Thick, creamy, and delicious, this vegan gnocchi soup is going to be a new favorite! Soft pillowy gnocchi, fresh veggies, and amazing Italian flavors easily come together all in one pot. Your cozy soup is just 30 minutes away!
Watch out Olive Garden, this homemade vegan version of their chicken dumpling soup has the new dinner spotlight! It tastes like an intense labor of love but is actually incredibly quick and simple to make. Your friends and family won’t even know it’s vegan!
This irresistible soup recipe is great for busy weeknights or anytime you feel like a big comforting bowl of love! Have it as a side dish or make it the main course with added chickpeas or tofu.
If you love hearty, Italian-inspired vegan meals, be sure to check out my Fettuccine Alfredo, Skillet Lasagna, Pasta Alla Vodka, and Stuffed Shells!
Reasons You’ll Love this Recipe
- Full of amazing flavor and very filling
- Dinner is ready in less than 30 minutes
- Is fully vegan, dairy-free, eggless, and meat-free
- Easily comes together in one pot with simple ingredients
- Tastes even better than Olive Garden’s chicken and gnocchi soup
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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Gnocchi – Potato gnocchi is the star of this soup. Look for it in the pasta aisle of your local grocery store or amongst the frozen potatoes. Most are naturally vegan, but you might want to check the ingredients just in case.
- Dairy Replacements – Plant-based butter such as Country Crock or Earth Balance work in this recipe. For milk, I like soy because it has less of a flavor but you can use another kind such as almond, oat, or even coconut.
- Vegetables – The fresh veggies in this gnocchi soup are white onions, carrots, garlic, and baby spinach. Yellow onion works just as well. You can also slice the carrots instead of shredding them if you want more of a hearty bite. You can even add other veggies to this soup like celery, potatoes, mushrooms, or kale.
- Soup Thickener – All-purpose flour and cornstarch help create a thick and creamy soup. Whole wheat flour or gluten-free can be used instead. Skip the cornstarch if you’d rather have a thinner soup.
- Broth – I use low-sodium vegetable broth for the added flavor that it brings to the soup. Alternatively, you can use water or vegan bouillon mixed with water.
- Seasoning– Poultry seasoning and Italian seasoning are both found in the spice aisle at the store. They are conveniently made up of a combination of seasonings that I like to have on hand.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here are some quick visual steps. Find the full recipe with exact measurements on the recipe card below.
Prepare the vegetables by dicing the onions, shredding the carrots, mincing the garlic, and coarsely chopping the baby spinach.
Heat a large pot. Add the vegan butter and let it melt. Then, sauté the onions for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and garlic. Stir as they cook for 2 minutes.
Lower the heat level to medium. Add the flour to the pot and stir everything until the veggies are fully coated with it. This should only take 1-2 minutes.
Mix the cornstarch into the plant-based milk with a whisk or fork until it’s lump-free.
Stir in the vegetable broth, plant milk/cornstarch mix, and all the seasoning to the pot. Stir occasionally as the soup cooks and thickens for 10 minutes.
Add the gnocchi and let it cook for 5-10 more minutes depending on how thick you want it.
Finally, remove the pot from the heat, stir the baby spinach in, and enjoy!
Notes
If your gnocchi is frozen, keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to add it so that it maintains its structure. Frozen gnocchi only takes 2-3 more minutes of cook time to heat through.
Variation Ideas
- Include diced celery, potatoes, mushrooms, kale, or chickpeas.
- You can use water or bouillon with water instead of vegetable broth.
- Use any plant-based milk such as soy, almond, oat, or even coconut.
- Omit the cornstarch and/or add more broth if you want a thinner soup.
- Kick up the spiciness with a pinch of cayenne.
- Add vegan chicken or tofu to the soup during the last 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle in some vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast before eating.
FAQs
Bite into or cut a gnocchi dumpling after it has cooked for 6 minutes. It is done when the gnocchi is soft on the outside and tender on the inside.
This soup can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for 4 days or the freezer for 3 months. If frozen, thaw it out in the refrigerator overnight or on the defrost setting of your microwave before reheating it.
Reheat the soup over medium-low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave. It will thicken over time, so you’ll want to add water or more vegetable broth to thin it out as it’s reheating.
I hope you loved this recipe! If you try it, please let me know what you think with a rating and comment below. Your feedback really supports my blog and is helpful to other readers! 🙂 You can stay updated on my latest recipes by following me on Pinterest and joining my Email List.
Vegan Gnocchi Soup
Bonnie – Serene Trail
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1/2 medium white onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, shredded
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, (30g)
- 2 cups plant milk, (473ml)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 cups vegetable broth, or bouillon + water, (710ml)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 16 ounces potato gnocchi, (454g)
- 1 cup baby spinach, chopped, (30g)
Instructions
- Dice the onions, shred the carrots, mince the garlic, and coarsely chop the baby spinach.
- Bring a large pot to medium-high heat. Add the vegan butter to the pot and let it melt. Then, sauté the onions for about 3 minutes. Next, add the carrots and garlic. Stir as they cook for about 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat level to medium. Add the flour to the pot and stir everything until the veggies are fully coated with it. This should only take about 1 minute.
