This plant-based pesto gnocchi soup is healthy and comforting and just perfect for dinner on a chilly winter day.
I love the idea of a good winter soup and I love the idea of cooking my way right through this lockdown that we’re having in our area right now. The only problem is that when I go on these little culinary adventures of mine, I seem to be the only one in my house who really has any interest in eating my creations. For the record, Chris actually went back for second with this soup, but even if he hadn’t, me having to eat the whole thing by myself wouldn’t have been a problem because the leftovers make a perfectly suitable healthy-but-filling lunch option. I definitely wanted to make sure to share this recipe for plant-based pesto gnocchi soup with you here today, just in case you’re looking to add to your arsenal of favourite winter soup recipes the way that I always am.
I adapted this recipe from a cookbook called Isa Does It, which has a lot of great recipes that actually appeal to me, unlike a lot of plant-based cookbooks. I usually end up just taking regular recipes and adapting them myself, but this book seems to have the perfect balance of recipes that are interesting, but not so interesting that they take a long time to make or add a million ingredients to my grocery order.
Ingredient 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
- Plant-based cream cheese (optional)
So simple! So good!
Making the Pesto Gnocchi Soup
This was one of those recipe that I started a little too early in the day because it looked so beautiful in the photos that it just seemed like something that would probably take quite a bit of time. Honestly, the must 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.
Here’s the full printable recipe!
This plant-based pesto gnocchi soup is healthy and comforting and just perfect for dinner on a chilly winter day.
- 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 plant-based cream cheese 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 about 2 cups of water if your soup seems a bit too thick like mine did.
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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!
MORE IDEAS LIKE THIS
- Creamy Plant-Based Summer Veggie Pasta
- The Ultimate Plant-Based Lasagna Recipe
- Easy Three Ingredient Banana Bread
- The Creek Line House Food Archives
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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.