Soups & Stews · Easy
Zuppa Toscana
A hearty, creamy Italian-inspired soup with sweet Italian sausage, crispy bacon, red onions, buttery Honey Gold potatoes, Russet potatoes, and plenty of kale. This family-friendly version uses milk and sour cream instead of heavy cream and is designed for an Instant Pot using its sauté and slow-cooker functions.
Proposed cooking plan · no completed results recorded.
Ingredient amounts scale with the batch size. Time estimates stay as written; use the recipe's texture and doneness cues.
Let's make it
Method
Prepare the vegetables
Approximately 15 minutes (estimated)Dice Amount unspecified and mince Amount unspecified. Wash 680 g, leaving the skins on. Leave the smallest potatoes whole, halve medium ones, and quarter larger ones. Peel 454 g if preferred, then cut into ½–¾-inch cubes. Remove the tough stems from Amount unspecified and chop the leaves into 1–2-inch pieces. Reserve the kale for finishing.
Cook the bacon
Approximately 10 minutes (estimated)Set the Instant Pot to Sauté. Cook Amount unspecified until crisp. Remove and set aside, reserving some of the bacon drippings in the pot. Refrigerate the bacon if it will be held for several hours before serving.
Brown the sausage
Approximately 10 minutes (estimated)Add 680 g to the Instant Pot. Break it into crumbles and brown thoroughly, allowing some pieces to develop deep golden-brown edges. Remove excess grease if needed.
Sauté the aromatics
Approximately 5–7 minutesAdd Amount unspecified and cook in the sausage and bacon drippings until softened, approximately 5–7 minutes. Add Amount unspecified during the final 30–60 seconds, stirring to prevent burning.
Assemble the soup
Approximately 5 minutes (estimated)Add 1656 mL, 680 g, and 454 g to the Instant Pot with the browned sausage and aromatics. Add the rind from to taste if using. Do not add the dairy or kale yet. Hold off on to taste initially; the sweet Italian sausage already provides seasoning.
Bring to a simmer
Until simmering; exact time not recordedUse the Sauté setting to bring the broth and potatoes up to a simmer before switching cooking modes. This helps compensate for the slower heating performance of some Instant Pot slow-cooker settings.
Slow cook
Approximately 4–4½ hours (planned, unverified)Switch the Instant Pot to Slow Cook on High, using a compatible lid or the venting arrangement specified for the model. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender and the soup is fully cooked. The original schedule called for starting around 12:35 PM and checking around 2:30 PM, with dinner planned for approximately 5:15 PM. Actual cooking time was not confirmed.
Hold safely if necessary
As neededIf the soup is fully cooked before serving, switch to Keep Warm only if the Instant Pot maintains a food temperature of at least 140°F (60°C). Check the temperature before relying on this setting for unattended holding, and follow the appliance manufacturer's operating instructions. Keep Warm should not be used to finish cooking underdone ingredients.
Adjust thickness
Approximately 2 minutes (estimated)Once the potatoes are tender, gently mash some of 454 g against the side of the pot to naturally thicken the broth. Remove and discard the Parmesan rind, if used.
Add the kale
Approximately 8–10 minutes (estimated)Shortly before serving, stir the entire prepared amount of Amount unspecified into the hot soup. Let it cook until tender. For different textures, an optional suggestion was to add half earlier and half near serving time. The final actual method was not documented.
Prepare the creamy mixture
Approximately 3 minutes (estimated)In a separate bowl, whisk together 237 mL and 120 g until smooth. Whisk in 8 g if using. Gradually whisk in a little hot soup broth to temper the mixture before adding it to the pot.
Finish the soup
Approximately 3–5 minutes (estimated)Reduce the Instant Pot to a gentle heating setting. Stir in the tempered milk and sour cream mixture and warm through without boiling. Taste, then adjust with to taste and optional to taste if needed. A little as needed juice was suggested as an optional finishing adjustment but was not confirmed as used.
Serve
ImmediatelyLadle the soup into bowls for 6 servings. Top with the reserved crispy Amount unspecified and freshly grated to taste. Offer to taste separately for anyone who wants heat. Serve with Amount unspecified if desired.
From my kitchen
Notes for next time
Show notes
From my kitchen
Notes for next time
Final ingredient decisions
Sweet Italian ground sausage was chosen instead of mild because it is typically not spicy and is suitable for children. Red onions were used in the plan instead of buying yellow onions. The planned potato combination was the entire 24-ounce bag of Honey Gold bite-sized potatoes plus 1 pound of Russets.
Extra kale
The cook explicitly wanted to use the entire bunch of kale rather than the smaller quantity in the original shopping plan. This is a confirmed preference, not a tasting result.
No heavy whipping cream
The preferred alternative was 1 cup milk plus ½ cup sour cream, with an optional tablespoon of cornstarch. Mashing some Russets into the broth was suggested as another way to thicken the soup. No completed texture test was documented.
Final equipment and method
The final decision was to use the Instant Pot's Sauté and Slow Cook functions, not the pressure-cooking function. An earlier plan proposed High Pressure for 3 minutes followed by 5 minutes natural release, but that plan was superseded before cooking.
Soccer-day schedule
The family planned to leave for soccer around 3:00 PM and return around 5:00 PM. The final suggested schedule was to start preparing at approximately 11:45 AM, sauté around noon, begin slow cooking around 12:35 PM, and finish the soup after returning around 5:00–5:25 PM. The conversation does not confirm whether this schedule was followed.
Instant Pot slow-cooking caution
Some Instant Pot models slow-cook more gently than conventional slow cookers. Bringing the broth to a simmer first was recommended. The suggested Slow Cook High duration was not tested or verified for this particular appliance.
Keep Warm safety
The cook preferred leaving the Instant Pot operating during the soccer game. Safe hot holding requires the soup to be fully cooked first and maintained at or above 140°F (60°C). The appliance's actual holding temperature and model were not recorded, so safe unattended holding was not verified.
Earlier alternative sausage
A photo showed Jimmy Dean Regular Pork Sausage as a possible purchase. It was considered usable with additional Italian seasoning, fennel, and garlic powder, but the cook subsequently found and selected sweet Italian ground sausage. The Jimmy Dean variation was not the final recipe.
Earlier make-ahead alternative
An earlier recommendation was to cook the sausage-and-potato soup base, refrigerate it before soccer, and add dairy and kale when returning. The cook ultimately chose the Instant Pot slow-cooker approach. Neither method was documented as completed.
Optional Parmesan improvement
Buying a wedge of Parmesan and simmering its rind in the broth was recommended to develop a deeper savory flavor. This was a suggestion; actual use was not confirmed.
Optional bacon improvement
Crisping the bacon separately and reserving it until serving was recommended to preserve its texture. No actual taste or texture feedback was recorded.
Yield uncertainty
The recipe was intended to feed two adults and four children, potentially with leftovers. Six servings is the minimum supported household yield, not a measured final yield. Earlier planning also described approximately 6–8 servings.
Testing and feedback
No completed cook, family taste test, observed cooking duration, leftovers count, or post-meal improvement notes appear in this conversation. Ingredient choices and cooking plans must not be presented as proven results.
Along the way
Recipe photos
Photos from the cooking process and finished dish.