Good morning! How’s your week so far? We are still moving slowly so I am determined to get out for a long hike today in hopes it will get me going. I am working on our Christmas wrap-up as well as my Best of 2017 posts. In the meantime, I wanted to thank all of you who watched my Instastories. You all shared wonderful soup recipes with me. My family is extremely excited to try so many new ones. After narrowing it down, they voted for this Hearty Zuppa Toscana. Today I am sharing the recipe I used as well as the modifications to make it work for us.
This soup just seemed to fit the mood for our Christmas Eve celebration. There were 11 of us gathered around the table and the soup was delicious. Without a doubt we will make it a tradition. I used the recipe from Allrecipes because I love their ratings and reviews. I then made my own adjustments and am sharing the recipe that I made. Let me know if you give it a try.
HEARTY ZUPPA TOSCANA
Hearty Zuppa Toscana
Savory and flavorful. This soup was loved by our entire family.
Ingredients
- 1 pound hot sausage (I like Jimmy Dean)
- 5 slices cooked bacon, cut into small pieces
- 2 small white onions, diced (or 1 bag of chopped onion from Trader Joes)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 32 oz. low sodium chicken broth
- 4 large potatoes, 1/2 inch slices
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- 1-2 cups kale, stems removed
Instructions
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Cook the Italian sausage in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside. Rinse in very hot water (this will eliminate more of the grease and keep the soup from turning orange).
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Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain and put back in the pot. If you use cooked bacon like I do, just heat it for a few minutes to crisp it up a bit (less grease). Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
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Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the kale into the soup just before serving.
Recipe Notes
The soup can be made a day ahead of time and reheated. Just wait to add the kale until you are about to serve the soup. Serve with warm sourdough bread. I also served it alongside a tomato, cucumber, and feta salad. Very refreshing.
When cutting the potatoes, I made 1/2 inch slices and then cut those into four smaller pieces.
So many of our family members had seconds so I would say it was a huge hit! Thank you again to all of you who offered up your family favorites. Love that we can share with one another. In case you missed my after Christmas sales, you can find them here. Have a great day, my friends. Below are some more recipes we made over Christmas break.
MORE YUMMY RECIPES
Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Bars
Easy Egg & Sausage Casserole
White Cheddar & Potato Gratin
Looks delicious and I think that will be a wonderful tradition. Can’t wait to try this. Maybe for our New Year’s Eve!
I was so worried making something new on such a special night but it was so delicious. Phew!!!! It’s a good one for sure. In fact my family of four was disappointed there weren’t more leftovers!
What size cans of chicken broth did you use? Ounces? Thx, sounds delish.
Great question. They are the 14.5 oz cans ( there is a pack of 12 that Costco sells). Hope that helps!
This soup is a family favorite! I make it with spinach instead of kale, and use the Trader Joe’s spicy Italian sausage then skip the red pepper flakes. We make this for our annual Halloween party and it’s always a hit! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
This was a hit for sure.! I haven’t made a huge variety of soup in the past, but was really in the mood for a warm, hearty soup with the freezing temperatures the last couple of days! My family and I have a new, New Years tradition now! :). Very delicious!!!