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This rich and hearty Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is comfort food at its best. It’s loaded with potatoes, sausage, onion, garlic, kale and a splash of cream. It is truly satisfying and irresistible.
It has become one of our favorite soups on cold winter days. Scratch that. I made it even last summer. It’s so easy and perfect for busy days year round.
This Italian Sausage and Potato Soup has only 5 main ingredients, prep work is minimal and it takes only 10 minutes to cook in the Instant Pot after it comes to pressure. I am sure you will love it too.
Even my father-in-law said that it tastes much better than the Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana.
It’s one of the easiest recipes to make in the Instant Pot (after these Instant Pot hard boiled eggs) and is packed with so much flavor!
Italian Sausage Potato Soup
Zuppa Toscana means soup of Tuscany or soup in the style of Tuscany. This so-simple rendition is cooked to perfection in your own kitchen on the counter using the Instant Pot. You don’t have to venture to Italy to try this flavorful soup. đŸ™‚ This potato and sausage soup makes it easy to bring the taste of Tuscany home.
Tips For Making The Best Zuppa Toscana Soup
- Saute the sausage and the onion for a couple of minutes. You can saute them while you still prep the rest of your ingredients. It literally takes you no time but adds so much flavor.
- Use Idaho or Russet potatoes. They are more starchy, creamy and fluffy, making them great for soups and will make the soup more creamy. Check out this guide on potatoes and their best uses.
- When adding the heavy cream at the end, first add a little bit of the hot broth in a bowl, and then slowly whisk in the cream. This should prevent the cold dairy from reacting badly to the hot stock.
- Add chopped kale at the end, just before serving. Kale cooks very fast, and it’s not necessary that you cook it for so long with the rest of the harder vegetables. Otherwise, it will result in a wilted kale that nobody wants to eat. Adding the kale at the end will preserve its freshness, color, and nutrients.
Healthy Zuppa Toscana (Paleo, Whole 30 and Dairy-Free)
Zuppa Toscana is naturally a gluten-free and grain-free soup. It’s loaded with delicious and nutritious vegetables, and it’s healthy.
If you would like to make it even healthier, you could use turkey sausage instead of pork sausage.
Also, for a dairy-free Zuppa Toscana, you could substitute the heavy cream with coconut cream/milk. Make sure that your can of coconut milk is refrigerated and use only the solid white cream from the can.
For a Paleo and Whole 30 Zuppa Toscana, substitute the potatoes with chopped cauliflower florets.
For those of you that count calories, the Zuppa Toscana recipe has 428 calories per serving.
Can You Freeze This Zuppa Toscana Soup
Yes, you can freeze this Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup. The potatoes might be a little bit broken up and creamy when you thaw the soup but it would still taste great! Omit the cream and kale when freezing. Add it to the soup after you reheat it before serving.
How To Make Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Recipe
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb mild or spicy Italian ground sausage, *
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups peeled and chopped potatoes, **
- 32 oz vegetable stock
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup heavy cream (or coconut cream for Paleo), ***
- 2 cup chopped kale
- cooked bacon bits, (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Instant Pot Instructions
- Press the ‘Saute’ button, and add the olive oil. When the pot is hot, add the ground sausage and brown it until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.
- Add onion and garlic and saute for another 3 minutes. Add potatoes, vegetable stock, and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Stir everything.
- Lock the lid and turn the valve to ‘Sealing’. Press the ‘Manual’ or ‘Pressure Cook’ button and adjust for 10 minutes, pressure set to ‘High’. When the cook time is over, turn off the Instant Pot by pressing the ‘Turn Off’ button. Carefully quick release the pressure with a wooden spatula by turning the valve to releasing. Make sure you don’t hurt your hands from the steam.
- Once the steam is completely gone and the metal pin on the lid drops, carefully open the lid and add heavy cream, the chopped kale and coked bacon bits (optional) to the pot. Stir everything, and serve warm.Â
Stovetop Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, cook sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned and no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add onion to pot and let cook until soft, 2-3 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Season with salt, pepper and oregano. Add vegetable stock and potatoes and cook over medium heat, until potatoes are tender, 23 to 25 minutes.
- Stir in kale and let cook until leaves are tender and bright green, 1-2 minutes, then stir in heavy cream and simmer 2 minutes more.
- Season with pepper, and serve.
TIPS & NOTES
Freezer Instructions
This soup freezes well, just omit the cream and the kale when freezing. Add them to the soup when you reheat it before serving.NUTRITION
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This is a favorite in our home! I use coconut milk in place of the cream and throw uncooked bacon in the instant pot before cooking. Amazing!!!!
Delicious and so easy!
This is a great recipe! I increase the servings to 12 to feed us all on family night and I make my own hot sausage seasoning (because I use ground beef, no pork) and I add about 1/2-1 cup parmesan cheese…That’s how we like it here but the recipe as is, is just great:) Serve with a salad, and garlic knot rolls and maybe some caramel topped brownies and everyone is hap, hap, happy! Thank you for sharing this with everyone:)
So delicious! We love this recipe. Anyone I’ve ever shared it with loves it too.
The best and easiest soup I’ve ever made – almost too good to be true! My family said it was a 12 out of 10. Love this site and love this recipe!
I’ve made this several times before, and it’s a bit hit in our house. I’m making it for my husband and the other football coaches; can I double it, or should I just make two separate batches?
I am not sure how big your Instant pot is. If you are able to fit all of the ingredients when you double the recipe, it should work. Otherwise, I suggest you make it in two separate batches because if it’s above the max. line on the IP, it won’t come to pressure. I am glad to hear it you love the soup, it’s a favorite at home too!
How would you do this in the crockpot?
Add everything to the pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until the sausage is cooked through. Hope you enjoy it!
Do I need to brown the sausage before I put it in to the crockpot?
You don’t have to, it will still cook well even without browning.
This is sooo good! I invited my date over for dinner and made this for both of us, and I feel like I could happily eat this 3-4 times a week. She really liked it too!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe, and for inadvertently helping me look like I was decent at cooking haha!
What is the serving size? One cup or?
The serving size is actually close to 1.5 cups.
Can you make it with veggie beyond sausage?
I haven’t tried it but I believe you can.
This is a staple in our house! I’ve made it so many times and even my somewhat picky fiancé loves it. Such a delicious and easy recipe.
Question – I am making this again this week for my aunt who is going through chemo. She can’t have white potatoes, so I was planning on substituting sweet potatoes. Would I need to adjust the cooking time or method to accommodate?
Hi Callie, I am glad to hear that you and your fiance love this recipe! You don’t have to adjust the cooking time or method when substituting with sweet potatoes. Hope your aunt loves it too, such a sweet gesture of you!
For a low-carb version, you can also use cauliflower florets.