This Italian Vegetable Gnocchi Soup is packed with flavor and takes about 30 minutes to make, making it an easy weeknight meal.
Let’s face it: For many of us, cooking at home requires a complete lifestyle change. Alex and I love to talk about the simplicity of cooking at home — and it really is. A few basic skills like chopping an onion and mincing garlic can go a long way. But for those of us who didn’t grow up cooking (like me!), the hardest part is making the lifestyle change. Nourishing foods don’t just jump onto your plate. You we must go. You have to take the time to find it, keep it and prepare it. You, and you alone, need to make the time to focus your life around cooking fresh food. Alex and I learned this the hard way from years of over-processed, under-tasty foods. So you will be surprised that I make this Italian Vegetable Gnocchi Soup.
Related: The Best Healthy Dinner Recipes | Homemade ricotta gnocchi
how to make italian soup
The act of making soup has become so familiar, almost like a dance. Dice the onion and chop the garlic now takes a few minutes, a task that used to take me half the night. (Also, I would have avoided it entirely because really, who wants to wash a cutting board and a knife?). Sweating the onion, then adding garlic and fresh basil fills the kitchen with a smell reminiscent of Italian pizza cooking. The pan sizzles as I pour in the broth for the Italian vegetable soup and add the tomatoes and greens. Then it happily simmers until it smells too good not to taste when I add the gnocchi and spinach. When the gnocchi float and the spinach turns a nice light green color, I know the soup is ready.
And the taste of this Italian soup? Inviting, soothing and deliciously good. It’s taken years, but it keeps us going. Ultimately, the fact that in just over 30 minutes we can create something that nourishes our bodies, satisfies our taste buds, and brings us closer to the people we love is one of the most rewarding things I’ve learned.
Of course, this Italian soup is so flavorful you can go vegan/dairy-free by omitting the parmesan, and it still tastes great! The soup can be made in about 30 minutes, making it perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
It depends on the freshness of food
We created this Italian soup recipe for Sub-Zero and their Fresh Food Matters initiative, which is our pick for the most delicious way to eat tons of fresh veggies. It is a step that we would have liked to have thought of ourselves, because it is also at the heart of what we do. I love this quote from Sub-Zero: “We believe fresh food can make a positive difference in your life. Fresh Food Matters aims to encourage people to reflect on their own relationship with fresh food and learn how to incorporate it into their daily lives.“Hit it! Go towards
Fresh Food Matters to learn more about this initiative.
Listen to us: the A Couple Cooks podcast
Best of all, Sub-Zero is teaming up with Katie Stagliano of Katie’s Krops, a 17-year-old who started a nonprofit to end hunger by growing fresh food. We chatted with her a few days ago and this girl is amazing! wanna listen Here’s Katie’s episode: A Couple Cooks Podcast Episode 18: From the garden to the table! For more information about the Fresh Food Matters campaign, visit FreshFoodMatters.com, including interviews with 13 well-known experts on how food is affecting their lives, as well as practical tips for buying and shopping. Keeping food fresh from season to season.
Looking for healthier and easier soup recipes?
Aside from that Italian soup, here are some of our delicious, healthy, and easy soup recipes:
Related: For this Italian soup, try our homemade vegetable broth!
This recipe is…
This Italian soup recipe is vegetarian. For gluten-free gnocchi, use gluten-free gnocchi. For vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free dishes, omit the parmesan topping.
The description
This Italian Vegetable Gnocchi Soup is packed with flavor and takes about 30 minutes to make, making it an easy weeknight meal.
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 Garlic cloves
- ½ cup chopped basil leaves, plus extra for serving if desired
- 15-oz can of chickpeas
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 a pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 pint vegetable soup
- 281 ounce fire roasted tomatoes, diced*
- 151 ounce fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Ground fresh pepper
- 1 ½ cups frozen (or fresh) sliced green beans
- 1 pound of gnocchi (gluten-free if needed; here’s our favorite)
- 4 at 6 cups of spinach leaves
- Parmesan for serving (optional)*
- Chop the onion and mince the garlic cloves. chop basil. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Sauté onion for about 5 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic and basil for 1 minute. Add the chickpeas, red pepper flakes, broth, two cans of tomatoes and their juice, kosher salt, and some fresh peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Add the green beans and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Separate the clumps from the gnocchi, then add to the pan and cook until tender, 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach until tender, about 1 minute.
- To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl and garnish with parmesan and basil leaves, if desired. Let it cool down a bit before diving!
Remarks
*Note: Use fire roasted tomatoes whenever possible; Avoid varieties without added salt. With the fresh basil, the soup is very flavorful and doesn’t require the addition of cheese, but feel free to add some if you’d like.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cook
- Kitchen: Italian
Keywords: Soup, Vegetarian Soup, Gluten Free, Vegetarian, Italian Soup, Gnocchi, Gnocchi Soup, Italian Soup Recipes, Italian Vegetable Soup
