Soups
Vegan Gnocchi Soup

Prep
10 minutes
Cook
30 minutes
Yield
4
🧑🍳 Move over, Olive Garden! This vegan gnocchi soup features pillowy potato dumplings swimming in a silky, mushroom-packed broth that's so buttery and creamy, you'll never believe it's completely plant-based – ready in just 40 minutes!
Move over, Olive Garden. I’ve been inspired to put a vegan spin on a classic dish and created this creamy spinach and mushroom vegan gnocchi soup. It’s so buttery and flavorful I don’t even know where to start.
My creamy spinach and mushroom vegan gnocchi soup is silky, smooth, and delicious. Yes, that may be the only accurate way to describe it. It’s hearty, nourishing, will warm you up, and inspired by the classic Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup! But in Classic FoodbyMaria fashion – I MADE IT VEGAN! BOOM!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Vegan Gnocchi Soup
- Buttery: There are no words to describe the gnocchi in this soup other than BUTTERY. The best part – other than the melting gooeyness of gnocchi in your mouth- is that this recipe is simple and only takes 40 minutes to make.
- Veggie-Packed: Loaded with powerful-tasting veggies like mushroom and spinach that add both nutrition and incredible flavor.
- Restaurant-Quality: This soup rivals anything you’d find at a restaurant but is made completely plant-based in your own kitchen.

🍲 Ingredients
Gnocchi – These pillowy potato dumplings are the star of this vegan gnocchi soup. Go for a good quality gnocchi, ideally from your local market – the fresher the better! When cooked in the soup, they become perfectly tender and literally melt in your mouth with each bite, absorbing all the incredible flavors of the broth.
Coconut Milk – The secret to creating that silky creaminess without dairy in this vegan gnocchi soup. Make sure you use a high-fat coconut milk – this will help take on the role of the traditional cream that is usually used. Don’t worry, the coconut flavor doesn’t overpower; instead, it adds a subtle sweetness that complements the savory elements perfectly.

👩🍳 How to Make Vegan Gnocchi Soup
- To a large stockpot at the olive oil and heat on low-medium for 30 seconds before adding onions and celery. Cook them down for around 8-10 minutes, or until translucent, extremely fragrant and soft.
- To the pot add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook down for 10 minutes on medium-high heat. Stir often to avoid burning.
- Once your mushrooms have reduced by almost half, add the flour and still till the ingredients are all well coated. Add the thyme, salt and pepper to the pot and stir well. Increase heat to high and add vegetable stock. Bring mixture to a boil then to a simmer. Add gnocchi and cook for 5-7 minutes before adding coconut milk, spinach or kale and parmesan cheese.
- Check for seasoning before enjoying it immediately. Garnish with more parmesan and drizzling of olive oil!

🗒 Tips and Tricks
- Flavor Building: Be patient while sautéing the onions and celery – this is where you develop the foundational flavor.
- Mushrooms: Allow mushrooms to fully release their water for maximum flavor concentration.
- Coconut Milk: Add this at the end to prevent separation during long cooking.
- Parmesan: PARMESAN CHEESE! Yes, caps lock is needed. This is non-negotiable; it completely transforms the dish!
🗒 Substitutions
- Greens: Swap spinach for kale, Swiss chard, or even arugula for different flavor profiles.
- Mushrooms: Any variety works – cremini, shiitake, or portobello all bring unique flavors.
- Milk Alternative: Unsweetened cashew cream or oat cream can replace coconut milk.
- Parmesan: Regular parmesan works if you’re not vegan. For vegans, Violife’s Prosociano Wedge is excellent.

🗒 Best served with
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Quick and Easy Focaccia Bread
- Apple Caprese Sandwich
- Roasted Butternut Squash Risotto

👝 How to Store Leftovers
I always recommend that any soup with noodles or gnocchi should have these components stored separately so the soup base doesn’t just get absorbed. Store the broth in an airtight container for up to 5 days, with the gnocchi separate. Reheat gently on the stovetop.
🤔 Common Questions
Absolutely! While fresh market gnocchi is wonderful, a good quality packaged gnocchi works perfectly well in this recipe.
Not at all. The savory elements in this vegan gnocchi soup completely balance out any coconut flavor, leaving just the creaminess.
Adding white beans or chickpeas would increase the protein content and make this vegan gnocchi soup even more substantial.
Yes! Make the soup base completely, but add the gnocchi, spinach, and vegan parmesan just before serving. This ensures perfect texture.
A crusty bread for dipping is perfect. A simple side salad with a light vinaigrette also complements the richness of the soup beautifully.

