Instant Pot Creamy Gnocchi Soup

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Copycat Olive Garden Vegetable Gnocchi Soup turns pillowy gnocchi into a spot on at home version of the popular soup. This creamy soup features a blend of fresh ingredients to make an indulgent comfort food your family will love. On a cool night, nothing beats a creamy gnocchi soup combined with garlic breadsticks, so make sure to try this soup tonight!

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What is Gnocchi Soup?
Ingredients to make the best vegetable Gnocchi Soup
How to make Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup in an Instant Pot
Reason you would love this vegetable gnocchi soup
Pro tips and tricks
FAQs
Easy Copycat Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup

What is Gnocchi Soup?

Gnocchi soup is a creamy, vegetable soup that uses potato gnocchi instead of rice or noodles. The little potato dumplings add heartiness to the soup, making it a very comforting soup to enjoy on a cool day or night.

Gnocchi comes from northern Italian cuisine and dates back to Roman times. Northern Italians used potatoes in their cooking due to the easy accessibility of potatoes vs grain. Gnocchi soup uses the same potato-based pasta to make a creamy and delicious treat.

The soup is similar to our Copycat Olive Garden Minestrone soup that we also have on our site. You should check it out if you are looking for more soup recipes to try!

Ingredients to make the best vegetable Gnocchi Soup

To make gnocchi soup, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Potato gnocchi - You can use your preferred brand.
Butter - You can use oil if you want to make it vegan.
Italian seasoning - You can use your preferred spice blend.
Yellow onion - If you prefer, you can use a white onion instead.
Celery - You can use regular stalks or use pre-minced celery if your grocery store has it available as a shortcut.
Garlic - You can use crushed or minced.
Low sodium vegetable stock - If you can’t find low sodium, regular vegetable broth will work too.
Carrots - You’ll want to peel and dice into small pieces.
Fresh thyme - You could sub in dried thyme, but fresh has a better flavor.
Salt - You can add to taste or omit altogether.
Ground black pepper - You can use freshly ground or whatever pepper you have on hand.
Fresh spinach - You could also use baby spinach or roughly chopped spinach leaves.
Heavy cream - If you prefer, you can use half and half or whole milk. For vegan options, use a non-dairy milk.

How to make Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup in an Instant Pot

When you want to make Olive Garden gnocchi soup in the Instant Pot, follow these easy instructions:

First, melt the butter in the Instant Pot using the SAUTE setting.
Next, add the onions and celery and cook for 2 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. When the onions are ready, add the garlic and cook for a minute.

Next, add carrots, potato gnocchi, salt, black pepper powder, Italian seasoning, vegetable broth, and thyme. DO NOT stir but press gently so that gnocchi is under the veggie broth.
With the ingredients added, switch off the sauté setting.

Next, secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Once sealed, select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 1 minute. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
Carefully remove the lid.
Next, choose the SAUTE-low, take out the bay leaf and thyme, and then press the sauté button again.
Finally, stir in the heavy cream and spinach. Give the spinach a few minutes to wilt, stir, and let the soup simmer for 2 minutes.

Serve the soup with warm garlic bread sticks or your favorite rolls.

Reason you would love this vegetable gnocchi soup

Our vegetable gnocchi soup is a very close copy of the Olive Garden’s soup. It is creamy and full of flavor.

Plus, it is also loaded with veggies that give it some nutritional value for your growing family.

And this soup is also super easy to make since you can place it all in the Instant Pot and let the amazing pressure cooker take care of the rest!

If you love soup, you should also check out our sopa de lentejas and sopa de fideo recipes!

Pro tips and tricks

When you make creamy gnocchi soup, you will want to follow these easy tips and tricks to make the best tasting soup you have ever had:

Pair the soup with your favorite bread or breadsticks
Make it your own by adding extra veggies to the soup
When reheating, add a bit more liquid to bring it back to a consistency you prefer

FAQs

How can you make this recipe creamy?

Our copycat Olive Garden gnocchi soup is a creamy soup. It uses either cream or half and half to give it a creamy texture. You could also use other forms of cream or milk to give it a creamy gnocchi soup too if you prefer.

How to serve

Vegetable gnocchi soup makes a great meal on a cool day or night, or you can serve it as an appetizer or alongside your favorite sandwiches. We often serve it with Olive Garden Breadsticks, dinner rolls, or other breads.

What other vegetables can you substitute?

