Are you craving soup for supper tonight? Our sausage and gnocchi soup is a low carb Italian recipe. This healthy comfort food is easy to throw together for a simple weeknight meal, which is sure to please!
If you love eating Italian soups, you'll want to check out our zuppa toscana and our minestrone.
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Ingredients
Our sausage and gnocchi soup is made with pantry staples. Let's talk about some of the key ingredients.
- Meat: We used spicy Italian sausage for the best flavor, but if you need to substitute use ground turkey and add a bit of paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, and fennel.
- Gnocchi: We used one pound of packaged gnocchi.
- Vegetables: We used 4 cups of packed, fresh kale that had the ribs removed and was torn into bit sized pieces.
- Diary: We used freshly grated Parmesan cheese and heavy cream in the recipe card. (Note: For the photo shoot, we used full fat coconut milk.)
- Spices: We used salt, black pepper, fresh thyme leaves, fresh parsley, and bay leaves. The spicy Italian sausage also has paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and fennel, so if you substitute your meat, you'll need to add that in as well.
How to Make
Prep all the ingredients for our sausage and gnocchi soup. Grate the cheese, mince the garlic, chop the onion, and take the thyme leaves off the stems.
- Cook the Italian sausage for 4 minutes, until it's browned.
- Drain the meat well to remove excess grease.
3. Saute the onion in oil until soft and starting to turn color, roughly 5 minutes, then add the garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add the spices, except the bay leaves, and let them bloom for about a minute while constantly stirring.
4. Deglaze the pan with some of the chicken broth, scraping off the brown fond from the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the chicken broth, pimentos, and bay leaves, then stir.
6. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high, and cook the gnocchi for 4 minutes or until it floats on top. Reduce the heat to medium low and let the soup simmer for 13 minutes to help the soup thicken from the potato starch.
7. Add the kale, stir, and cook until wilted, roughly 2 minutes.
8. Remove from the heat and pour in the heavy cream or full fat coconut milk (photo).
9. Stir until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. If you want, skim the fat off the top. Garnish with cheese.
10. Transfer the sausage and gnocchi soup to a serving bowl. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Recipe FAQs
If you want to lower the fat, use evaporated milk instead of heavy cream. If you want to add more vegetables, add shredded carrots. If you want to lower the sodium, reduce the salt by 50%.
If you need to make this vegetarian, start with substituting the sausage for either a plant based sausage or use drained cannellini beans. Switch the chicken broth for vegetable broth, and add a bit of paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, and fennel.
Yes, but freeze it before adding the heavy cream because dairy products don't freeze well. When you're ready to eat it, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on medium in a heavy bottomed pot when it's the temperature you desire, remove from the heat and stir in the cream.
Serve
Our sausage and gnocchi soup tastes amazing when served with some freshly baked crusty bread like our everything bagel bread. You can round out your meal by serving it with our easy copycat Chick-fil-A side salad or our healthy Chick-fil-A fruit cup.
Store
- Make Ahead: Our sausage and gnocchi soup tastes amazing the next day, so feel free to make it the night before.
- Leftovers: Any leftovers will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge in an air tight container.
- Reheat: To warm up, pour the soup into a heavy bottomed pot and reheat over medium heat until it's the temperature you desire.
Variations
- Don't like kale? Substitute it for spinach, Swiss chard, collard greens, or mustard greens.
- Want it more colorful? Add canned diced tomatoes or shredded carrots.
Expert Tips
- Want it to be creamy in color? Drain the sausage in a colander, skim off excess fat near the end of cooking.
- Want to freeze it? Just leave out the cream. Thaw this overnight in the fridge, then add the cream.
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Recipe
Sausage and Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup diced pimentos
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound gnocchi
- 4 cups fresh kale, packed, ribs removed and torn
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream or full fat coconut milk
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (garnish)
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced (garnish)
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and brown the sausage, stirring frequently. It should take about 4 minutes. Drain in a colander set over a bowl. Wipe out the Dutch oven.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the Dutch oven and heat it up for two minutes then add the chopped onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant,
- Add the spices and let them bloom for about 1 minute, constantly stirring.
- Deglaze the pot with ⅓ cup of chicken broth by scraping the brown bits off with a wooden turner.
- Stir in the chicken broth, pimentos, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add the cooked, drained sausage to the aromatics. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium high.
- Add the gnocchi and cook until it floats, about 4 minutes then reduce the heat to medium low and let the soup simmer for 13 minutes so the soup will thicken from the potato starch.
- Stir in the kale and cook until it is wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Remove the 2 bay leaves and stir in the cream or coconut milk. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. If you want, skim the extra fat off the top with a large spoon. Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley and freshly grated Parmesan cheese (1 tablespoon per bowl).
Crockpot Instructions
- In a bit of oil, saute the sausage, onion, and garlic in a skillet. Drain the grease, then place in the crockpot with the stock, pimentos, bay leaves, and spices. Cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours.
- Skim fat off the top. Add gnocchi and cook for 30 minutes or until they float on top. Add kale and cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until wilted.
- Shut off the heat, then stir in the cream or the full fat coconut milk. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and parsley.
Notes
- For a creamy colored soup, drain the sausage in a metal sieve over a bowl, and skim off excess fat near the end of cooking.
- Leave out the cream if you plan on freezing it. When ready to use thaw in the fridge, then add the cream after reheating.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Our sausage and gnocchi soup was originally published on October 12, 2018 and was updated on August 19, 2022.
Alex
The gnocchi is soft and delicious, and the Italian spicy sausage adds a wonderful meaty compliment to the other flavors. The kale and red peppers in this soup are good as well.
Emma
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Alex! Thanks for your comment!
Beth
I love how spicy and colorful this soup is! The gnocchi, sausage, and peppers as well as the flavorful broth are fantastic. It is a warm, comforting soup.
Emma
Thank you so much, Beth!