Quick 30-Minute Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup

Whenever I’m in a soup mood, I always do an inventory of all my soup recipes and start craving all their cozy, comforting vibes.

This is a copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup that’s better than the restaurant version. It has a brothy, creamy base, tons of juicy, sausage flavor, some buttery potatoes, and some kale for good measure.

I love instant pot soup recipes like this Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup and this Instant Pot Chicken Zoodle Soup which is a fun play off of an instant pot chicken noodle soup.

If you love cooking, check out my cookbook Cauliflower Power which contains 75 gluten free recipes using cauliflower in fun and creative ways!

What is zuppa toscana soup?

Zuppa Toscana translates to “Tuscan soup.” It’s a traditionally Italian soup that contains kale, zucchini, beans, potato, carrots, onions, and topped with cheese.

In this pressure cooker zuppa toscana, we’re using a mix of sausage and bacon, onion, potatoes, and garlic in a brothy cream sauce.

Ingredients in Zuppa Toscana:

• Avocado Oil: This is my favorite cooking oil lately because it’s super mellow and has a high smoke point, but you can use whatever your favorite cooking oil is.
• Onion: I love using sweet onions, just dice it up and go! Or, you can save time and buy some pre-chopped onions at the grocery store.
• Sausage: I used mild Italian sausage for this recipe, but you can really control the heat and spice by bumping it up to a medium or spicy sausage. If you get sausage links, make sure to remove the meat from the casing for this recipe.
• Bacon: Adds some extra flavor to this soup that is AHH-MAZING.
• Garlic: because garlic is happiness. It’s science.
• Chicken Broth: Will be the main base of this soup, but if you’re in a pinch, feel free to use veggie broth or even beef broth.
• Cream: I used regular, good old fashioned heavy cream. If you can’t do dairy, try subbing in coconut cream. Or, make a less creamy broth and leave it out completely. Just make sure to add in some water in its place.
• Potatoes: I used gold potatoes for two reasons. First, they have a buttery soft middle that is smooth and glorious. I knew they would provide a perfect potato slice to sink my teeth into as I slurp my soup. Second, they have a super thin skin and so I felt zero need to peel them. If you are using any other potato, I definitely recommend you peel the potatoes before you cut them and add them to your instant pot. Gold potatoes? Some of the skins come off in the cooking process, some stay on. Either way, they were delish!
• Kale: I used frozen chopped kale that was stashed away in the back of my freezer for smoothies. Fresh kale works too, just make sure to pull the leaves away from the stem, discard the stem, and chop the leaves before you add them to your soup.
• Salt & Pepper: to taste.

How to make Zuppa Toscana in your Instant Pot:

It’s so simple! We’re making this entire soup in our Instant Pot so it comes together really quickly too.

Sauté. First we’ll sauté the onion, sausage, and bacon in the instant pot until golden brown.

Add everything else. This step is pretty straight forward 🙂

Pressure cook for 15 minutes!

Serve. I topped mine with some shredded Romano cheese and freshly cracked pepper.

Can this soup be frozen and reheated?

Yes, you can store it in an airtight container in the freezer up to three months. Defrost it in the fridge overnight and reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Can I make this in my slow cooker or stovetop?

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana:

Sauté the onion, sausage, and bacon in avocado oil in a large skillet. Once golden brown, add the garlic and sauté for another two minutes.

Transfer the onions and meat to your slow cooker along with the broth, potatoes, kale, salt, and pepper. Cover and set on low for 5 – 6 hours or high for 3 – 4 hours. Stir in the cream stir and enjoy!

Stovetop Zuppa Toscana:

Use a large soup pot or dutch oven. To the pot, add the avocado oil, sausage, onion, and bacon to the pot and sauté until it starts to get golden brown. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for another two minutes.

Place the broth, potatoes, kale, salt, and pepper into the pot. Gently boil for about 15 – 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Stir in the cream and enjoy!

Is Zuppa Toscana Soup healthy?

Healthy is relative and everyone has a different definition of what that means. Here’s what I will tell you. This soup is naturally gluten free and grain free.

It uses dairy cream, but you can sub in coconut cream if you’re dairy free to doing a whole30.

I used potatoes in this recipe, but if you’re sticking to a low carb lifestyle, you can sub in some cauliflower florets to boost up the fiber and veggies while lowering the carbs.

More Recipe Tips:

Make this recipe whole30: Replace the cream with coconut cream.

Too much grease from the meat browning: This is personal preference. I don’t mind it and just keep it in the soup. But, if it bothers you, you can remove the meat and onions from the pot when you are done browning, drain the grease. Then, add the meat mixture back to the pot and continue to cook as directed. 

More soup recipes:

• Instant Pot Chicken Cauliflower Rice Soup
• Slow Cooker Cheddar Cauliflower Soup
• Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Zoodle Soup
• Acorn Squash Soup with Thai Pesto
• Creamy Cheddar Cauliflower Soup
• Orange Ginger Carrot Soup