Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage and Potato Soup) is hearty and full of flavor. One of my family’s all-time favorites! Very simple to make in your Instant Pot!
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage Potato Soup)
Bring on the Fall! This Summer has dragged on and on, and I’m ready for boots and sweaters, and pumpkin spice everything! Well, maybe not too much. With all of the fires around us, and the crazy weather all over the country, I’m ready for it all to settle into crisp mornings, and pretty Fall colors on the maple trees! Even some rain, and coming from a Seattle girl…
It was a little cooler today, so I jumped at the chance to make my Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage and Potato Soup) and share the recipe with you! I started making this about 3 years ago on the stove in my big Lodge cast iron pot. After getting my Instant Pot, I realized it would be a bit faster to cook and it still tastes every bit as good. And it does taste good!
You can vary from the usual way of making it with kale by using spinach instead. Paul prefers it that way. I use frozen chopped spinach (the kind in the box) thawed, and add it just before the cream. I made this batch with kale because it is a little heartier, and the kale stays fairly firm. Both versions are wonderful!
Another change you can make is by omitting the bacon. WHAT?! I used to make it without the bacon all the time. Then we found a local butcher who smokes his own bacon. I made a batch with a few slices of that smoky bacon, and that was it. Took this already amazing soup right over the top and into the clouds! I recommend it.
Either way you make it, you will end up with a rich, hearty, and very satisfying, rustic Italian inspired Zuppa!
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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Sausage and Potato Soup) is hearty and full of flavor. One of my family's all-time favorites! Very simple to make in your Instant Pot!
- 3 Strips of Thick Cut Smoky Bacon, chopped
- 2 lbs Ground Hot Italian Sausage (use 1/2 hot and 1/2 mild if you don't like much spice)
- 1 Large Onion, chopped
- 1 tsp Oregano, dried
- 5 Cloves of Garlic, pressed or minced
- 4-6 Medium Potatoes, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 6 cups Chicken Broth, low sodium
- 1 Bunch of Kale** chopped, with rib removed
- 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
- 1 Pkg Frozen Chopped Spinach (thawed) or fresh Baby Spinach*
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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.
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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!
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Spoon out all but 2 tsp of the fat (enough to cook the onions).
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Add the onions, stir them in.
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Add the oregano.
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When the onions start to look translucent, add the garlic and stir.
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Pour in the broth, stirring, and make sure you scrape the bottom of the pot to get up any brown bits (deglaze).
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Add the potatoes, and add the bacon back in.
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Check to make sure the contents don't go over the Max Fill line marked on the inner liner.
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Cancel Sauté mode.
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Close the lid, set the steam release knob to Sealing.
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Set to Manual (or Pressure Cook), and choose 5 minutes* (High Pressure). The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
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After cooking cycle ends, allow a 10 minute NPR (Natural Pressure Release).
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Do a controlled Quick Release for the rest of the steam, and when the pin in the lid drops, open the lid.
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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.
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Stir in the heavy cream.
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Serve!
*Cook time is time the soup cooks once it is at pressure (and time sautéíng). Full pots of soup can take several minutes to come to pressure.
**You can use spinach in place of the kale. Use fresh baby spinach or thawed frozen chopped spinach.
You shouldn't need to add any salt to this recipe as the meat has plenty in it. Some pepper might be good, but it has a nice little kick of spice if you use hot Italian sausage, and you may not need it.
I was inspired by my visits to the Olive Garden to make this recipe, though I usually use spinach and not kale.
Resources to Make This Recipe and More
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This was a huge success for our dinner tonight. Thanks so much for a great recipe! I didn’t have energy to thaw bacon but the rest was pretty true to the instructions. So flavorful! I also used frozen kale. It worked great.
I’ve made several versions of this soup and this might be my favorite.
Hi Christy! I’m very happy to hear how much you liked this soup! And yes, even without the bacon it is so flavorful! I appreciate that you took the time to comment, and to let me know how you liked it! Thank you!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was so delicious! Only adjustment I made was to deglaze the pot with a little bit of white wine before adding the broth. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Shannon! The wine sounds like a nice addition. Functional for the deglazing, and delicious! Thank you for taking the time to comment. I’m happy that you liked this soup!
Would this recipe be okay if I used 2% milk. That’s a lot of cream for us but would love to try it.
Yes, I think it will be fine.
Great flavor and extremely simple to make. Definitely keeping this for another soup weekend.
Hi Tiffany! Thank you for the nice review! I’m happy that you liked it!
This is delicious! We will be repeating this recipe very soon!!
Hi Mary! I’m so glad you like the Zuppa Toscana! I really appreciate your review. Thank you!
Very good soup, sprinkle alittle parm on at serving with crusty bread
Pardon my ignorance, (I’m new to pressure cooking) but is the bacon supposed to be pre-cooked, or does it cook in the soup? I would be using beef sausage and turkey bacon because we don’t eat pork. Thanks!
Hi Stacey! The bacon goes in right before the onions, and cooks with them. Just keep an eye out for how much fat the beef leaves, and spoon some out if it’s more than a few teaspoons. The turkey bacon won’t have much fat, so you will be fine there! I hope you enjoy it!
Could you please include a nutritional breakdown? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer, I have recently acquired a nutrition info addition. I’m learning how to use it and it will be installed soon! Thank you for the request!
Can’t wait to try this! Do you peel the potatoes before slicing?
Thanks!
Hi Laura, I hardly ever peel my potatoes. Definitely not for this soup!
Simple and delicious! Used frozen spinach and only had 3 potatoes on hand! Thank you for a new supper staple!
Thank you for this recipe! It was delicious!
You’re welcome, Carol! Thank you for taking the time to review my recipe! 😀
I made this tonight and my entire family including two kids under 10 ate double servings! Served it with tons of grated cheddar cheese (just because that’s what my kids love) and topped each bowl with a piece of sourdough toast. It was awesome and I think it’s going on heavy rotation at our house!
Side note: I accidentally bought half and half because the two cartons looked exactly the same at the grocery store, and it worked just fine.
Hi Neena, how great that even the kids loved this soup! I’m so happy that this will be a part of your family’s rotation! Thank you for the review!
I’m guessing you slice the sausages before browning? Or do you do that when you take them out?
Hi Heidi, if you want to use link sausage, then yes, I would slice first. This recipe is created for ground sausage, and I like the texture in combination with the other ingredients better.
Absolutely amazing!
Thank you! I’m happy you liked it!
The soup came out great, but I do have one question. The part where it says to remove all but 2 tsps of liquid then saute the onions, does that mean take out the sausage as well? If so then it would be nice to notate that and when to add the sausage back. Thanks so much!
Hi Ryan, I’m glad you liked the soup! You do leave the sausage in. You don’t HAVE to spoon out most of the fat, but I felt it was just a bit too greasy if left all in. Personal preference, but this method works best for me.
I have quite a lot of kale in my garden right now and was wondering what I was going to do with all of it. A friend suggested the Zuppa and I loved the idea! Only problem is, I started a low carb diet a few weeks ago and potatoes are a no-no. I decided to try using a head of cauliflower broken into bite sized pieces. I didn’t alter the rest of the recipe at all. This is going to be my go-to recipe! The cauliflower was great and I feel didn’t take away from the full-bodied taste of the soup at all!
Someone else told me that they used cauliflower with great results, so I’m happy to know you did, too! Someone else used sweet potatoes, and that also sounds good! Thank you for your review!