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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup) is hearty and full of amazing flavor. This Olive Garden copycat soup is an all-time family favorite! Pressure cooker Zuppa Toscana is a very delicious, awesome soup to make in your Instant Pot!
A little spicy, creamy, and hearty, this Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is just fabulous!
Originally published 9/8/2017
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
If you are looking for a super delicious soup to make in your Instant Pot®, you have found it!
There is a reason that so many cooks have made a copycat recipe of this yummy Olive Garden Sausage Potato Soup recipe. It just hits all the right notes.
I get compliments EVERY time I make this pressure cooker Zuppa Toscana recipe, even from my picky eaters.
About the Meat in Zuppa Toscana
- My go-to is a flavorful bulk Italian sausage (or Jimmy Dean, etc.). I buy 1 pound of hot, and 1 pound of mild and use both. This gives enough spice and flavor, but not too spicy. Use all hot or all mild if you like.
- Another way incredible flavor is added to this Instant Pot soup is with bacon. Smoky bacon. Just a few slices of a good smoky bacon take this already amazing soup right over the top and into the clouds!
- I highly recommend it. I mean, bacon. How bad can that be? Either way you make it, you will end up with a rich, hearty, and very satisfying, rustic Italian inspired Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)!
The Greens to Use for Zuppa Toscana
- The usual greens to add to Zuppa Toscana is kale. It is hearty and wilts just enough in the hot soup.
- You can vary from the usual way of making Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana by using spinach instead of kale.
- Use either fresh baby spinach, or frozen chopped spinach (the kind in the box) thawed, and add it after cooking, just before adding the cream.
- Both versions are wonderful!
Can I Make This Zuppa Toscana Non-Dairy?
Yes you can! Substitute your favorite plant-based milk, such as unsweetened coconut milk or almond milk, etc. Since you add it after cooking, the flavor stays intact.
Can I Freeze Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana?
Yes! I like to freeze it in portion sizes in a freezer baggie or air-tight container.
Pro-Tip: To reheat, be sure to thaw the soup first, and reheat slowly.
Instant Pot Pasta E Fagioli (pasta and bean soup)
Instant Pot Beef Barley Vegetable Soup
Instant Pot Ham Hock and Bean Soup
Instant Pot Turkey Soup
If you make this pressure cooker Zuppa Toscana Olive Garden Copycat soup recipe, please let me know! Just leave a comment with a star rating. Thank you!
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
Equipment
- 6-quart or 8-quart Electric Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 strips Thick Cut Smoky Bacon, chopped
- 2 lbs Ground Hot Italian Sausage (use ½ hot and ½ mild if you don't like spicy)
- 1 Large Onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Oregano, dried
- 4 large cloves Garlic, pressed or minced
- 4-6 Medium Potatoes, halved and sliced ½ inch thick
- 6 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1 Bunch of Kale** chopped, with rib removed
- 1 - 1 ½ cups Heavy Cream (or whole milk, half and half, etc.)
Optional Substitute for the Kale
- 12-ounce Pkg Frozen Chopped Spinach (thawed) or fresh Baby Spinach*
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté mode, and add the chopped bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon renders out most of its fat. Remove and set aside.
- Add the sausage and brown it, stirring a few times. If you can get a good browning on it the flavor will be even better!
- Spoon out most of the fat (all but 1 Tablespoon of the fat, enough to cook the onions).
- Add the onions, stir them.
- Add the oregano.
- When the onions start to turn translucent, add the garlic and stir.
- Pour in the broth, stirring, and make sure you scrape the bottom of the pot to get up any browned bits (deglaze).
- Add the potatoes, and add the bacon back in.
- Check to make sure the contents don't go over the Max Fill line marked on the inner liner.
- Cancel Sauté mode.
- Close the lid, set the steam release knob to Sealing.
- Set to Manual (or Pressure Cook), and choose 5 minutes* (High Pressure). The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
- After cooking cycle ends, allow a 10 minute NPR (Natural Pressure Release).
- Do a Controlled Quick Release for the rest of the steam, and when the pin in the lid drops, open the lid.
- Add in the kale, (or thawed spinach, if using) and stir well. Cover and let heat through for 5 minutes or so to soften the kale. If using spinach, just stir it in and proceed to the next step.
- Stir in the heavy cream.
- Serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Resources to Make InstaPot Zuppa Toscana Recipe
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Turned out awesome, super simple and easy to follow!!
Very tasty and easy! I didn’t have heavy cream so I used half and half, which made the broth a bit thin. Do you think cream cheese would be better? Or a mix of cream cheese and half and half?
I also used baby Yukon Golds, quartered— they might have needed an extra minute to cook. Could you use an immersion blender to puree the soup before adding spinach or kale?
I usually use russets as they are more starchy, but sometimes use red potatoes. Heavy cream does help make a thicker broth, though this soup isn’t really meant to be thick. However, if you would like it thicker, you could add cream cheese, as you mentioned, or stir in a corn starch slurry (equal parts with cold water. Start with 1 1/2 Tbsps) and let it simmer a couple minutes while stirring to thicken it. And yes, mashing some of the potatoes will also work.
My brother-in-law made this for me, and I’d like to make it myself, but don’t have an instant pot. How would I do this with a crockpot or slow cooker?
Here you go:
Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana Sausage Potato Soup
I made this last weekend and it was delicious!!! So warming and I also made Swiss provolone garlic butter stuffed Italian bread with it…all excellent
I am definitely going to try this recipe. Can I use a slow cooker instead of an instant pot?
Yes you can! Here’s the recipe: Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana Sausage Potato Soup
This was a big hit with book club and my family. I left out bacon but maybe try with in the future. I would definitely double to save for later!
I was wondering how you would alter this recipe if you made it with just bulk ground sausage? Because I have a bunch of that to get used so I don’t want to go buy additional sausage. What spices would you add to get the same sort of a flavor do you think?
I typically add fennel seeds, crushed up, a little extra salt, pepper, sage, marjoram, garlic & onion powders in small amounts. Test it on a portion of the pork before you add it to an entire batch so you can be sure that you like the flavor.
This is a wonderful recipe. The only change I made was doubling it. That’s how tasty this soup is. The family thinks it’s better then Olive Garden because of the spinach substitute. We are not Kale fans. This will be the 3rd year we are taking it to our churches soup and cookie exchange.
This soup was so delicious and easy to make. You do not need to add any salt as the sausage adds plenty and its so hearty and good!