Vegan Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium-sized white onion finely chopped
- 3 medium-sized celery sticks finely chopped
- 3 large cloves of garlic finely chopped or pressed
- 2 cups crimini mushrooms sliced
- 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp thyme spice
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
- 5 cups vegetable stock or 5 cups hot water and 1 tbsp. vegetable stock paste
- 2 – 2 1/2 cups potato gnocchi
- 1 400 ml can coconut milk – full fat unsweetened
- 2 cups packed fresh kale or baby spinach
- 1 cup vegan parmesan
Instructions
- To a large stockpot at the olive oil and heat on low-medium for 30 seconds before adding onions and celery. Cook them down for around 8-10 minutes, or until translucent, extremely fragrant and soft.
- To the pot add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook down for 10 minutes on medium-high heat. Stir often to avoid burning.
- Once your mushrooms have reduced by almost half, add the flour and still till the ingredients are all well coated. Add the thyme, salt and pepper to the pot and stir well. Increase heat to high and add vegetable stock. Bring mixture to a boil then to a simmer. Add gnocchi and cook for 5-7 minutes before adding coconut milk, spinach or kale and parmesan cheese.
- Check for seasoning before enjoying it immediately. Garnish with more parmesan and drizzling of olive oil!
Video

Certainly a 5 star soup 👏👏 so good!!
Thank you so much for the love Millie!
Wow! Tried this recipe today cause it’s been chilly and it was soooo good. My husband loved it too. I’ll definitely be making it again soon!
YESSS, Bree, this makes me so happy! Please let me know what you make next!
OMG Made this tonight. I have found my new favorite soup! I am transitioning to plant based, and was skeptical about the vegan parmesan cheese and even tasted it before adding it to the soup. <3 <3 <3 Love love love this!
YESSSS!! Isn’t it the friggin best!
First time making this soup & it turned out beautifully!! Easy to prep veggies in advance, I made this on a busy night of after school activities & it came together quickly. Great texture, great flavours & so healthy. Love!!!!!
YESSSS!! This makes me so happy, thanks for the love Charmaine!
Holy God this soup is amazing! This is my third recipe I’ve made from your site and every one of them have been bomb! Well done and thank you! I added a twist of lemon at the end and it made all the flavours pop!
YESSS!! honestly, you can never go wrong with lemon! Thanks so much for the support, Ashley. Let us know what you make next!
Thanks for sharing the recipe, it turned out amazing. I had to make one modification as I can’t have parmesan cheese. I used a marble cheese instead.
So glad this worked for you Kate! Glad you loved this recipe as much as we did!
Wow wow wow
ROCKS MY SOCKS
It was so good and hearty. Easy to make ❤️
Super delicious and extremely easy to follow recipe. Will definitely add this to our dinner routine as the ingredients are sure to be in your kitchen already!
YES!!! Thank you so much for the love, Anela!
I love a good mushroom soup and the added gnocchi just kicked this up to next level. My family keeps asking me when I’m going to make it again! Dang girl, you outdo yourself every freaking time!!
YESSS!!! This makes me sooo happy! Thanks for the love, Tawnya!
Yet another lovely meal that everyone in the household enjoyed! Thanks Maria!!!
Thank you so much Sarah! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe as much as we did!!
Wow wow wow
Amazing, so good and hearty. Super easy to make as well. Love it ❤️
Thank you so much, Kate! This recipe is such a winner!
Amazing soup, so flavorful and delicious. My hubby and toddler loved it too!
Thank you so much for the love, Stephanie!
holy moly… I wish I would have doubled this recipe, because it is so good. I have yet to make a FoodbyMaria recipe that I haven’t absolutely loved. This will be a definite go-to meal. It was relatively simple and definitely felt nutrient packed.
YESSSS!!! BRITTANY!! Thanks so so so so much for the love hun!
Made this tonight and we both LOVED it! So yummy and, indeed, buttery. Also easy. If your stock is salty maybe wait to season the soup til the end.
Great point! Thanks for the love Shonna!!!