This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is made in the pressure cooker! This frugal one-pot meal is super quick, easy and full of flavor!
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When I was spending summer breaks at home during college, my family and I would often go out shopping or to run errands together on the weekends. My dad enjoyed stopping for lunch at Olive Garden for their unlimited soup, salad, and bread sticks. These lunch stops were a favorite of mine, too!
That was my first introduction to Zuppa Toscana, and minestrone, and pasta e fagioli. Mmmmmm.
These days, I very rarely actually go to Olive Garden, though, because I’ve learned how to make some pretty stellar soups over the years. Homemade soups are so much better than what you can buy in a can, and they are much less expensive than what you can buy in a restaurant!
This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana from This Old Gal is one of the most recent soups I’ve made for my family, and we LOVE it. It’s been added to our meal plan rotation and I make it about once every two weeks.
I just love how easy (and fast!) it is to make this in the Instant Pot pressure cooker. I’ve made a couple of slight changes to the original recipe–I don’t use the bacon because I don’t feel it’s necessary (the soup has plenty of flavor without it!) and eliminating it also decreases the cost of the meal. Using ground sausage that’s already out of the casings is my preferred method, mostly because sausage casings kind of gross me out. 🙂 I use mild sausage and find it to be plenty flavorful, but I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to spice. So if you prefer a spicier version, use spicy sausage.
This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is also a one-pot meal, which automatically makes it a winner in my book! You can cook the onions, garlic, and sausage in the insert pot using the Saute function prior to pressure cooking the soup.
It is remarkably simple and only requires a handful of ingredients, but the flavor is out of this world. Because it only requires a handful of common and fairly inexpensive ingredients, this is also a frugal meal option. I’m always on the hunt for quick, easy, cheap, and tasty meals, so I’m glad I found this one!
I love making meals in the Instant Pot because it simplifies my life. Meal prep is so much faster and easier. What busy mom can’t use more of that in their life, right?
A lot of Zuppa Toscana recipes I’ve seen floating around use spinach as the greens, which is probably fine. But I love using kale instead because it’s a more hardy green that doesn’t get so mushy. It does wilt and get soft, but it holds up MUCH better than spinach typically does. The kale is chiffonade, or cut into thin ribbon-like strips. My recommendation is to stack several kale leaves on top of each other and roll them up. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut the roll several times, which will result in thin strips.
Recommended Equipment:
- Instant Pot (I use the DUO60 model)
- Kitchen shears or sharp knife
I love this soup with a sprinkle of parmesan on top and some crusty bread and a salad on the side. It’s a hearty comfort food perfect for this time of year. Add it to your weekly meal plan and give it a try–it’s a winner!
You can find more easy pressure cooker recipes here. Read about how to convert slow cooker recipes for the pressure cooker (with a FREE printable guide, including a cheat sheet!) here. Learn more about meal planning and get a FREE weekly meal plan worksheet here.
I also recommend checking out the Electric Pressure Cooking 101 class to help you gain even more confidence with your pressure cooker. The self-paced course will help you learn how your pressure cooker works and how to cook certain groups of food. It also includes a two-week meal plan with shopping lists! You can check it out here.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 lb ground mild Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 large russet potatoes, unpeeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices.
- 6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) chicken broth
- 2 cups fresh kale, chiffonade
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or half and half (or milk if you want to decrease calories a bit)
Instructions
- Using the "saute" function of the Instant Pot, heat the olive oil. Add onions and cook until they begin to become translucent.
- Add the Italian sausage, crumbling up into smaller pieces and cooking until browned.
- Add garlic and allow to cook just until fragrant, about a minute.
- Drain off excess grease if desired and return to pot.
- Add potato slices and chicken broth.
- Lock the lid into place and set to "sealed."
- Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes using the Manual setting.
- When cooking is complete, allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, followed by a quick release.
- When pressure valve has dropped, remove the lid and add kale to the pot. The heat from the soup will wilt the kale as you stir.
- Pour in cream or half and half (or milk), stirring to combine.
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Hey, I had a question do u out the meat and onion into pressure cooker as well with chicken broth and potatoes? Or u add them after with kale and half&half??
Hi Yana! Yes, the meat and onions go into the pressure cooker with the broth and potatoes. Thanks for checking! 🙂
Hello! I would like to double his recipe! I was wondering how long I would put it on high pressure for in the instapot? Thank you!
Hi Jessica! The cook time will remain the same. It will take longer to come to pressure, though. If you choose to double it, just make sure you’re under the maximum fill amount for your model. Enjoy! 🙂
How many servings does this make? Trying to decide if I should double or not
Hi Mandy! It makes about 6 servings. Just be mindful not to overfill your pressure cooker if you decide to double–you would likely need to make it in two separate batches. 🙂
I made this last night with spicy Italian chicken sausage and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Oooh that’s a great idea! So glad you liked it! 🙂
Would this recipe work with frozen kale? I’m out of fresh kale!
Hi Susan! I’ve never tried it with frozen, so I can’t say for sure, but I think it would be fine! Just make sure to thaw it and drain it well first to avoid adding extra water. Let me know how it works if you try it! 🙂
What if you don’t have a pressure cooker?
Hi Trevor! You can make it on the stovetop- most of the steps are similar only you would simmer it (instead of pressure cooking it) until the potatoes are tender. You may need to use more liquid, as stovetop cooking tends to result in more evaporation than pressure cooking.
Any substitutions for the cream? We have a dairy allergy here 🙂
Hi Katie! You can leave it out! The soup will be a bit more brothy without it, but it will still be flavorful. If you want it to have a creamier texture, you can always scoop out some of the potatoes and broth, puree them together, then return them to the rest of the soup. I haven’t tried anything else in place of the cream…you could probably try coconut milk or something like that if you wanted to! Let me know how it turns out if you try a different variation. 🙂
Coconut Milk works great! Just tried it and can’t even tell the difference. Thanks, Christi!
I’m so glad it worked! Thanks for letting us know. 🙂
Did you use whole fat canned coconut milk , or the refrigerated type?
canned coconut milk, shaken well!
Made this the other night using half & half and spinach I had on-hand instead of kale. It was DELICIOUS!! I put some crispy bacon pieces in each bowl to garnish and it added extra flavor and texture. Thank you for sharing this recipe– my whole family, ages 4-67, enjoyed it!
Yay! I’m so glad your family loved it! 🙂
I just made this and it was so delicious! I used spinach instead of kale and vegetable broth instead of chicken. I will definitely be making it again, thanks for the recipe!
Thanks, Emily! I’m glad it was a hit! 🙂
Turned out great! My only criticism is the bacon is missing if you make it like Olive Garden. I was missing it. But still a great recipe!
Yes, you can definitely add the bacon if you miss it (and to make it more like Olive Garden’s)! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Hi! This is my favorite soup so I’m excited to make this! Question: I want to double the recipe. I have an 8qt IP. Do you think that will be big enough? Thanks!
Hi Marie! I’m honestly not sure if you can double the recipe and fit it in an 8-qt IP. I think you could probably do 1.5x the recipe pretty easily in an 8-qt. Either way, just make sure you don’t fill the insert pot more than 2/3 full! If you can double it and stay within that parameter, then go for it! 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!
This soup is one of my kid’s FAVORITES! our personal family change is that I add navy beans and use ground sausage with sage. The beans make the soup more filling without having to double the recipe.
I’m so glad your family enjoys it! And that’s a GREAT idea to add navy beans! We love beans, so I’ll have to try that as well! 🙂
Hi!! This looks amazing! I was wondering if it can be made in a 6 quart instant pot, or if that is too little. My husband bought this for me and he got the smaller one! Sigh lol
Yes, Cat, that will work fine! I have the 6-quart model as well. 🙂
This looks delicious! Thank you for sharing I’m trying to decide whether to buy an Instant Pot, so I’m researching recipes now, and I will definitely print this one and add it to my stack. Would you mind sharing with me how you do the nice printable recipes for your blog? I occasionally share recipes on mine, and I really like how simple and straightforward the printables are on yours. Thank you!
Stephanie from The Beauty of Midlife
http://www.thebeautyofmidlife.com
Hi Stephanie! I love my Instant Pot–if you decide to get one, let me know how you like it! 🙂 I use a WP plug-in to create the printer-friendly recipes. There are several options, but I use Zip Recipes. Hope that helps!
I cannot wait to try this! do you think I could use escarole instead of kale?
Yes, I think that would work fine!
This was my second time using the Instant Pot and this was delicious! I did add a bit of chicken bouillon and some red skinned potatoes for color… but otherwise followed to a T. Thank you for a easy and delicious recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Awesome Recipe! We just got an instapot and my son requested this soup for dinner. Everyone loved it! Super easy to make too. I doubled the recipe and followed it to a t. This is a keeper!
I’m so glad your family loved it! 🙂
We love this soup we always have it with garlic bread sticks to dip in it so filling soup its even better next day reheat that is if there is any left for the next day
Garlic bread is the perfect addition–yum! Sometimes I toss a few croutons in mine, too. 🙂 I’m so glad your family is enjoying it!
This was my first REAL meal in my Instant Pot and it was so easy and delish!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Made this today to take to a get-together this evening. Chose your recipe over several others and it was perfect! No need to look any further!!!!! Thank you!!!!
I’m so glad it was a hit, Mindy!! 🙂
Looks good! Would the three quart Instant Pot have enough capacity? We have a six quart as well but me being ancient, I prefer the smaller one. Would you change anything if I used Swiss chard, (which is abundant in our garden)? I have childhood dislike of kale.
Hi Gary, I think you’d have to probably cut the recipe in half for it to fit in the 3-quart pot. My guess is that the recipe as written would exceed the maximum fill of the pot. I think Swiss chard would be great instead of kale!
Thanks for the reply Chrysti! Cutting it in half would probably provide 4 servings for us scaled-down geezer appetites
This was absolutely delicious! Hubby loved it even though he is leery of anything with greens in it. I will be adding this one pot meal to my RV glamping menu this fall for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kelly–I’m so glad to hear that you and your husband both enjoyed it! It will be perfect for your glamping adventure! 🙂
This may be a stupid question, but what ground sausage do you use? Ground Mild Italian from the meat case or the rolled breakfast sausage? I read one comment that used the sausage with safe & guessing that’s the rolled breakfast sausage? Thank you!
Not a stupid question at all! I use ground mild Italian sausage from the meat case, not breakfast sausage. You can also find rolled Italian sausage in the meat case, and if you use that, just remove the casings. I buy the ground sausage to avoid having to deal with the casings, but if all you can find is the rolled sausage, you can cut the casings and push out the sausage from inside. Hope that clarifies! 🙂
Thank you for your quick response! Like you, I don’t like the casings so I’ll be looking for the ground sausage!
I just bought an InstaPot last night. This was my first attempt at a meal today. It was absolutely delicious and tasted much like the Zuppa Tuscana from Olive Garden. I would recommend this recipe to anyone looking for new recipes ! 5 stars!
Yay! Thanks so much for sharing, Andrea! Congrats on your first Instant Pot creation–I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
Oh so good!! I’ve wanted to make this for a while and finally did! It was so yummy, can’t wait to eat the leftovers the next few days!! Curious, cannot be frozen? Thank you!!! Totally recommend this!
Hi Jenna! Thank you–I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 I have not personally tried freezing this particular soup, but I do think you could freeze leftovers. The texture will be a little different after thawing (the potatoes will break down more during freezing and reheating), but I think it would work fine.
I accidentally put the cream in before I had it come to pressure…. I hope it turns out ok! :/
How did it turn out? Hopefully it worked out ok!
I made this today and the instant pot took about 20 minutes to finish preheating. Then it cooked for five minutes. Then it warmed for two hours. My soup was a big pile of mush What did I do wrong?
Hi Stephanie! It sounds like the potatoes just got mushy from keeping it on the warm setting for 2 hours. After the 5-minute cook time is complete, the Instant Pot automatically switches to the Keep Warm setting, with a default time of 2 hours. But you don’t have to use that. Instead, after the 5-minute cook time is complete, only leave it on the keep warm setting for 10 minutes (or you can press Cancel to turn it off all together and set a timer for ten minutes), then use the pressure release valve on the lid to release the remaining pressure (a quick release) after ten minutes has passed. Once the pressure is released, you can carefully remove the lid. Hope that helps! 🙂