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This hearty Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana will warm you up in the colder months and leave you feeling satisfied. Creamy potatoes, flavorful chicken sausage and spinach are mixed with a creamy broth to create a delicious soup!
SLOW COOKER ZUPPA TOSCANA
In the colder months I love hearty, warming soups.
I often make this Moroccan Red Lentil Soup, this Instant Pot Turkey Chili and today’s Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana.
All of these soups are protein filled and will keep you full.
Today’s soup uses al fresco Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage which adds a nice sweet flavor to the soup.
You can use any of their flavors of chicken sausages and they will work great.
You might be wondering what Zuppa Toscana is exactly?
This is a popular soup at the Olive Garden and it was one of my favorites as a child.
Their version uses spicy Italian sausage, potatoes, kale and cream. My version is similar with a few small changes!
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN ZUPPA TOSCANA?
CHICKEN SAUSAGE: Traditional zuppa toscana recipes use sausage and sometimes bacon. In today’s recipe I used al fresco’s Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage.
They have a variety of chicken sausage flavors from Sweet Apple to Roasted Peppers & Asiago to Roasted Garlic. Any of their flavors work really nice in this soup.
POTATOES: I love adding potatoes into this soup. It bulks up the soup and adds that creamy texture when the potatoes cook in the broth. I use russet potatoes but you can use whatever you have on hand.
GREENS: This soup is finished off with greens. I used spinach in this recipe but chopped kale or even swiss chard works nicely too!
CREAM: I use chicken broth in this soup but you can also use vegetable broth. To create a creamer soup I like to add half and half or whipping cream to finish off the soup. You can skip it if you don’t want a creamier version.
HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS SLOW COOKER ZUPPA TOSCANA?
Making this soup in the crockpot is so easy!
Start by putting the chicken sausage, onion, garlic, chicken broth and potatoes in the crockpot. Set to low for 5-6 hours or high for 3 hours until the potatoes are fork tender.
Once the soup is done stir in the cream, spinach, oregao and crushred red pepper and let sit with the lid on until the spinach is wilted.
Garnish with parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
HOW DO YOU MAKE ZUPPA TOSCANA ON THE STOVE-TOP?
Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until soft.
Add in the sausage, oregano and crushred red pepper and continue to saute until the sausage is just browned.
Add the potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Stir in the spinach and cream and let simmer until the spinach is wilted. Taste and add salt and pepper.
Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana
This hearty Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana will warm you up in the colder months and leave you feeling satisfied. Creamy potatoes, flavorful chicken sausage and spinach are mixed with a creamy broth to create a delicious soup!
Ingredients
- 1 - 11 ounce package of al fresco Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage, sliced
- 1 small sweet onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper {optional}
- 3/4 cup of heavy cream {optional}
- 2 cups of spinach {or kale}
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Instructions
SLOW COOKER:
Put the chicken sausage, onion, garlic, chicken broth and potatoes in the crockpot. Set to low for 5-6 hours or high for 3 hours until the potatoes are fork tender.
Once the soup is done stir in the cream, spinach, oregao and crushred red pepper and let sit with the lid on until the spinach is wilted.
Garnish with parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
STOVE-TOP:
Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until soft.
Add in the sausage, oregano and crushred red pepper and continue to saute until the sausage is just browned.
Add the potatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Stir in the spinach and cream and let simmer until the spinach is wilted. Taste and add salt and pepper.
Garnish with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Ann Ellis
Saturday 24th of February 2024
Wonder how this would be with plain Greek yogurt. Instead of heavy ccream
Julia
Sunday 25th of February 2024
You could try that! Greek yogurt can add creaminess to soups! Since yogurt can separate under high heat, take your pot off the stove then stir it in.