Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Sauté the veggies: Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion, red peppers and jalapeño and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until they start to soften and smell amazing.
- Brown the sausage: Add the Italian sausage with the casings removed and break it up as it cooks. Let it go 7-8 minutes until it's golden brown and cooked through. Don't rush this part — those browned bits at the bottom of the pot are pure flavor. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Build the base: Stir in the butter and tomato paste and cook for about a minute, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom. If it's sticking, add a splash of broth, a splash of water, or a splash of white wine to deglaze.
- Add the spices: Add the garlic powder, smoked paprika, chicken powder and soy sauce. Stir for 1-2 minutes so everything toasts into the fat. This is the step people skip and it's the one that matters most.
- Simmer with the gnocchi: Pour in the chicken broth, water and heavy cream, then add the uncooked potato gnocchi straight into the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook for about 8 minutes, until the gnocchi float and are tender gnocchi all the way through. (WATCH VIDEO BELOW)
- Wilt the spinach: Stir in the fresh spinach and cook 1-2 minutes more, just until it collapses into the flavorful broth. Turn the heat down to medium-low heat if it's bubbling hard — you don't want to boil the cream.
- Season and serve: Taste and adjust with kosher salt and black pepper. Serve hot with a generous shower of fresh parmesan cheese and crusty bread on the side.
- Gluten-free note: If you have gluten issues, use gluten-free gnocchi and boil it separately, then add it in at the very end so it doesn't break down in the broth.
Don't boil the cream. Once the heavy cream goes in, keep it at a gentle simmer on medium heat or lower. A hard boil is what makes cream soups turn grainy — and it happens fast.
The soy sauce is not optional (in my opinion). I tested this soup with and without it back-to-back, and the batch without tasted noticeably thinner. One tablespoon adds savory depth that reads as "slow-simmered," not "soy sauce." It's the single best trick in this recipe.
Cook the tomato paste in the fat. This is the tip I'd give if I could only give one. Raw tomato paste tastes flat and tinny. Ninety seconds in the sausage fat with the butter turns it deep and almost sweet, and it's what gives this soup its creamy tomato base.
Nutrition
Notes
Storage
- Fridge: Keeps 3–4 days in an airtight container. The gnocchi will soak up broth and soften as it sits — that's normal, and honestly I like it the next day.
- Reheat (stovetop): Warm gently over medium-low heat, stirring often. Add a splash of broth or a splash of water to loosen it back up — it thickens a lot in the fridge.
- Reheat (microwave): 60–90 seconds, stir, then another 30 seconds. Cover it so the top doesn't dry out.
- Freezer: Avoid freezing the finished soup, as the potato gnocchi turns grainy and the cream separates when thawed. Best way around it: freeze the soup base before adding the cream, gnocchi and spinach for up to 3 months, then thaw and finish with those three at serving time.