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Here’s a recipe for Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana with Sweet Potatoes that you need to make this week.  It’s super flavorful, healthy, and easy to make.  A win-win-win!

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana with Sweet Potatoes

I’m so excited to share this recipe with you because I’ve been making it for YEARS.  Two years ago, I shared my first homemade version of The Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana soup.  I made it on the stovetop and my husband and I decided it was the perfect easy weeknight meal.

Last year, I tweaked the recipe to include more user-friendly amounts of kale and chicken broth and shared my updated stovetop recipe.

Then, my sister-in-law told me that she loved making it in her slow cooker with sweet potatoes and I knew it needed yet another update.  My husband and I ate this version of Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana with Sweet Potatoes for dinner last week and decided it’s the best version yet!

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana with Sweet Potatoes

If you buy a three-pound bag of sweet potatoes I highly recommend doubling the recipe and making one for dinner and freezing a second bag to cook later.  Trust me – it’s THAT good.

The combination of spicy sausage, sweet potatoes, and spices is to die for.  In my world, easy recipes that taste delicious are kind of the best thing ever and this is one of them.  Add some bonus points for fresh veggies and you’ll be making this recipe for years to come too. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana with Sweet Potatoes

Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground spicy sausage
  • 3 sweet potatoes (about 1.5 pounds), washed and sliced (no need to peel)
  • 1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped
  • 1.5 teaspoons fennel seeds
  • 1.5 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)

Directions

  1. Break apart the sausage and add all ingredients to your slow cooker, except the heavy cream.
  2. Cook 8 hours on “low” setting or until sausage is cooked through.
  3. Add heavy cream and stir to heat through.

To Freeze and Cook Later

  1. To a gallon-sized plastic freezer bag, add all ingredients (except chicken broth and heavy cream.  You can freeze the cream in a separate bag or wait to buy it until you’re ready to cook the soup).
  2. When ready to eat, thaw.
  3. Dump bag into slow cooker and add chicken broth.
  4. Cook for 8 hours on “low” setting or until sausage is cooked through.
  5. Break apart sausage and add heavy cream.  Stir to heat through.

Serve with fresh bread.  YUM.

Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana with Sweet Potatoes

Thoughts or questions?  Please leave a comment below and I’ll respond as soon as I can.  I’d love to hear from you.

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monica
monica
8 years ago

I would like to say that I love your ideas for the freezer meals. I already have a freezer full, so I can’t make any more so now we need to eat eat eat. We had the italian beef and the mexican soup.. delicious. I was intrigued when I saw this photo, what is there not to love, yams, kale , sausage… however and I don’t mean any harm. You will never find cream in any Zuppe Toscane, and with these flavours, you would not miss it at all.. I think it would be good to omit the cream and… Read more »

Berlandina
Berlandina
8 years ago
Reply to  Kelly McNelis

But they are not italien! Lol! I live in tuscany and belive me in Italy no one use heavy cream in soup! Lol

Kris
Kris
7 years ago
Reply to  Berlandina

I’m certain all the dishes at Olive Garden are Americanized.

Veronica
Veronica
7 years ago
Reply to  Berlandina

Perhaps this is regional? We traveled to Milan and then down to Rome and Naples a few years ago and there are in fact creamy soups in Italy, so I’m not sure how you can say no one uses heavy cream in soup. One tomato soup I ate was one of the creamiest (and most delicious). As for this recipe, I really loved it, but I actually wanted to cut out the fat and tried to eat it sans cream, and sorry it is definitely not flavorful enough for me to go without. It was so bland I ended up… Read more »

Anonymous
Anonymous
8 years ago

I’m so excited to try this recipe! I love Zuppe Toscana and have had it many times and to add the sweet potatoes?!?!?! Yummy!
For the record, anytime that I have had this soup it does contain cream…

Morgan
Morgan
8 years ago

Hi There – I’m about ready to try some recipes from your site – bought some ebooks etc – I basically think every recipe on here looks good! I do have a question though – since you thaw freezer versions overnight and they are not 100% thaw when you put them in (exactly the same procedure I’ll use!) Do your cook times listed work with that system? Or do you add in more time to accommodate having the food partially frozen? I’m usually gone for 10 hours a day – not sure if I should set cook time as the… Read more »

Cyndi
Cyndi
8 years ago

You have revolutionized my life! The cooking thing with the Freezer Meals was just one extra step I don’t need to take in regards to time, just starting out, getting sidetracked easily, and not the most organized person. Finally after all of these years, and I have been married for 34 years and raised 6 children with 2 still at home at 17 & 19 & they learned at home, I can feel free to enjoy cooking on the weekends. I wasted produce, couldn’t figure out the right amount of produce on the shopping list, organizing meals was a nightmare… Read more »

fordpaulne73
fordpaulne73
8 years ago

I am new to this fascinating food preparation method. I just bought the ebooks yesterday and I’m waiting desperately for the link This recipe looks a good one to start. Reading it through it seems that you cook the sausage meat open and then as a dump meal you open the sausage up after cooking. Am I reading this correctly ? Thank you for your wonderful ideas. Pauline

Rhonda Pogson
Rhonda Pogson
8 years ago

I would love to use your freezer meals as I am facing surgery again on my leg and I’d like to plan ahead of time, but My WHOLE family can not have ANY form of dairy foods so could i just leave them out or is there some thing else I could use in their place please?

Kris
Kris
7 years ago
Reply to  Rhonda Pogson

I realize this is an old post, but we use canned full fat coconut milk in place of all dairy and just add a bit more salt to counteract the sweetness of the coconut milk.

Amanda
Amanda
7 years ago
Reply to  Rhonda Pogson

I use canned coconut cream whenever a heavy cream is called for.