My lady, Colleen, made this soup for me in early 2018. I took a sip and was wowed by the taste. We’ve made it several times since and I love the taste just as much as the first time.

I made this for my son and his family shortly after the first time Colleen made it for me. It turned out well except for a small boo-boo. When I purchased the spinach, I didn’t do a good job of reading the label. Instead of baby spinach, I picked out a spinach and kale combo. It worked but I didn’t care for the texture of the kale in the soup. Anyway, on to the recipe!

Ingredients  

• 1 lb fresh Gnocchi 
• 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• 1 medium onion, diced 
• 1 medium zucchini diced 
• 1 stalk of celery diced
• 2 carrots diced (optionally use shredded carrots)
• 3 cloves garlic minced 
• 64 oz vegetable broth or Better Than Bouillon veggie base
• 1 Can (14.5 oz) Fire roasted diced tomatoes – undrained
• 1 (15-ounce) can white (cannellini or navy) beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans
• 1 (15oz) can cut green Italian beans
• 1 small bag (5 oz) of fresh baby spinach, coarse chopped 
• Large pinch of red pepper flakes 
• 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning 
• Salt and Pepper to taste 
• Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions

1. Open, drain, and rinse the white beans, garbanzo beans, and the Italian beans. Set aside to drain.
2. Heat a dutch oven, add the olive oil, onions, and celery. If using diced carrots, add them now. NOTE: If using shredded carrots, add them later. Saute until onions are translucent.
3. Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant about a minute or so.
4. Add vegetable broth, can of tomatoes, red pepper flakes, Italian Seasoning, and pepper. Heat to a simmer.
5. Add in diced zucchini and gnocchi. Bring back to a simmer and then add the beans. If using shredded carrots, add them now.
6. Return the soup to a simmer and gently cook while occasionally stirring until the gnocchi is tender about 3-5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
7. Turn the heat off and add in the coarsely chopped spinach.
8. Add salt to taste. Keep in mind the parmesan will add a bit more salt to the soup.
9. Serve and garnish with a large pinch of parmesan cheese

Notes

• We like using small-sized gnocchi, but you can use the larger ones. If you do use the large gnocchi, we suggest cutting them in half.
• Fire roasted tomatoes can sometimes be hard to find. If that’s the case, diced tomatoes.