Creamy Sausage Italian Soup

5 from 3 votes

Creamy Sausage Italian Soup

Recipe video above. This is a cosy, creamy soup that really makes the most of a packet of gnocchi! This is the recipe that accompanies the homemade Italian Sausage Meat I shared on Monday. Sausage meat adds loads of flavour to the broth, there’s a good amount of veg, and I love how the gnocchi look like soft pearly pillows floating in the soup. :)

I also like how it stretches one standard 500g/1lb packet of gnocchi to serve 5 because, despite what the label says, there’s no way it serves 4 with just a pasta sauce!!

Gluten-free: see notes. Easy! :)

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Course: Mains, Soups

Cuisine: Italian-esque

Keyword: creamy soup, gnocchi soup, sausage gnocchi soup, sausage soup

Servings:

Calories: 642cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

500g/ 1 lb potato gnocchi , preferably from fridge rather than aisle (tastes better! Note 1) - or homemade Ricotta Gnocchi
500g/ 1 lb Italian pork sausage meat (homemade or store-bought) or good sausages with meat removed from casings (Note 2)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion , diced
2 garlic cloves , finely minced
3/4 tsp Italian herb mix (just the standard mix from grocery stores)
1/4 tsp red chilli flakes (red pepper flakes), optional
2 celery sticks , cut into small pieces (think - soup spoon eating size)
1 large carrot , peeled and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup Chardonnay or other dry white wine, substitute water (for non-alcoholic)
1/3 cup flour , plain / all-purpose
4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock/broth , low sodium
1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup thickened cream / heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan , finely grated, plus more for serving
1 1/2 cups baby spinach , or torn kale leaves

Hot crusty bread for dunking

Cups - Metric

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE:

Brown sausage, remove. Cook onion and garlic, then carrot, celery, herbs and chilli flakes for 2 min. Deglaze with wine. Stir in flour, then stock, salt, pepper and sausage. Simmer 5 min. Add cream, simmer 5 min. Add gnocchi and parmesan, simmer 2 min (or per packet). Stir in spinach, serve.

FULL RECIPE:

Heat oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up as you go, until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon into a bowl, leaving the fat in the pot. (If the pot looks dry, add a bit more oil)
Sauté - Lower the heat to medium high. Add the onion and garlic, cook for 2 minutes. Then add the carrot, celery, Italian herb mix and chilli flakes, and stir for another 2 minutes.
Deglaze with wine - Add the wine and let it simmer until mostly evaporated.
Make broth - Stir in the flour, it will form a light paste coating everything. Add half the stock and stir to dissolve the paste into the liquid, it will turn a milky colour. Add the remaining stock, salt and pepper. Then add the sausage along with any juices pooled in the bowl.
Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring every now and then. Add cream, simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring once in a while. Add parmesan and gnocchi, stir, simmer for 2 minutes (or whatever time is on the gnocchi packet).
Stir in spinach, then ladle into bowls and serve with a sprinkle of parmesan. Crusty bread for dunking feels essential for this one. :)

Notes

1. Gnocchi from the fridge or freezer made with real potato is best, rather than shelf-stable gnocchi made with rehydrated potato.

2. Sausage meat - Not all sausages are created equal! Get good ones which are mostly meat with very little fillers, typically you'll see splotchy fat and meat bits, whereas the economical ones that are a uniform pink colour have more fillers (save them for fundraiser sausage sizzles!). Or better yet, make your own Italian sausage meat - just pork and pantry spices!

If you're in the States, use bulk Italian sausage meat (sweet, unless you want spicy!).

3. Gluten-free option - Use cornflour / cornstarch to thicken the soup instead of flour, and get gluten-free gnocchi (it exists!). Mix 2 1/2 tablespoons of cornflour with the same amount of water. Then while stirring, slowly pour that into the soup - do this just after you add the gnocchi.

Leftovers will keep for 3 days, though the gnocchi does get quite soft because it continues to absorb liquid (I didn't find it unpleasant though, I really enjoyed the leftovers!)

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition