question & Happy Crocking!
be sure to drain grease off the ground sausage or the soup will be too greasy
Nicole, I’ve made this before with ground italian sausage and it works great too. This is one of my all time favorite soups. I look forward to trying this crockpot version now.
I used to work for the olive garden, they do use ground sausage. It is meant to be in slow cooker or a huge soup kettle for hours. They also add crushed red pepper flakes. Butter,heavy cream and chicken broth is the base for this soup.
How much butter would u add to this recipe?
Hi, I have made this soup now for about three yearsand love it. I make mine on the stove top, but plan to use the crockpot next time. My recipe is almost identical, but I use 2 mild and 1 hot Johnsville Italian Sausage links. I remove the sausage from the film it is in and brown it. You can use more hot if desired. My recipe also calls for red pepper flakes to taste. I have not found red pepper flakes so just use the jar of red pepper and separate a few flakes for the flavor. I have… Read more »
Me again. Also, I do not use any water in the soup. Just chicken broth and heavy cream.
Can you please email
Me your recipe. Landry.tracy@gmail.com
I’m looking forward to trying this soup but I wonder – do you think its OK to cook on Low for longer instead of High?
Can you please explain your nutrition info? You say 4-6 servings and a serving size is 604 grams – a litlte more than a pound of soup per serving. I am asking because I try to find out Weight Watchers points for your recipies but it is really hard.
Hello Ann! I am not sure how you figure your points, but I did a search on the internet, and it said for Zuppa Toscana it was 6 points plus value! Hope this helps, Happy Crocking!
If you go to WW tracking tools and use the recipe builder, this recipe comes out to 11 points when divided into 6 servings. Sounds like it would be worth it to me 🙂
Found you on Pinterest and I just made this soup…….it is soooo very good. Thank you!
I bought the ingredients to make this recipe but they only had collard greens at the store. Will that work instead of Kale or should I wait until I can get Kale? I have never cooked greens before so I have no idea!
Hello Rachel, you can certainly use collard greens, but it most likely will not give you the same taste as the copy cat recipe.. So the fun of crocking is sometimes using what you have… Please post back and let us know what you decided to do and Happy Crocking!
I am excited to try this recipe. I am thinking of making in in bulk and wondering how well it would freeze. What are your thougts?
This soup will freeze well. You can freeze in gallon size zipper bags or individual containers for easy reheating. Enjoy this soup (I love it!) and Happy Crocking!
Just made this for dinner. I used cauliflower instead of potato to make it low carb…DELICIOUS! I also used hot sausage, some red pepper flakes and butter in the base of the soup…very flavorful! Thank you for the recipe…it’s fantastic!
Nice – adjustment for low carb!!! Thanks!
I love this soup, I made it in the crock pot and did housework while the house smelled heavenly!! I added a little fresh basil because I had it, and I used spinach in place of kale because the store was out of both kale and chard……….YUM!!! thanks Crock Pot Gal….
Could we cook on low for 6 hours?
Hello Katie! I know others have cooked it on Low and loved it, I would just make sure the potatoes are done! Happy Crocking!
I am in the process of making this soup now….in the crock pot as I speak. I was wondering if I decided to use butter for flavor how much should I use?? A quick response would be much appreciated. And btw u used ground hot italian sausage!!! Can’t wait to FEAST!!!
Hi Tanya, sorry I was away yesterday but hope your Zuppa Toscana was awesome! I hope you added some butter to your recipe, as that is the fun of cooking and crock pot cooking to adjust as you want… Happy Crocking!
Butter is measured with your heart, according to my granddaughter! 🤣😍
Just made this, used baby spinach instead of kale, took off the casings of the sausage, and added a bit of crushed red pepper, HOLY cannoli it’s amazing!! thanks for posting 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. I did this on the stovetop and it cooked up in less than an hour with almost no effort. I thought it tasted good, but had way too much sausage in it. I used 3/4th of a pound (it was all I had) and it was too much. Next time I will use half that amount. Also think it could use one more potato, completely mashed with milk to thicken it up a bit.