When you make Copycat Olive Garden Vegetable Gnocchi Soup, you can sub in whatever vegetables you like! You can add peas, corn, mushrooms, or carrots, to name a few possibilities. You could also add in kidney beans if you like for some protein.

How can I make vegan gnocchi soup?

Gnocchi soup only needs a slight variation to make it a vegan gnocchi soup. To make it vegan, either omit the heavy cream/half and half or substitute the cream with oat milk or other non-dairy milk. Just make sure the gnocchi you use does not contain any cream or milk products. Also, use oil instead of butter to sauté the onions.

Can you make this gnocchi soup ahead of time?

You can make gnocchi soup ahead if you like. The flavors will meld together the longer it sits. But, keep in mind, the gnocchi will absorb liquid, so you may need to add more vegetable broth, half and half, or both to bring it back to its correct consistency when reheating.

How do you store?

To store this vegetable soup with potato gnocchi, allow it to cool completely first. Once it is cool, ladle it into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you want to freeze it, then you can ladle it into a freezer safe container and store for up to 6 months.

How do you reheat leftover gnocchi soup?

When you are ready to reheat leftover gnocchi soup, you can ladle it back into the Instant Pot and put it on sauté for a few minutes until it heats through. You will want to watch it carefully and stir on occasion.

You could also place it in a large pot and heat over medium heat on the stove top.

In either case, if you find the gnocchi has absorbed the liquid, you can add a bit more vegetable broth to the soup. All you need to do is stir it in until it reaches the consistency you prefer.

Put this on your list of must-try soups! You will not regret it.
More Instant Pot creamy Soups –

Sopa de Fideo -quick and easy comfort food
Minestrone soup popular Olive Garden copycat!
Italian Lentil soup - packed with flavor
Wild rice soup-So comforting & hearty
Broccoli cheddar soup - popular Panera bread inspired so cheesy & creamy !
Sopa De Lentejas (Mexican Lentil Soup) - Protein packed and so easy
Instant Pot White Bean Soup - tasty, comforting soup that is ready in 15 minutes
Polish Creamy Dill Pickle Soup Recipe - the perfect winter comfort food.

Let us know what you think

If you make this delicious recipe, let us know how it went! When you make this, be sure to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @dbellyrulesdmind or Facebook @thebellyrulesthemind!

Easy Copycat Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup

Yield: 4 -6 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 package 16-ounce potato gnocchi
2 tablespoons butter
1 Teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 small yellow onion diced
1 stalk celery chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed
3 cups low sodium Vegetable stock
1 cup carrots chopped into small pieces
2 strings fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-1/2 cup fresh spinach baby spinach or roughly chopped spinach leaves
1 cup Heavy cream or 2 cups half and half

Instructions

First, melt the butter in the Instant Pot using the SAUTE setting.
Next, add the onions and celery and cook for 2 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent. When the onions are ready, add the garlic and cook for a minute.
Next, add carrots, potato gnocchi, salt, black pepper powder, Italian seasoning, vegetable broth, and thyme. DO NOT stir but press gently so that gnocchi is under the veggie broth.
With the ingredients added, switch off the sauté setting.
Next, secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Once sealed, select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 1 minute. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam.
Carefully remove the lid.
Next, choose the SAUTE-low, take out the bay leaf and thyme, and then press the sauté button again.
Finally, stir in the heavy cream and spinach. Give the spinach a few minutes to wilt, stir, and let the soup simmer for 2 minutes.
Serve the soup with warm garlic bread sticks or your favorite rolls.

Notes

When you make creamy gnocchi soup, you will want to follow these easy tips and tricks to make the best tasting soup you have ever had:

Pair the soup with your favorite bread or breadsticks
Make it your own by adding extra veggies to the soup
When reheating, add a bit more liquid to bring it back to a consistency you prefer

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About Soniya

Hello, I am Soniya, the cofounder of The Belly Rules The Mind. Originally from Mumbai, India, I am settled in Virginia US with my husband.

I am a mother of 2 energetic boys, referred to as R2 (15-year-old) and R3 (10-year-old) on the blog. In case you are wondering who is R1, well that is my husband.

My hubby and I were born in Mumbai, India, where we were spoiled by the wealth of food choices available to us. We could enjoy everything from yummy street food to multi-cuisine restaurants and we became very picky about what we like and what we don't. Read more