About this time last year I posted a recipe for Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup and over the course of a year it has morphed into this different, and equally amazing soup! Here’s how it happened: One night I didn’t have chicken, so I subbed sausage…Then our daughter came home from her first semester of college and introduced our family to kale (to my surprise everyone actually ate it!), so I thought of more ways to sneak this superfood into our diet. And ta-da Creamy Sausage, Kale, and Gnocchi Soup was born!
Do your favorite recipes change over time like that? Almost every recipe I post here has a history, I try to only post recipes that have passed the test of time with our family. Time and money are valuable and I don’t want you to waste either of it on a recipe that isn’t going to turn out. I can’t guarantee your preferences will be identical to ours, but I hope you’re finding some new favorites along the way too!
Have you noticed how many soup recipes I post in the winter? It’s because I live in Seattle where soup season is about 9 months of the year – haha! Here’s a picture from a recent walk I took with my husband.
And here’s how this amazing soup is made!
Sausage and Veggies
Just go ahead and throw some mild Italian sausage and veggies together in a large pot and drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil.
Sauté until the sausage is cooked through and the veggies are starting to soften. Add the spices and and a pat of butter and cook briefly until the butter is melted and the spices are fragrant.
Next throw in a few tablespoons of flour (for thickening) and stir until well combined.
Pour in some chicken broth and cook covered over a low simmer until the veggies are softened.
Kale
My daughter is studying to become a dietician in college and when she was home over the holidays she enthusiastically made a kale and bean soup for our family for dinner one night. To my surprise, my kids all ate it! I can’t help but think if I would have tried to sneak some kale into their diet for the first time they would have taken a hard pass, but when their sister did they were excited to try it. So I took their willingness and went with it…now I sneak kale into soups and salads whenever I can and I’ve never heard a complaint.
I’m somewhat of a kale novice still, and am honestly a little confused by all the varieties at the store…but, I look for a curly leaf kale like the one pictured below and chop the leaves into small pieces. I avoid putting the stems in soups.
Add a handful of kale to the soup at the very end of the simmering. It only takes a minute for the kale to wilt and cook through.
Gnocchi
I’m still not 100% sure on how to pronounce it, but our whole family loves gnocchi in soups as a substitute for noodles or potatoes.
Gnocchi cooks in just a few minutes, so I cook it separately and add to the soup after it has finished cooking. I find if I add gnocchi to the soup while I’m still simmering the soup, it’s easy for the gnocchi to become overcooked or mushy. So play it safe and add it at the very end!
That’s all there is to it! It’s not pictured here, but I love to sprinkle my soup with Gruyere cheese before serving. Soooo good!!
Creamy Sausage, Kale, and Gnocchi Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound mild Italian sausage
6 carrots peeled and cut into 1/4” slices
2 celery stalks cut into 1/4” slices
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons chicken base (I use Better than Bouillon)
4 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup cream
16 ounces mini gnocchi, cooked
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Shredded Gruyere cheese, for garnish
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Directions
Melt 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a stockpot over medium-low heat. Add sausage, celery, carrots, and onions, and sauté over low heat until vegetables begin to soften and no pink remains in the sausage. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and the spices. Stir until butter is melted and sprinkle flour over the veggie mixture, stir, and cook until the raw flour taste is cooked out (about 1 minute). Add chicken stock, milk, and chicken base. Stir well to deglaze pan of any roux. Cover and simmer over low heat until slightly thickened and the vegetables are tender (about 30 minutes).
Cook gnocchi in a separate pot as directed. Right before serving, add gnocchi, cream, and salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with shredded gruyere and fresh parsley on the side.
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