Roasted Garlic Gnocchi Soup with Greens and Pancetta

Don’t worry, despite the amount of garlic in this recipe, you will not be adversely affected!

The joy of this recipe is that jammy, smokey sweet roasted garlic is the star of the show.  Roasting off the garlic mellows the flavour, and makes you think of your favourite garlic bread.

Now, while there is an abundance of garlic in this soup, I really can’t promote it as a superfood soup.  Garlic has so many healing properties, but alas, once the garlic is heated, cooked, baked etc, those healthy properties are reduced considerably.  But that doesn’t mean this Roasted Garlic Soup doesn’t taste amazing, so that is a good enough reason for making it!

What Else Goes Into This Roasted Garlic Soup

The secondary stars of this soup are the gnocchi for cozy, comforting flavour, texture and heartiness. The chopped spinach or kale adds colour, and more texture.  The finish is a lovely pancetta confetti.  The smokey flavour of the pancetta balances out the sweetness of the soup base.

Roasted Garlic

You will start by roasting off four heads of garlic.  Just cut across the top of the head, to expose the garlic cloves inside.  Place each head onto foil, and drizzle with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bring the corners of the foil square up to meet over the head, wrapping them together and enclosing the head of garlic.  Repeat with each head of garlic. 

Into a 400F oven for about 40-45 minutes, till the cloves are soft and slightly jammy.  Remove and let them cool down.  Once cooled, squeeze the flesh out of their papery shells.  You can do this in advance and store the roasted garlic flesh in a sealed container till needed.  Store in the fridge.  Make extra and use it to spread on crostini, add to salad dressings, pasta etc.

Soup Base

Once you are ready to make the soup. you will start with sautéing off 1/4 inch diced pancetta.  Once it is crispy and golden brown, remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate.  Drain off most of the fat, leaving some in the pot to cook the onion.  Cook the sliced onion and fresh thyme till just softened.

Place the cooled down roasted garlic flesh, along with a can or jar of white beans, the cooked onions, and stock into a blender.  Whiz till smooth.  Now you have your soup base!  The white beans help thicken the broth, and also bring protein to the soup.

Making the Soup

Place the soup base into the pot you cooked up the onion in, and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Once it is gently bubbling, you can add the gnocchi to cook through.  Towards the end you will add cream, parmesan cheese, and chopped greens, like baby spinach or kale.  The greens really only need wilting.  If you are using a heartier green like collard greens etc, make sure to chop small so it can soften in the least amount of time.

Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle some of the pancetta over each bowl, and finish with some black pepper.

Finishing Thoughts

You can make this soup vegetarian by omitting the pancetta.  Use olive oil to cook the onions.  Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. You could also make mushroom bacon and crumble over the soup to replace the pancetta confetti.

If you don’t want to use gnocchi, try replacing them with stuffed pasta like tortellini or agnolotti.  You could also use rigatoni or orzo. 

For the greens you can use baby spinach, kale, swiss chard etc.  Chop the leaves so that they are easy to scoop up with your spoon.

Don’t be in a rush to salt this soup.  The pancetta and parmesan cheese bring saltiness to the soup. Taste and season as required.

A splash of lemon is a wonderful way to cut through the richness of this soup.

Storing

You can store the finished soup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to three days.  It can also be frozen for up to a month.

For other cozy and comforting soup ideas check out Roasted Potato and Leek Soup, Lentil, Sausage and Kale Soup, Broccoli and Feta Soup with White Beans and Parsley, Cream of Celery Soup, Parsnip Rosemary and Mixed Nuts Soup

If you make this Roasted Garlic Gnocchi Soup, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! It’s always lovely to hear from you guys, and I always do my best to respond to each comment or question. And of course, if you do make this recipe, and you post it on Instagram, don’t forget to also tag me so I can see! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is such a treat.

Love Jen

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Roasted Garlic Gnocchi Soup with Greens and Pancetta

Creamy, with a sweet undertone, this roasted garlic soup is made hearty thanks to fluffy gnocchi, and finished with plenty of chopped greens and pancetta confetti.

Course Soup

Cuisine North American

Keyword gnocchi, pancetta, roasted garlic

Prep Time 50 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium heads garlic
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Soup

• 3.5 oz (100 g) pancetta, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock, see Notes
• 1 small to medium can or jar of white beans, drained and rinsed, see Notes
• 1 package of gnocchi thawed if frozen
• 1/2 cup cream, see Notes
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 4 cups packed chopped baby spinach or baby kale, see Notes

Instructions

Roasted Garlic

1. Preheat the oven to 400F
2. Cut the top of each head of garlic, to expose the garlic cloves inside. Place each head on its own square of foil. Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap the heads inside the foil. Place each foil package onto a baking pan and then onto the centre rack of the oven.
3. Roast until the flesh is tender, jammy and golden brown, about 40-45 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out the flesh into a bowl and set aside.

Soup

1. In a dutch oven or large heavy bottomed pot, sauté the pancetta over medium heat till golden and crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Drain all but 1 tbsp of the oil from the pot.
2. Add the onions and thyme, and cook till softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Place the roasted garlic flesh, the onions, white beans, and chicken stock into a blender. Whiz till smooth and creamy.
4. Return the creamy soup base to the pot. Bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
5. Add the gnocchi and let them cook in the simmering creamy soup.
6. Once the gnocchi are cooked through, stir in the cream and parmesan cheese. Stir well to combine. Taste and re-season as needed. Don't be in a rush to add too much salt, more will be coming with the pancetta.
7. Stir in the chopped greens. It won't take long to wilt them in the heat of the soup.
8. Ladle into bowls and top with the drained pancetta confetti.
9. To cut through the richness of the soup, you may want to add a squeeze of fresh lemon.
10. Store unused soup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to three days.

11. See blog post for more details and suggestions.

Recipe Notes

For a vegetarian version:
Feel free to omit the pancetta. Use olive oil to cook the onion.
Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Use any medium-ish can or jar of white beans, like cannellini or navy etc. The size isn't crucial, unless of course we are talking about the industrial sized cans! You can always adjust the broth to thin it out if you desire.

Feel free to use half and half, or your favourite nut milk instead of cream.
You can use your favourite greens, just chop them finer if they are heartier greens like swiss chard or collard greens.