This lovely Creamy Spinach and Carrot Gnocchi Soup wasn’t what I had in mind when I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. I made Carrot Gnocchi the other day, and it was surprisingly good. I mixed in a heaping tablespoon of Za’atar (thank-you, Amy!), which worked so well with the carrots. We loved it, but it was a daunting batch of gnocchi, so we had plenty left over.
Then I harvested the rest of the spinach yesterday. So. Much. Spinach.
Soup sounds good on a dreary summer day, but I needed more that gnocchi and spinach. Maybe some chicken. The problem being that although I had plenty of chicken in the freezer, I hadn’t thought to thaw it in advance. Enter my beloved Instant Pot. I pulled three chicken leg quarters out of the freezer and added them to the Instant Pot with 4 cups of water, some celery salt, cumin, and thyme. I followed the instructions on my Instant Pot Methods page, and in under an hour I had perfectly cooked chicken and enough broth for this Creamy Spinach and Carrot Gnocchi Soup.
And just like that, this soup came together.
Creamy Spinach and Carrot Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups cooked dark meat chicken (shredded)
- 1/4 cup AP Flour (King Arthur Measure for Measure)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups carrot gnocchi (see note*)
- 1 t thyme
- 5 ounces fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- salt and pepper
- 4 scallions
Instructions
- Prep the veg – Chop the onion and the celery. Mince the garlic. Chop the scallions.
- Sauté the celery and aromatics – Sauté the onion and celery until they're soft but not yet browning. Stir in the garlic and cook for a minute longer.
- Make the roux, add the gnocchi, and simmer – Stir in the shredded chicken. Sprinkle the mixture with the AP flour and slowly pour in the chicken broth. Add the carrot gnocchi to the pan, and simmer until the gnocchi have softened.
- Add the spinach and cream – When the carrot gnocchi are soft and the soup is thickened, stir in the half-and-half and the spinach. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the spinach has wilted into the soup. Remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle scallions on top.
Notes
Ron calls this a clean-out-the-refrigerator (or freezer) meal. I call it happiness. Happiness, for me, is when I clean out the larder and come up with something as fantastic as this Creamy Spinach and Carrot Gnocchi Soup!