Just made this tonight! absolutely wonderful! i cut out the water and just used 32oz of broth and added a bit of honey and salt to the soup when i added in the cream. i also let it cook with the cream and spinach for another 30 min after i added them. absolutely a wonderful dish!
Hello there! I was wondering what the bacon is for? A garnish on top after?
Hi Carey! Yes, some people prefer to sprinkle bacon on top as a garnish. Thanks for your question & Happy Crocking!
What is considered one serving for this? I find that the calories and fat are extremely high! One bowl at olive garden is 170 calories and 4 grams of fat. I’m hoping the nutrition info listed is for a lot of soup because it’s seriously delicious!
Hello Jessica, The recipe is for 4-6, but most likely these are hearty serving sizes! Also using the heavy whipping cream also adds the fat and calories, so you may try half and half to cut back, but it will most likely be a thinner soup! Happy Crocking!
Thanks so much for this recipe. Made it this week and it is very good.
Oh my goodness doing this in a crockpot sounds SO much better than the way I usually do it!! Like another person said, the convenience of being able to throw things in a crockpot at naptime is wonderful when you have a toddler attacking your legs any other time of the day. To cut down on the calories, I don’t put the cream in at all, or I use evaporated milk. We seem to like it thinner, anyway. I also can’t find Kale where I live, so we use Spinach, it tastes different, but is very good. I often don’t… Read more »
If I freeze this after making do you think it could be thrown in frozen into a crockpot and heated on low all day? I’m thinking of making it as gifts for my sisters who are extremely busy and would love something they could just take out of the freezer and be done by the time they get home from work!
Kim this is an excellent idea! If it were going to crock on low all day, that may not work very well, but if they have a crock pot that has the warm setting, I am sure that would work, and when they get home just set to High until they are ready for dinner! Happy Crocking!
YUM!! Made this tonight for dinner. It was great to throw into the crock and walk away from while I ran other errands. We made a meat free version for my hubby as well. Thickened it with potato flakes and non-dairy creamer. He loved it as well. Delish! Thanks!
I used this recipe last week and it was a big hit. I did do it on the stove top instead of the crock pot. used milk instead of cream, and flour at the begining for the thickening. Subbed leeks for onions and it was killer good! Thanks for the recipe.
Pin Tested this for my blog and loved it! You can see my review and link back to you here: http://lilouwyn.blogspot.com/2012/12/copy-cat-olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-pin.html
I accidentally bought bulk sausage. Can I crumble that instead?
Hi Debra, I have not used bulk sausage, but I would give it a try and see how it works… Happy Crocking!
Hi there,
Thank you for sharing this amazing crock pot recipe! Made this last night and it is delicious!!! I personally LOVE the crockpot option, with some much to do theses days the crockpot is always my preferance. Initially came across the stove top recipe but then came across this recipe and I tell you, I didn’t think twice about it. It took all of ten to fifteen mins and I was free and able to spend time with my kids instead of being in kitchen for hours. Thanks again
Any tips on thickening it up? Seemed a bit thin for me.
Hello Carlee, if you like yours a little thicker, you can dilute cornstarch or flour in water, and add it to the soup. Just make sure the cornstarch or flour is completely diluted! Happy Crocking!
Hi there, I was so excited to do this recipe that I rushed and didn’t follow the directions correctly, I threw in the whipping cream with all the other ingredients in the crock pot. After I dumped it all in I read that your supposed to add the whipping cream at the end! What do you think, will it be ok????
Delia, I really can’t answer you…. but please post back and let us know how it turned out! Happy Crocking!
I made this using spicy chicken Italian sausage and used 2%milk with a couple TBS of butter because I didn’t have whipping cream. It turned out lovely. I suggest the bacon bits though. I started out without the bacon, but added them later.
