More soup for the cold winter months! This Olive Garden copycat soup is hearty and can stand on its own as a meal. It has it all-meat, potatoes, kale… shhhhh… hang with me, kale haters! I promise you’ll love it. I adapted my recipe from the Crock Pot Zuppa Toscana recipe at Homemade Hooplah. My version has cut some corners to save time. Last time I made this recipe I forgot to brown the sausage with garlic and onion, so I added it to the crock pot instead and it still turned out great!
Ingredients
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1 lb ground Italian sausage
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1 tbsp garlic, minced
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1 cup frozen diced onion
- 1 package Ore Ida diced hashbrown potatoes or 4 russet potatoes, diced (I sometimes use a combination of both as I love to leave the skin on red potatoes if I use them in this soup)
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1 pinch salt to taste
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1 pinch black pepper to taste
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4 cup chicken broth (32 oz)
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2 cups water
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1 bunch kale stems removed and torn into bite-sized pieces
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1 cup heavy whipping cream
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1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (for topping)
Directions
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In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown and crumble hot Italian sausage, about 5-8 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until some of the onion begins to turn opaque (no need to cook onion completely at this point). Drain grease from skillet.
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In a 6 quart crock pot (or bigger), add cooked sausage & veggies plus the diced potato. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour chicken broth on top. There should be enough broth to cover the tops of the potatoes; if there isn’t, add up to 2 cups water so potatoes are covered.
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Gently stir ingredients, cover crock pot, and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.
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Remove lid from crock pot and add kale and heavy whipping cream, then stir to combine.
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Cover crock pot and cook on HIGH for another 30 minutes.
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Serve zuppa toscana immediately with shredded parmesan cheese as garnish.
Simple enough! I usually brown the sausage, onion, and garlic and dice the potatoes and store in water in the fridge the night before to make for a dump and go meal in the morning. It’s chilly outside-hibernate and enjoy!