Olive Garden Potato, Kale & Sausage Soup

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

htc

Head Chef
Joined
Sep 8, 2004
Messages
1,302
Location
USA,Oregon
Here is a recipe I found from a website called copykats.com. It's the olive garden potato/sausage/kale soup. I made this at home and was really impressed!! This is definitely something I will make again and again. Below is the recipe as I found it. I hope others who like this soup will enjoy this recipe and hope my notes are helpful. :)

=============
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. spicy sausage links -- 12
2 medium potatoes, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut into 1/4" slices
3/4 C. onions, diced
6 slices bacon
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
2 C. kale leaves, but in half, then sliced
2 T. chicken base
1 qt. water
1/3 C. heavy whipping cream

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place sausage links onto a sheet pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until done; cut in half length-wise, then cut at an angle into 1/2 inch slices.

Place onions and bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until onions are almost clear. Remove bacon and crumble. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional 1-minute. Add chicken base, water, and potatoes, simmer 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale and cream. Simmer 4 minutes and serve. Optional: add half teaspoon of fennel seed.
=========

My variations:
1 pound mild italian sausage (took off casing) & browned in soup pot
5 potatos med. dice
1 onion diced
2 cartons prepared chicken stock (next time will use 3)
1 bunch washed kale (leaves only)
homogenized milk instead of heavy cream (for calorie savings)
precooked bacon (just a small handful)
 
I made my own version of this last night and it was fantastic!
Here's what I did:

2-1/2 lbs GOOD italian sausage:
place into a crockpot, along with 2 c. drinking water and chicken bouillon.
(I use the "better than bouillon" that comes in a jar and resembles the consistency of suet. I used about 1 Tbsp)
Cook for 2 hours on high. Cut sausage into bite sized pieces and cook for another 2 hours (or more).

8 slices bacon:
cut away ALL fat and then cut into bite sized bits. Place into a large skillet, along with 3 green onions, sliced, 3 cloves minced garlic, and 2 Tbsp butter. Cook on a low setting. After butter is melted, continue to cook on medium till bacon is cooked through.

1-10oz. package of frozen, cut spinach:
Microwave with a bit of water till soft. Add to skillet and heat thoroughly.

In a soup kettle:
Place 1 pound of frozen potato cubes (also called hash browns) in kettle and add water to cover by 1"-2" and add another 1 Tbsp. of chicken bouillon. Cook on high till potatoes are heated through. Add about 1 qt of water to the kettle. Heat through.


Add Skillet items to soup kettle. Add milk (around 8-10oz.) and heat.

In a small bowl:
Mix together 3 Tbsp. flour and 2 Tbsp milk till smooth. Add 2 Tbsp of the soup broth and stir well. Add another 2 Tbsp of broth and stir again. Repeat 2 more times. (This prohibits any lumps) Add this mixture to the soup and stir well. Heat for another 5-10 minutes on a low setting.

Serve each bowlful with 2-3 Tbsp of freshly grated parmesan on top, and a small handful of pencil-thin crispy breadsticks on the side.
 
I've never had their soups either, as I go through 2 bowls of their salad all by myself! My son's had the pasta fagiole, and says it's good. All I know is that this recipe is really worth making. Expect compliments!
 
I'm a big fan of Olive Garden soup and salad. I get the pasta fagoli (sp) most of the time and love it. My gd always gets two bowls of the other soup, but 1 bowl of the past fagoli is enough for me, along with the salad, of course, which I always get seconds. If I've been very good, I will get the berry crostada for dessert, but usually I haven't been good enough for that.
 
I absolutely hate the Olive Garden. I would almost rather go without dinner than eat there (almost). The exception is this soup. I could eat bowl after bowl and keep going. I think I have a copy of this recipe somewhere. Thanks for posting this. It has reminded me that I have not tried to make it yet. Maybe I will do it this weekend.
 
I'm not an Olive Garden fan either - yuck!

However, I do love good homemade soup, & since my husband doesn't eat red meat, but we both like kale, I developed this version which I make quite often - especially when the kale in the garden is ready to use.

PORTUGUESE KALE & TURKEY SAUSAGE SOUP

One medium onion, peeled & chopped
One pound of kale, de-ribbed, ribs discarded, & leaves roughly sliced/chopped
1-1/2 quarts or so of chicken stock (if not homemade, I usually use one carton + one can of Swanson's)
Two medium potatoes, peeled & diced -OR- two cans of cannelini/white kidney beans, rinsed **
One package (usually 12 to 16 ounces) turkey kielbasa sausage, sliced
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large soup pot add enough olive oil to coat the bottom & saute onion until starting to soften, but not brown. Add sliced sausage & continue sauteeing until everything is just starting to brown a little. Add chicken stock & diced potatoes (if using) & simmer until potatoes are tender - about 15 minutes or so. Add kale & continue cooking until kale is tender. (** if using beans instead of potatoes, add chicken stock & bring to a simmer. Add kale & cook until tender; then add beans & stir gently until beans are just heated thru.) Add salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste & serve.

 
The closest Olive Garden to us is the one in St. Clair, which is only about 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis. That's about 60-70 miles from us, a long ride for me.
The one time we tried to go there, they were closed. (Christmas Day, after putting the grandson on the plane to Florida.) We never did find any place to eat that day, and came home and had a ham sandwich.

I love Italian food, and have grown up around the real stuff. A lot of Europeans came here during the 40's to work in the coal mines. The first pizza I ever ate was made especially for us by an Italian friend of my Grandpa Snarr. We'd never heard of pizza before, but he had run across is in Chicago.
It was more about the crust, garlic, and olive oil than anything else. I was very young, but I remember pieces of tomato, sliced sausage, olives, stinky cheese, and some other things...maybe anchovies.
My dad worked second shift, and when he came home, he could smell the garlic on mom on me in the hallway.
 
Last edited:
And here's the variation I always use. Cauliflower instead of potatoes - you can't tell the difference!

Zuppa Toscana

1 Pound hot Italian sausage
1 Pound bacon, chopped
1 Quart water
2 14.5-oz cans chicken broth
1 Pound frozen cauliflower
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
1 Medium onion, chopped
8 ounces frozen spinach or kale
1 Cup heavy cream
salt & pepper

Instructions: Brown sausage. Drain. Set aside

Brown bacon. Drain. Set aside.

Place water, broth, cauliflower, garlic, & onion in large pot. Simmer over medium heat until cauliflower is tender.

Add sausage and bacon to pot. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add spinach (or kale) and cream to pot. Season with salt & pepper. Heat through.
 
variations

there are so many variations for this soup. sometimes i will grill the sausage on a grill then cut into peices whole different taste. I use sausage that is not hot and control the heat with red pepper flakes. I add garlic to mine and sometimes just a pinch of tomato paste.It is a great soup so add your ideas to make it what you want.:chef:
 
jkath said:
I've never had their soups either, as I go through 2 bowls of their salad all by myself! My son's had the pasta fagiole, and says it's good. All I know is that this recipe is really worth making. Expect compliments!

just curious "pasta fagioli" translates pasta beans.

is this pasta made from a type of beans, or is it a soup that includes both pasta and beans, "pasta e fagioli"?
 
It's a thick soup - almost a stew sometimes - made with both pasta and beans. There are a number of variations, but the most frequently found use short tubular pasta & either red or white kidney beans (Cannelini).
 

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom