Instant Pot Gnocchi Soup (Vegetarian)

5 from 7 votes

This Olive Garden inspired gnocchi soup is easy to make in the Instant Pot. It is loaded with vegetables and is creamy in texture. It can be made dairy-free by using coconut milk. Check out how to make a hearty potato gnocchi soup in the Instant Pot.

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Gnocchi soup with vegetables served in a bowl.

Cold winter days call for some hearty comfort food. This creamy Instant Pot potato gnocchi soup is a perfect one-pot meal for such days and it can be made in just about 30 minutes. This Olive Garden inspired gnocchi soup is very easy to make. It can also be made dairy-free.

It is loaded with vegetables and makes a satisfying meal in itself. You can also serve it with your favorite bread. This Instant Pot vegetable gnocchi soup can be made ahead of time for meal planning and stored in the fridge to be enjoyed later in the week.

If you enjoy making soups in Instant Pot, you can also check out Instant Pot pumpkin soup, Instant Pot cauliflower soup, and Instant Pot potato soup.

What is gnocchi made of?

Gnocchi, pronounced as 'noh-kee', is a variety of dumplings originating from Italian cuisine. It may look like pasta but it is made from potatoes, semolina, and sometimes eggs. There are eggless and gluten-free options for gnocchi available in the stores.

Ingredients

This creamy gnocchi soup is inspired by Olive Garden Gnocchi soup but it is the vegetarian version. The main ingredient is gnocchi or potato dumplings. You get a variety of gnocchi in the grocery stores in the pasta aisle and I have used the egg-free potato gnocchi for this recipe.

Potato gnocchi soup is loaded with all the goodness of a variety of vegetables like celery, carrots, broccoli, bell pepper, baby spinach, and mushrooms, and you can add your favorite ones.

The creaminess in the soup comes from heavy cream and cheddar cheese, however, to make it vegan you can use coconut milk and cornstarch slurry.

Herbs and spices like rosemary, bay leaf, Italian seasoning, and black pepper add flavor to this rich and creamy soup.

Instructions

It is really very easy to make this creamy potato gnocchi soup in an Instant Pot in just about 30 minutes. Once you have all the vegetables chopped, it is a breeze to make this hearty soup. I have made this soup in the 6 qt. Instant Pot.

The first step is to saute the onions and minced garlic in olive oil for a few seconds in the saute mode. After that saute all the veggies except broccoli and spinach as they cook really fast and are best to add later in the process.

Once the veggies are well sauteed, add the vegetable stock and deglaze the bottom of the Instant Pot with a spatula. After that add the potato gnocchi ensuring it is covered with the liquid or press it down with the spatula. Finally, add the broccoli florets, rosemary, bay leaf, and Italian seasoning.

collage of 4 images to saute veggies and add gnocchi to the instant pot.

Cook it on high-pressure mode for 1 minute followed by a quick release and then stir in the grated cheese, heavy cream, pepper, and spinach and give it a mix. The cheese will melt as the soup is hot and the spinach will also get cooked.

Initially, you will feel that the soup is runny but don't worry, after a few minutes it will start thickening. However, if you wish you can add some more cheese to get the desired thick consistency.

collage of 4 images adding heavy cream, cheese, and spinach to the soup.

Variations

The ingredients that make this soup not suitable for vegans are heavy cream and cheese.

To make a dairy-free gnocchi soup in the Instant Pot, you can replace heavy cream with coconut milk and use vegan cheese. Also, if you want to make it thicker you can add some cornstarch slurry.

This soup does not contain any gluten but the gnocchi that you use may not be gluten-free. So if you are looking to make this gluten-free, just be sure to check the ingredients on the package to ensure that the gnocchi is gluten-free.

Serving suggestions

This vegetable gnocchi soup is hearty, delicious and a meal in itself. You can serve it as is as a complete meal or with a variety of bread like a bread bowl, sourdough bread, French bread, garlic bread, Olive Garden style breadsticks, or pull-apart rolls. While serving the soup, you can sprinkle some pepper, grated cheese, or herbs.

Storage

Gnocchi soup can be refrigerated for 3-4 days in an air-tight container after allowing it to cool down completely. It works well for weekly meal planning and you can make this over the weekend to eat it during the week.

When you are ready to eat, you can simply reheat it in the microwave, stovetop, or saute mode in the Instant Pot.

Gnocchi soup will thicken after cooking and after storing it in the fridge. So, while reheating, you can add some vegetable stock or water to adjust the consistency to a desired one.

FAQ

Can you freeze gnocchi soup?

Freezing gnocchi soup does not work very well. Upon freezing, gnocchi can lose their texture and become mushy. Also, the cream can curdle on reheating so it is not one of the soups that can be made ahead of time and frozen.

However, if you want to do meal planning, a good idea would be to chop and freeze most of the vegetables like celery, carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli. This will save a lot of prep time and you can rinse and dump the vegetables while sauteing and then follow the remaining steps.