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Zuppa cavolo nero
Photo © Serena Angelini
Photo © Serena Angelini

Top Tuscan soups to beat the chill

A list of traditional soups and recipes that you can find around the Region

There isn’t a better way to beat the winter cold than a warm bowl of soup. From cacciucco to ribollita, here is a list of traditional soups and recipes that you can find around the Region or.. try to make at home.

Contents
  • 1.
    Cacciucco
  • 2.
    Tuscan chickpea and chards soup or “Chickpea cacciucco”
  • 3.
    Spelt soup
  • 4.
    Bordatino
  • 5.
    Carcerato
  • 6.
    Ribollita
  • 7.
    Acquacotta
  • 8.
    Black cabbage "farinata"
  • 9.
    Pumpkin soup
1.

Cacciucco

Cacciucco alla viareggina
Cacciucco alla viareggina

Cacciucco, perhaps comes from the Turkish world “kuciuck”, which means minute, small, and indicates precisely a dish in which ingredients are made into small pieces. Cacciucco is a popular seafood soup from the coast of Livorno and Viareggio, but each town has its own recipe.

1.

Tuscan chickpea and chards soup or “Chickpea cacciucco”

Tuscan chickpea and chards soup or “Chickpea cacciucco”
Tuscan chickpea and chards soup or “Chickpea cacciucco”

Cacciucco di ceci is vegetable soup made with dried chickpeas and chard and seasoned with extra virgin olive oil. A simple dish that you can find in the hills around Florence.

1.

Spelt soup

Spelt soup
Spelt soup

Farro, or spelt, was one of the favorite dishes of the Romans who used it to feed their legions. It isn’t widely eaten today except in the Garfagnana area where it is still made into fantastic soups

1.

Bordatino

Bordatino
Bordatino - Credit: The Black Fig

It’s a very ancient dish, which used to be prepared on the ships – hence the name: bordatino is zuppa di bordo (on boat soup). It’s made with corn flour, beans and seasonal vegetables. Francesca (aka The Black Fig) shows us how to prepare a great bordatino.

1.

Carcerato

Carcerato soup
Carcerato soup

Carcerato is a traditional soup from Pistoia. It’s made with giblets, stale bread and water and enriched with spices, cheese and garlic. Check out this article about the origins of the soup and follow the video-recipe.

1.

Ribollita

Ribollita
Ribollita

Maybe the most famous Tuscan soup, ribollita is made with stale unsalted Tuscan bread and a variety of vegetables including the local Tuscan kale.

1.

Acquacotta

Acquacotta
Acquacotta - Credit: Flavia Cori

Acquacotta means cooked water, and its secret probably lies in the simplicity of the recipe and its natural, local ingredients: celery, basil, tomatoes, eggs…. the ingredients change according to the seasons, so there’s no such thing as a standard recipe for this dish.

1.

Black cabbage "farinata"

Black cabbage farinata
Black cabbage farinata

This dish comes from the uplands and uses yellow or maize flour. This farinata can only be prepared in winter, when fresh black cabbage (cavolo nero) grows. 

1.

Pumpkin soup

Pumpkin soup
Pumpkin soup - Credit: Italian I

Since it has a very sweet flavor for Tuscan tastes, in Tuscany you’ll always find it combined with strong flavored ingredients such as onion or herbs as rosemary. Let’s travel to the heart of the Valdarno for a hearty pumpkin soup recipe.

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