Toscano Soup

One of my favorite things to order at Olive Garden is soup, salad, and breadsticks. And my favorite soup is Zuppa Toscano. I created my own version, using parts of this recipe and parts of a recipe given to me by my sister-in-law. It is one of the most flavorful soups I've ever had! No need to head out to Olive Garden now!

Here's what you need:

5 Italian sausage links, casings removed
4-6 russet potatoes
1 onion, diced
2 teas minced garlic
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans beef broth, plus one can of water
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 cup half-and-half

To remove the casing from the sausges, simply slice the link down the middle and peel the casing back. Then break up the sausages in a large stock pot and cook for a few minutes.


While the sausage is cooking, slice your potatoes. I didn't peel mine. I like the earthiness and rusticity of leaving the peels on. I just scrubbed them well, then sliced them in half length-wise. Slice each half into 1/4 slices.


Add the potatoes, onions and garlic to the pot. Cook until the potatoes start to soften, stirring often. Pour in the broth and water.


Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the chopped spinach and simmer for another 5 minutes. You can leave the spinach out if your family doesn't like it. Or you can use fresh chopped spinach if you have it on hand.


Stir in the half and half and heat through. Ladle into bowls and serve.


You can, of course, spice this up by using hot Italian sausage if you wish. My kids don't like spicy foods, so that's not an option for me. I prefer non-spicy anyway!

If you like Olive Garden's Toscano soup, you're going to love this!

For more yummy recipes, visit Blessed with Grace's Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.