Zuppa Toscana

If you’ve had this tasty soup at a restaurant, you’ll be delighted to know you can make even better Zuppa Toscana when you make it at home. You’ll enjoy prepping several bags on the weekend to add to your freezer stack. Pull out a bag or two depending on how many mouths you have to feed, put it in a slow cooker, and enjoy dinner in minutes at the end of your long day.

Soup is one of the easiest things to make ahead as a freezer meal. On the day you want the food, you can either add the ingredients to the slow cooker in the morning or add them to a soup pot in the evening, and that’s all you have to do.

If you love this Zuppa Toscana recipe, you’ll also want to make and freeze Hamburger Hoobie Soup and our recipe for Chicken Taco Soup. Both are clear winners, and you’ll want to have a variety stack of soups on hand when the cold months come and you realize how easy this is.

If you want them all (hint: you do!) be sure to pick up our Freezer Meal 101 Club and get instant access to every recipe we have, printable shopping lists, labels with your cooking instructions, plus exclusive video content.

Zuppa Toscana Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground Italian sausage, browned and cooled
• 2 slice bacon cooked, crumbled, optional
• 3 sweet potato, medium peeled and cubed
• 1/2 onion minced
• 3 clove garlic minced
• 1 bunch kale chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp. fennel seed
• 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 6 cup chicken broth

Ingredients for the Day of Cooking

• 2 cup water for day of cooking
• 1 cup heavy cream for day of cooking

How to Make Zuppa Toscana

Assembly Instructions

1. Add all ingredients except water and heavy cream to a large resealable freezer bag.
2. You can optionally reserve the chicken broth to save space in your bag and add it on the day of cooking. Be sure to add a note to the label.
3. Remove excess air, seal and freeze.

Cooking Instructions

1. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
2. Empty bag contents to slow cooker.
3. Add 2 cups water.
4. Cook for 5-7 hours on low.
5. Add 1 cup heavy cream.
6. Stir and heat through before serving.

Can I use beef broth in this soup?

It’s not really the right flavor profile with this soup, but you can use vegetable broth if you prefer. You can also trade up to 1/3 of the chicken broth for water if you need to conserve. Another great option is using bouillon to make extra broth.

Do I have to use sweet potatoes?

Regular red potatoes are traditionally used in this recipe, but the sweet potatoes add some kind of magic. Our family loves it this way, and I think you should try it at least once before switching to regular potatoes.

Regular potatoes don’t hold up well in the freezer so sweet potatoes are the way to go if making it as a freezer meal. If you want to use regular potatoes, leave them out at the freezer stage and add them fresh on the day of cooking.

Zuppa Toscana Recipe Ideas

Changing the type of sausage will change the heat level. You can get mild, regular, or spicy sausage and it’s an instant adjustment to the recipe. You can also add red pepper flakes to up the heat level.

Kale can be added on the day of cooking if you prefer it less cooked, brighter green, and more crunchy. Just chop it and toss it in after the soup is cooked.

I highly recommend serving the soup with the option to add freshly ground black pepper at the table. It’s so good, but not to everyone’s taste.

If texture is important, dice the sweet potatoes and onions to roughly the same size and then make sure to break up the sausage to similar size bites. Making everything a similar size and so the ingredients can all be on the spoon together is helpful for people with texture issues. Knife cuts are what make a difference!

The fennel seed is optional and adds extra “sausage” flavor to your soup. Increasing or decreasing the amount of garlic is also always in play. By playing with small changes like these, you can learn to adjust recipes to fit your family’s tastes and needs.

If you forget the slow cooker in the morning, this soup can be cooked on the stovetop in about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Because you aren’t cooking the soup all day in a slow cooker, you may need to adjust the amount of liquids. Once the sweet potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork the soup is ready. Just as in the slow cooker recipe, the heavy cream should be stirred into the soup after it is finished cooking.

How do I store Zuppa Toscana?

Keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days. Microwave or reheat in a sauce pan. If you are making the soup knowing you will have leftovers, save out some of the soup before you add heavy cream and add heavy cream to taste after the soup has been reheated.

What to Serve with Zuppa Toscana

This beautiful soup is perfect with a hot crusty bread or rolls, garlic breadsticks, or biscuits. You can add a salad, or make it a first course for a longer meal. Watermelon or fruit salad would also make a nice pairing. Most famously, it is served as a starter to pasta.