Absolutely delicious! It will now be my #1 crockpot soup! The only thing I changed was adding 1 cup additional broth and no water at all as it wasn’t needed. Great favors and a truly hearty Italian Soup!
is there a reason you can’t set on low for 8hrs instead of high for 4?
Hi Nancy, you can crock it on High, but I would check it after 6 1/2 to 7 hours. I would hate for it to be overdone, as this is a great recipe! Happy Crocking and thanks for the question!
I loved this!! I’m making it for the 2nd time today. This time I’m doubling it because the first time it was gone in one day!! I used a lb of ground sausage and a half a lb of link and it was awesome. Couldn’t find swiss chard but the kale was delicious!
This. Is. Amazing. I lightened it up by using chicken Italian sausage and fat-free half & half instead of cream. And I added a BUNCH of kale. And it is SPOT ON. Now I have no reason to go to Olive Garden! 😉
[…] *Crock Pot Zuppa Tuscana By GetCrocked […]
Just making this soup now in a Dutch oven. I added some Italian spices and will try it it with no fat sour cream to cut the calories. It smells delicious!
The Zuppe Toscana is literally the reason I go to Olive Garden. I made your recipe in the crockpot yesterday and it is absolutely delish! Thank you sooooo much for posting this!
Just made this…soooooo yummy! I will definitely be making this again. Question…do you think that if I added one extra cup of cream and took out one cup of water it would still be good? Mine was kind of watery. The kale was a nice touch also. Thanks for a great recipe! 🙂
I think that would be delicious! I’m glad you liked the soup – it’s one of our favorites!
Made this today with ground turkey sausage and spinach instead of Kale! Super yummy! Thanks for this wonderful easy recipe!
awesome recipe!! I like it better than olive gardens!!! no leftovers everyone loved it!
I love using my crockpot for everything…first thing in the morning I add my ingredients, set it to low and go about my day…whether to work, errands or hanging around the house…when its dinner time my food is ready. Best invention ever!
Recipe sounds great, but the sodium content is way too high!
Hi Dawn, sodium can be high in many recipes, but you can eliminate the item that is adding the sodium to reduce it. In this case it most likely is the bacon bits. The only thing sometimes it also reduces the flavor too, making recipes bland, but it is also sometimes necessary. Good Luck and Happy Crocking!
I looked & didnt find…
Would be nice if there was a “print” option on the page. Then i could print it to pdf & save for later!
Kevin there is a print option, you will find it under the Share and Enjoy, and it is the first button on the list. Happy Crocking!
I love Zuppa Toscana! A friend posted this recipe on Pinterest a couple of days ago, and it’s in the crock pot right now – I can’t wait. I LOVE it that it’s a crockpot recipe, even though I’m at home today. 🙂
I am working on this now for tonight’s dinner when my kiddos get home late from softball and baseball practice! One question: are the potatoes supposed to be peeled? Thanks so much for a quick response as I’m in the process of putting it together as I type!
Sorry Jennifer, I was out, but I don’t think it matters if you like the peel…
Can you freeze this soup if you have leftovers? This is going to make up way more than I will eat, or is it better to just make a smaller batch?
Megan you can make a smaller batch, but if you do make sure your crock pot is 1/2 to 2/3 full, and crock for the same length of time. Or…. you can also freeze the soup. Happy Crocking!
Hi there! I”ve gathered all of the ingredients for this recipe and I”m so excited to make it in a couple days! 🙂 I have a question about the whipping cream…does that just make it thicker? do you think if i used half and half it would work? maybe some flour in there to thicken? Would love to hear your thoughts! thanks for the this recipe!
Danielle I am sure that would work fine. I know everyone just simply loves this recipe, but if you do make this minor change, please post back and let us know, as I am sure others would like to know… Happy Crocking!
I love poached fish or chicken, but I seem to do something wrong. I think I should have been starting with cold water instead of simmering. I am going to try your technique. And the leek sounds like a good idea also.