Crock Pot Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

Name: Crock Pot Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 255 min
Ingredients: 1 pound Italian sausage (sweet or ho); 1/4 pound bacon; 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced 1/4-inch thick); 1 cup chopped onion; 1 1/2 quarts chicken stock; salt and pepper to taste; 2 cups chopped kale (or Swiss chard); 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)

March 26, 2015 by Stephanie Manley, Last Updated July 30, 2021 46 Comments

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

I personally love Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana. This sausage and potato soup is one that I crave often. Many of you have wanted the Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Crock Pot version. I want to make sure you have the recipe you asked for. So here we go.

Table of Contents

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana

Sometimes we all want a recipe we can quickly toss in our slow cooker and get about our business. This version of my Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana is easy to put together so you don’t have to stand at the stove.

You can go do other things while this soup finishes cooking. Or you could make some Olive Garden Breadsticks to enjoy with the soup or perhaps Cookie Dough Cheesecake for dessert.

Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana Recipe Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you need:

Italian Sausage
Bacon
Russet potatoes
Onion
Chicken stock
Kale or Swiss chard
Heavy cream or half and half
Salt and pepper

How to Make Zuppa Toscana in a Crock Pot

Brown the sausage and bacon in a large skillet.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage and bacon to a Crock Pot or slow cooker.
Add sliced potatoes, onions, chicken broth, salt, and pepper.
Cook on low for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
About a half-hour or so before serving, add chopped kale and heavy cream. Stir to combine.

Recipe Notes and Tips

We are going to brown the sausage in this soup before we put it in the slow cooker. I think this helps to eliminate the excess fat from the sausage and you will get a better flavor by browning these ingredients ahead of time.

Now I have to say that the Olive Garden has changed their recipe from when I originally did a copycat one almost 20 years ago.

Olive Garden removed the bacon from the ingredients. I haven’t found a bit of bacon in there in a while. I do go back and recheck recipes from time to time to make sure they haven’t changed.

I personally like the bacon in there, the smokiness of the bacon adds a very nice touch. So if you want to make it super authentic leave it out.

They also used to use sausage links but they now use ground sausage that is not in links. I even have a recipe you might want to try. Find out how to make homemade Italian sausage if you like.

We are going to add in the cream and kale about 30 minutes to an hour before serving. You don’t want to overcook the kale. And the dairy, in my opinion, tastes best when added later in the process.

You can serve this delicious slow cooker Tuscan soup with your favorite salad and breadsticks and have an enjoyable dinner for all.

a bowl of homemade olive garden zuppa toscana soup

Love Olive Garden? Try these copycat recipes!

Popular Crock Pot Recipes

Check out more of my easy Crock Pot recipes and the best Olive Garden recipes here on CopyKat!

Drop me a comment down below and let me know a copycat recipe you would like to see made in a Crock-Pot or slow cooker. I’d love to hear what you want.