Easy Mushroom Gnocchi Soup
Hello, friends! I hope this week is finding you well. It’s been cold and snowy in my neck of the woods in Colorado and I’ve loved every minute of it. The beginning of the year can be one of the coldest seasons here and it just feels like the perfect time of year for soup. We’ve moved on from the heartiness of holiday food but it’s still cold enough to want something cozy and warming. This lightened up, one-pot Mushroom Gnocchi Soup is just the perfect dish for that. It’s a lovely, rustic meal that is fairly quick and simple to throw together and is so savory and delicious.
I start out by making a simple base with onion, garlic, fresh herbs, and spices. Next, I add broth, white wine, and a touch of cream and sour cream to add a velvety smoothness without making the soup too heavy.
After the base has simmered and all of the flavors have melded together, I add in a mixture of earthy mushrooms and soft, pillowy gnocchi. I let this cook just until the mushrooms and gnocchi are tender and then finish with more fresh herbs and lemon juice to brighten it up a bit. You could also make this soup vegetarian or vegan by swapping the chicken broth for vegetable broth and using dairy alternatives. The flavor profile may change slightly but I’m sure it would still be delicious!
This soup is so good and perfect for a chilly night in. Serve it with some crusty bread and you have a most delightful meal. I truly hope you love this soup as much as I do!
Eat well and enjoy!
Ingredient Details
- Oil – I like to use olive or avocado oil as a personal preference, but any sauté oil will work!
- Mushrooms – I love to use a mix of different mushrooms in this soup! You can tweak this to your own taste… and I encourage you to play around with different varieties. But either way, if you want to use all button mushrooms or experience with a mix, it’ll work great!
- Gnocchi – Gnocchi is a type of pasta but very different from your typical noodle. It is typically made from potato flour and formed into small, somewhat dense dumpling-like pillows. You can find packaged Gnocchi in the same section as dried pasta in your local grocery store. It is an easy ingredient to add and cooks quickly!
- Onion, Garlic, Thyme Leaves, Paprika, and Celery Seed – These are the base flavors of this soup and give it a wonderfully fragrant flavor. Any variety of paprika would work (hot, sweet, smoked, etc.). Need an easy way to remove thyme leaves from the stem? Simply pinch the stem at the top end with your thumb and forefinger of one hand and pinch the stem directly below with your thumb and forefinger of the other hand. Slide the fingers of your bottom hand down the stem, in the opposite direction that the leaves are growing, to easily remove them.
- White Wine – You’ll want to use a dry or medium-bodied white wine for this soup. A Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Chardonnay would work well. Nothing too sweet as it may completely change the flavor profile. I would not use cooking wine as it tends to be very acidic and can add an odd flavor. However, you do not need to spend a lot of money on a bottle of wine – There are so many good budget-friendly wines out there! Dark Horse, 99 Crimes, and Josh Cellars are some of my favorites. There are also some great boxed wines including Black Box, Bota Box, and Woodbridge.
- Chicken Stock – Any chicken stock or broth will do! You may need to adjust the amount of salt you add, depending on if you use low sodium or regular broth.
- Butter, Heavy Cream, and Sour Cream – This mixture adds a nice creaminess to the soup without adding the typical heaviness of a cream soup.
- Cold Water and Flour – These ingredients are used to make a “slurry” to help thicken the soup. Whisking flour with water first prevents the flour from forming clumps in the soup.
- Fresh Rosemary and Bay Leaves – These are meant to add flavor to the soup but should be removed before serving. Some rosemary will probably fall of the sprig during cooking and that’s perfectly fine!
- Lemon Juice – This doesn’t add a lot of lemon flavor but instead adds a brightness and freshness to the soup. I love adding a splash of lemon juice right at the end of a savory recipe!
- Fresh Parsley and Dill – Because these are such soft herbs, they don’t need a lot of cook time. I add them at the very end, along with the lemon juice, just before serving. You can also garnish the soup with any leftover parsley or dill.
- Salt and Pepper – With soups, I tend to go conservative on the salt and pepper at the beginning and then add more, if needed, after doing a final taste test before serving.
- Crusty bread – This soup is delicious on its own, but a nice slice of crusty bread makes the perfect companion for a cozy meal.
This weeknight friendly soup combines the savoriness of fresh herbs with the earthiness of mushrooms and adds just enough cream to give it a hearty mouthfeel without being too heavy. Adding store bought gnocchi rounds out the soup to make it the perfect hearty meal for a winter evening.
- 1 to 2 tbsp olive or avocado oil (any unflavored cooking oil would work)
- 7 cup assorted mushrooms, roughly chopped (I love baby Portabella, button, and oyster mushrooms)
- 1 lb packaged gnocchi
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 4 clove garlic, mince
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp celery seed
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 10 cup low sodium chicken stock
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 to 3 tbsp each of cold water and flour (this is for a thickening slurry)
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- Juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, minced (plus more for garnish)
- 1 ½ tbsp fresh dill, minced
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Crusty bread for serving
Heat the oil in a large stock pot or soup pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the diced onion, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add the garlic, fresh thyme, paprika, and celery seed. Sauté for 30 to 60 seconds, or just until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the white wine and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the wine has reduced and the mixture has slightly thickened.
Once the mixture has slightly thickened, add the broth and butter and bring to a simmer. Next, whisk in the heavy cream and sour cream. Continue to whisk until smooth.
Meanwhile, make your thickening slurry. Whisk equal parts cold water and flour in a small bowl. Slowly add this slurry to the soup while whisking constantly and quickly. Keep whisking quickly until there are no lumps.
Add the rosemary sprig and bay leaves. Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat to low-medium and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
Next, add the chopped mushrooms and bring back to a light boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms are almost tender.
Once the mushrooms are almost tender, add the gnocchi and bring back to a boil. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes (or according to package directions). Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprig. Add the fresh parsley, dill, and lemon juice and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with a nice crusty bread on the side.
This soup keeps well in the refrigerator and heats up easily on the stovetop or in the microwave, making it a great meal prep recipe!