Gnocchi Zuppa Toscana Soup is a truly comforting soup that takes just under 30 minutes to prepare. The soup has a creamy texture from gnocchi, freshness from kale and a little kick of spice! You will love it!
This soup reminds me of the two of our favorite recipes: the Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup and Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup. Now you get to have the best of the both worlds.

Zuppa Toscana is a soup of Tuscany. Typically it’s spicy – made with kale, potatoes, beans, celery, carrots and onions. As time has passed, people have adjusted the ingredients to their own liking.
Last fall we got lucky enough to visit Tuscany. Now it’s my dream to retire there. I love the people, the country side and just everything. I tell my husband if I ever go missing, find me in Tuscany.
How to Make Zuppa Toscana Soup?
- Prepare all ingredients ahead of time to make the cooking process quick.
- In a cooking pot, brown Italian sausage, then add onions and cook until they’re golden brown.
- Add water or broth to the sausage and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. This will create delicious broth flavors.
- Add kale, gnocchi and half and half to the mixture. Season to taste and bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat and enjoy.

Other Recipes Inspired by Olive Garden
Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare all ingredients for toscana soup.
- Cook spicy Italian sausage in preheated pot; cook until it’s thoroughly cooked. Add onion and pressed garlic to the sausage; cook until it’s golden brown. Add water or broth to the mix, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add chopped kale, half & half and gnocchi to the soup. Let it simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Turn off and remove from the heat. Let the soup sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Could you use ground beef instead of sausage?
Hey Catherine, yes that would work well but you would need to add Italian seasoning for the flavor. Enjoy
How much water / broth do you add?
Hey Teresa, 3 quarts. Thanks for pointing this out. I added a note to the recipe.
Is the kale a strong flavor in the soup? My family doesn't like kale but this soup looks and sounds delicious! I do think they would like it as long as the kale doesn't really stand out as bitter. Wondering if I should try it with kale or use something like spinach as an alternative. They all eat spinach.
Hey Dawn, personally I like kale in soups because they dont have a strong flavor and they add nutrition. Maybe add a little bit of kale and see how they like it. You can add more later and just bring it to a simmer.