BEST Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe with Bacon, Potato, and Kale

BEST Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe with Bacon, Potato, and Kale. All the amazing flavors you crave in authentic Zuppa Toscana: crushed red peppers, diced white onion, bacon, garlic, broth, heavy cream, potatoes, and kale.

I love this soup in the fall and winter. It is indulgent and still packed with bright green nutritious kale. It warms your heart and soul. Serve with crust bread and tiramisu for dessert!

BEST Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe with Bacon, Potato, and Kale

It is deliciously hearty and satisfying. We serve it hot and every mouthful contains potatoes and kale with a hint of bacon that melts in your mouth.

It is a recipe that the family loves. If you are making it for non-spicy lovers you can adjust the number of red pepper flakes.

More Italian soups to love: Classic Italian Wedding Soup Recipe, Pasta e Ceci (Italian Pasta with Chickpea Soup), Italian Beans and Greens Recipe (Escarole), Classic Italian Minestrone Soup, Blender Tomato Soup Recipe (Vitamix), and Simple Artichoke Soup Italian Recipe, and Authentic Italian Pasta e Fagioli Recipe (soup).

This version of Zuppa Toscana leaves out the traditional sausage. You can certainly add it if you are missing it in the recipe while you cook the bacon.

I feel that there is enough richness with the bacon and potatoes and prefer it made this way.

The ingredients give you a little heat from the crushed pepper, depth of flavor with the wine, healthy greens from the kale, meaty richness with the bacon, and mild creamy accents with the potatoes and cream.

You will love how these flavors meld together to create the perfect Zuppa Toscana!

• Crushed red peppers

• Fennel seed

• White onion

• Bacon

• Broth

• Heavy cream

• Potatoes

• Kale

How To Make Zuppa Toscana from Scratch

With super-flavorful ingredients, it’s almost impossible to mess up this easy Zuppa Toscana recipe. Truly! You just can’t go wrong when you combine cream, bacon, potatoes, and kale, right? Here’s how easy it is to make:

1. Cook the bacon, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and fennel seed in a Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat until the bacon is crisp and the onions slightly browned. If there is too much bacon fat remove excess oil with a spoon- some drippings okay).
2. Add potatoes and stir to combine. 
3. Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon, onion, and potatoes; bring to a boil over medium/high heat.
4. Boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Reduce the heat to low/medium and stir in the kale (and beans if using). Cook an additional 8-10 minutes, until tender. Add heavy cream; heat through. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot. 

That’s it!

How to cut and prepare Kale Leaves

Follow this tip to make sure you remove the toughest part of the kale! Fold the leaves of the kale together and hold them with your non-cutting hand. Use a large chef’s knife to cut off the tough stem that runs through the entire kale leaf.

Roll up the kale leaves. Cut the kale into slices, using a circular motion with the knife.