Go Back
Print
A bowl of hearty roasted garlic and gnocchi soup with greens and pancetta. Garlic cloes and spinach are scattered around the bowl.

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.