This Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana is the perfect mix of the authentic Italian recipe and the Olive Garden’s favourite Tuscan soup recipe. It’s hearty, nutritious and full of flavour.
Have you ever heard of Zuppa Toscana before? The term literally means Tuscan Soup and is a traditional Italian soup recipe normally made with cannellini beans, carrots, celery, kale, zucchini, and bacon, and finished off with crusty Italian bread, that is often stirred into the soup and left overnight to thicken up.
Then, there is the Olive Garden version (popular U.S. restaurant chain), which features Italian sausage and heavy cream that makes it a bit more decadent and perhaps more caloric. Both are equally delicious and we wanted to create a hybrid version for this Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana recipe.
You can easily turn this soup into a gluten-free or lower carb meal by omitting the crusty bread when serving the soup. White potatoes can be replaced with sweet potatoes and/or diced zucchini.
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PinIngredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 oz / 120g of bacon, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 white onion, diced
2 large white potatoes, peeled and diced into cubes
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 Italian pork sausages, meat squeezed out into small chunks
3-4 large kale leaves, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
3 cups soaked white beans such Cannellini
1 teaspoon mixed Italian herbs or dried rosemary
2 cups tomato passata or tinned chopped tomatoes
4 cups / 1 litre water
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder or flakes
To finish off
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
To serve: toasted Italian bread or sourdough broken into pieces
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients before you start cooking.
- Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Sauté function key.
- Add the oil, bacon, carrots, celery and onion to the pot and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until softened.
- Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cream, and stir through. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button.
- Place and lock the lid and set the Instant Pot to Manual, HIGH pressure and adjust the time to 12 minutes. After 3 beeps, the Instant Pot will start building up the pressure and cooking will commence.
- Once the timer goes off, allow the Instant Pot to release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Then, use the quick release method to let off the rest of the steam (carefully move the sealing valve on the top to Venting). Don’t open the lid until the silver pressure button on the lid has popped back down and the Instant Pot is easy to open.
- To finish the soup, stir in the heavy cream and lemon juice and check for salt.
8. Serve in bowls topped with pieces of toasted or crusty Italian bread or sourdough.
Notes
- Make sure to presoak the beans overnight. Canned beans can also be used.
- You can make it ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it for a couple of months. If freezing the soup, don’t add the cream until it’s been defrosted and reheated. Add the crusty bread when serving the hot soup.
- For a gluten-free version, omit the bread when serving the soup.
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2 Comments
Jon Merdin
November 22, 2018 at 6:37 pmI was under the impression that if one uses an instant pot, that pre-soaking was not necessary. Am I wrong? JM
Ann Fabrizio
January 9, 2019 at 10:18 pmGenerally, presoaking will help you cook faster. While you can cook without soaking, this will increase the cook time. This recipe is designed for presoaking (Manual, HIGH pressure and adjust the time to 12 minutes with naturally for 10 minutes). Generally speaking, 1 pound dried beans need 6- 8 cups water in your Instant Pot, Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes for just cooked beans that hold their shape and have a bit of chew. Once beans have finished cooking, drain off the cooking liquid and use as directed in recipes.