Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana | Lighter Copycat Recipe (2024)

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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is a hearty, cheesy soup made with potatoes, bacon, and savory sausage in a flavorful chicken broth.

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe: This soup is a family favorite for fall that’s full of flavor from browned sausage, smoky bacon, and tender potatoes. The potatoes hold their shape well because they’re steamed, instead of cooked in the broth.

Update: This is an all-time favorite wintertime dinner for our family, so I updated the post with new tips, tricks and photos for you!

How to Make Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

Our Zuppa Toscana is based off the Olive Garden recipe. It’s super easy to make and has a rich, cheesy broth. We like to use chicken sausage because it’s a bit lighter, especially since you’ll be enriching the broth with evaporated milk and parmesan cheese.

The key to preventing the potatoes from falling apart is to steam them in the Instant Pot. You’ll need a steaming rack to do this. I love the Avokado Silicone Steamer Basket because it holds the potatoes without them spilling out as you transfer them.

This is the best of both worlds: the potatoes absorb all the delicious flavors from the spices as they cook, but they keep their shape and don’t get mushy.

Making the Soup More or Less Spicy

If you’re not a fan of spice, make sure to use mild sausage and reduce the red pepper flakes. (I wouldn’t omit them entirely because just a small amount add a great flavor to the soup.

On the other hand, for extra heat, you can use spicy sausage and/or add more red pepper flakes. Just be sure to taste the soup first, as it has a kick to it!

Storage Suggestions

Store leftover Zuppa Toscana in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stove to serve.

The soup may not freeze well, since the cooked potatoes can fall apart when you reheat the soup from frozen. (It’s still tasty though!)

Can I Double or Half the Recipe?

Certainly! You can double or half the recipe without changing anything in the cooking times. Just make sure you don’t fill your pressure cooker pot past the fill line if you’re doubling.

More Hearty Instant Pot Soup Recipes

Try these other comforting Instant Pot soup recipes for dinner next:

• Lighter Instant Pot Corn Chowder is made with canned clams and chunks of tender potato.
• Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Bean Soup is a healthy, high-protein meal of brothy, savory beans.
• Old-Fashioned Beef Stew has tender beef, chunks of potatoes in a rich beef broth.

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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 4 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

See Also

21 Healthy Dinner Recipes That Won’t Break the Bank

Total Time: 44 minutes

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is a tasty copycat of Olive Garden’s popular soup with bacon, potatoes and chicken sausage.

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, diced
• 1 pound ground chicken sausage
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 3 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 large russet potatoes, cubed
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded and divided
• 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Select Sauté and add the bacon to the pressure cooking pot. Cook until crisp and remove to a plate lined with paper towels.
2. Add sausage to the pressure cooking pot and cook until browned. Remove to a second plate lined with paper towels.
3. Add butter to the cooking pot. When butter is melted, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add 1 can chicken broth, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to the cooking pot.
4. Put the steamer basket in the cooking pot. Add the diced potatoes. Lock lid in place, select High Pressure and 4 minutes cook time and start. When the cook time ends, use a quick pressure release. When the pressure valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Carefully remove potatoes and steamer basket from the pressure cooking pot.
5. Add remaining 2 cans of chicken broth to pressure cooking pot and stir.
6. In a mixing bowl, dissolve cornstarch in a little evaporated milk. Add to the cooking pot, along with the remainder of the evaporated milk. Select Sauté and bring to a boil, stirring often. When soup thickens, stir in 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, spinach, browned sausage, potatoes and half of the crispy bacon.
7. Serve topped with remaining Parmesan and bacon.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 

  Avokado Silicone Steamer Basket

• 

  OXO Good Grips Nylon Ladle

• 

  Instant Pot Duo Nova 6-Quart Pressure Cooker

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 390Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 1002mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 27g

Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.