Gnocchi Minestrone with Italian Sausage (Made in a Slow Cooker)

This gnocchi minestrone recipe switches out the pasta that is typical in minestrone for soft and pillowy gnocchi - small Italian dumplings made with potatoes, flour, eggs, and salt. 

Minestrone is an Italian pasta, bean, and vegetable soup in a tomato-y broth. There are lots of variations depending on the part of Italy it is from. Plus, every family in every region always has their "secret recipe" version. 

It's a great soup for cleaning out the vegetable bin. As long as you have some carrots, celery, zucchini, and beans, you're pretty safe throwing in whatever might be lying around in your fridge. 

This minestrone stubstitutes gnocchi for the pasta in the soup. Gnocchi is a cute little Italian dumpling, typically made with mashed potatoes, flour, salt, and egg. 

To save time with this recipe, you can buy frozen or fresh gnocci from your well-stocked grocery store or an Italian deli. One of these days, I'll try making them from scratch, but that hasn't happened yet (same with pasta, another item on my bucket list). 

Years ago, when I was first married, I got a big wooden utensil collection. Included in the collection were these paddles with small raised ribs. I always thought they were for making butter balls. Now I realize they were for making gnocchi! 

Definitely try gnocchi in your minestrone in lieu of the pasta for a very filling dish. To make this into a meal, bulk it up with spicy Italian sausage. 

This is the perfect make-ahead meal for a crowd. 

Tips for Making:

I made this minestrone in a six-quart slow cooker, but you can make it on the stove top or the in the oven if you have a cast iron Dutch oven. Just cook it on low on the stove top or at 205 degrees F in the oven. 

The slow cooker cooking time is only 2 and 1/2 hours. 

Ingredient Notes:

For the gnocchi, you can substitute potato chunks if you prefer. Just add them when you add the carrots. They should both take the same amount of time. 

For the spicy sausage, feel free to substitute mild or sweet Italian sausage. 

More Minestrone Recipes You May Also Like: 

Minestrone Napoletano

Ticinese Minestrone

Homemade Minestrone Soup

More Slow Cooker Soups

Hamburger Soup

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

As we are entering soup season, this month, Soup Saturday Swappers are sharing recipes for meal-sized soups. Be sure to check out everyone's soups. 

Soup Saturday Swappers

Meal Sized Soups and Stews

• Herb Stocked Couscous Soup by Sneha's Recipes
• Gnocchi Minestrone with Italian Sausage by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Beef GHOULash by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chorizo and Vegetable Posole by Palatable Pastime

Gnocchi Minestrone with Italian Sausage (Made in a Slow Cooker)

Yield: 6 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 1 HourCook time: 3 HourTotal time: 4 Hour

This gnocchi minestrone recipe switches out the pasta that is typical in minestrone for soft and pillowy gnocchi - small Italian dumplings made with potatoes, flour, eggs, and salt.

Ingredients

• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15 ounce) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach
• 1 (9-ounce) package fresh or frozen gnocchi

Instructions

1. In a 12-inch skillet, cook the sausage until no longer pink. Break up into smaller pieces and add them to a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker.
2. Add the broth, tomatoes, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, zucchini, and green beans.
3. Add the Italian seasoning, bay leaf, and pepper and cook on high for 2 hours.
4. Add the beans, spinach, and gnocchi to the slow cooker and cook for another 15 minutes.
5. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

436.17

Fat (grams)

25.81

Sat. Fat (grams)

9.12

Carbs (grams)

30.35

Fiber (grams)

8.13

Net carbs

22.2

Sugar (grams)

9.58

Protein (grams)

22.61

Sodium (milligrams)

1075.58

Cholesterol (grams)

57.46

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2022/10/gnocchi-minestrone-with-italian-sausage.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

gnocchi, soup

dinner

Italian

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