- Using a fork or whisk, mix the cornstarch into the plant-based milk until it’s lump-free. Pour this mixture into the pot along with the vegetable broth and all of the seasonings. Stir occasionally as the soup cooks and thickens for 10 minutes.
- Add the gnocchi and let it cook for 5-10 more minutes depending on your desired consistency. Finally, remove the pot from the heat, stir the baby spinach in, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Recipe Variation Ideas
- Include diced celery, potatoes, mushrooms, or kale for added veggies.
- Use any plant-based milk such as soy, almond, oat, or even coconut.
- You can use water or bouillon+water instead of vegetable broth.
- Omit the cornstarch and/or add more broth if you want a thinner soup.
- Kick up the spiciness with a pinch of cayenne.
- Add vegan chicken or tofu to the soup during the last 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle in some vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast before eating.
Storage
This soup can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 days or the freezer for 3 months. If frozen, thaw it out in the refrigerator overnight or on the defrost setting of your microwave before reheating it.Reheat
Reheat the soup over medium-low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave. It will thicken over time, so you’ll want to add water or more vegetable broth to thin it out as it’s reheating.Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate from third-party calculations.
5 stars! So easy and delicious. Perfect for a chilly night. Also quick to make so great for a weeknight. Thank you for a great recipe, Bonnie! Will put this in regular rotation 😃
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that you liked it!
Absolutely amazing! As soon as I saw this I knew I had to make it. Omnivore family and friends approved too!
Thank you! I’m so glad you all liked it!!
Followed this recipe to a T and it was fantastic. So luscious and creamy without being heavy like animal dairy. It’s also so versatile and creates a nice base for a lot of other applications like mushroom soup, veggie pot pie, etc. Really nice…..thanks. 👍
I’m so glad you liked it and I love your ideas of other ways to use it!
Eating this as I type & it is SO GOOD!! I used kale instead of spinach because it was ready in the garden, so I cooked the kale a bit longer than I would have with spinach. So easy we’ll be making this often, thank you!
I’m so happy to hear this and kale in the soup sounds delicious!
Is the gnocchi precooked or does tossing it in the broth at the end get the job done? I’m using frozen gnocchi.
Gnocchi, whether frozen or not only needs a few minutes to cook in hot soups. I would check the instructions on the label, but yours should only need 3-5 minutes at the end of the soup.
I know this is going to be good but if you don’t have kale, mushrooms, or spinach what would you suggest for a veggie a green veggie to add to the soup. Does it have to have a green vegetable? I’m about to make it tonight. It looks super delicious. I’ll send updates once complete.
Hi Cherie, You can add celery or broccoli at the same time as the carrots; however, you definitely don’t have to add any of those green veggies. Happy cooking!!
Wonderful soup! Made it exactly as written. My new go to comfort soup for sure!
That’s so wonderful to hear, Sue!!
Looks delicious, can’t wait to try. Would gluten free flour have the same result as the regular all purpose flour?
Hi Dan! Yes, any flour should work as a soup thickener. I have had great results with a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour in this soup. Hope you love it!
This soup was the first intentionally vegan dish I’ve ever cooked and it was out of this world. I cooked a pot of soup using this recipe and another pot with chicken that followed Olive Garden’s recipe. The vegan soup was far superior on flavor – by a long shot! I added mushrooms and substituted the soy milk for Silk’s dairy free half and my god what a treat. My partner had eaten the whole pot by the next morning! Adding this recipe to the regular rotation.
Hi Allison, I’m so happy to hear that you all liked this soup! Your changes sound delicious!
Excellent. I made with oat milk.
I’m so glad to hear that you liked the soup, Jackie!
I loved it! Super easy and doesn’t take hours to make. I’m going to use a little less salt next time if pairing with vegan “better than bullion” chicken broth. This kind of reminds me of my old favorite Olive Garden soup. I would highly recommend this recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that you loved the gnocchi soup, Cassie!!
Super delicious for a non-vegan!
Great to hear and thank you!
It’s delicious!!! I’ll make again. I didn’t have spinach so I used one cup of cooked kale, drained from a can.
So good!!! Canned kale is very low in sodium.
Yum! Cooked kale sounds delicious and I’m so happy to hear that you liked the soup!
Made this tonight with coconut milk and added mushrooms, chickpeas and reconstituted spinach. It was awesome.
Hi Peggy, I’m so happy to hear that you liked it and your additions sound delicious!!
Hi! I’m not vegan so I made two batches, one with cow milk and one following the recipe exactly. Firstly, both were delicious! I really recommend it. I added mushrooms and spinach as recommended and it was great, though the color was a lot darker in the nondairy due to the mushroom juice. A big note: Make sure you buy or make good gnocchi! I bought some and it tasted awful! If you have the same issue, make sure to sauté the premade gnocchi to make it less gummy (I, personally, had to search and try a lot to save it lol). Or substitute with small potatoes, like we eventually ended up doing. If anyone has good recs for gnocchi, please let me know!
These are great tips, thank you!