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This creamy pesto gnocchi soup is healthy, comforting, and just perfect for a light dinner on a summer evening.
This pesto gnocchi soup is one of those wonderful things that are somehow both light and filling at the same time. You’ll find this healthy dish is light enough for a summer meal without being so light that it leaves you hungry immediately afterward. I love that this recipe is full of fresh, summer flavor thanks to the crisp greens and bright basil, but utilizes pantry and freezer staples to make it easy and convenient to throw together. If your family isn’t keen on torn greens in their soup, you can puree the spinach or kale right into the soup, and they’ll never know it’s there. A healthy serving of greens will be eaten in a delightful, bright green soup, and no one will be the wiser. I love the elevating touch of adding toasted pine nuts as a garnish, but feel free to substitute slivered almonds or something similar if that’s what you have in your kitchen cabinet.
Try next: Easy Kale and Sunflower Seed Pesto
Ingredients Needed to Make the Plant-Based Pesto Gnocchi Soup
- Garlic
- Fresh basil
- Toasted pine nuts
- Veggie stock
- Store-bought gnocchi
- Fresh spinach or kale
- Canned navy beans
- Frozen cauliflower
- Salt, pepper, dried thyme
- Heavy cream
So simple! So good! If you’d like to make this into a fully plant-based soup, you can either omit the heavy cream entirely, relying on only the cauliflower for creaminess, or you can add a little bit of plant-based cream cheese stirred and melted right into the soup in place of the heavy cream.
Simple, nostalgic, classic: Family-Favorite Pasta Salad
Making the Pesto Gnocchi Soup
This was one of those recipes that I started a little too early in the day because, in my mind, it seemed like something that would probably take quite a bit of time. Honestly, the most difficult part of making this soup was mincing the garlic at the beginning. Other than that, it was easy-peasy.
A few notes:
Toast your pine nuts for about 2 minutes on medium heat in a dry frying pan, shaking the pan frequently to keep them from burning. You can just do this while you’re cooking the rest of the soup. It’s not a big step.
All of the ingredients that I suggest (whether specifically fresh, frozen, etc.) are more to improve the ease of making the soup, rather than the flavour. Feel free to use fresh cauliflower if you like, but I’ve realized over time that fresh cauliflower drives me crazy because of all of the little bits that fly everywhere when you cut it. So now I’m a frozen cauliflower kinda girl.
You’ll need an immersion blender to puree the soup prior to adding the pasta and beans. If you don’t have one, feel free to blend it in batches in a blender or food processor. But honestly, just buy yourself a simple immersion blender. Put it on your Christmas list. I use mine all the time, and I love that it just takes a few seconds to clean. It’s a great kitchen tool that will make your life easier.
Another summer dinner favorite: Creamy Plant-Based Summer Veggie Pasta
Another favorite garden-fresh soup: Creamy Dairy-Free Zucchini Soup
Here’s the full printable recipe!
This creamy pesto gnocchi soup is healthy, comforting, and just perfect for a light dinner on a summer evening.
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 cups frozen cauliflower
- 4 cups veggie broth
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- pinch dried thyme, salt, pepper
- 1 package store-bought gnocchi
- 2 handfuls chopped fresh spinach or kale
- 1 can navy beans, rinsed
- toasted pine nuts to garnish
- 3 tbsp heavy cream optional
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Add oil to a large soup pot and sautee garlic for about 1 minute. Add the cauliflower and most of the broth, minus about 1/2 cup. Set aside the 1/2 cup in a measuring cup or small bowl to use in a later step.
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Bring the pot to a boil and cook for about 5-10 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender. Add in the salt, pepper, and thyme.
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Turning your attention to your reserved broth, stir the cornstarch into it until well-disolved. Dump the broth/cornstarch solution into the soup pot and continue to boil for about 2 minutes, stiring frequently, to thicken the soup up a bit.
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Toss the basil leaves into the soup, remove from heat, and blend everything together well using your immersion blender. Add your heavy cream, plus a small amount of extra water if your soup seems a bit too thick.
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Put the soup back on the stove over medium heat and add in your gnocchi and beans, cooking for about 3-5 minutes. Add in the greens and mix for a few minutes until they're wilted.
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Serve topped with your toasted pine nuts!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.