Bacon Cheddar Gnocchi Soup–a creamy soup made with pillowy gnocchi, smoky bacon, sharp cheddar, and pantry seasonings. It’s easy to make in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Bacon Cheddar Gnocchi Soup
Bacon and cheddar are always a winning combo, and this soup brings them together once again with pillowy gnocchi joining the party. It comes together fast since there’s no sautéing step, and in the Instant Pot it only needs a quick 1-minute pressure cook. I usually cook my bacon in the air fryer, but bacon crumbles work just fine if you want to keep things extra easy. If you’d like to make it a little more hearty, stir in some chopped cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works perfect). Try this one out soon!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon chicken base
- Dry minced onion–or ½ cup diced fresh onion
- Carrots
- Mushrooms–or one can of drained mushrooms
- Red pepper flakes–or a pinch of cayenne
- Garlic powder–or 1 Tbsp fresh minced garlic
- Black pepper–or white pepper for a milder bite
- Ground thyme
- Dried rosemary
- Gnocchi
- Cooked bacon–or turkey bacon
- Sharp cheddar cheese–or Colby Jack
- Heavy cream–or half-and-half
- Spinach–or kale
Steps
Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. Add in the broth and onion and let the broth heat up while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Add in the carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, garlic powder, pepper, thyme and rosemary.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set SOUP button to 1 minute. When time is up move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Turn to sauté setting and stir in the gnocchi. When it floats to the top turn off the pot.
Stir a cup of the hot soup into the cream to temper it. Stir the bacon, cheddar, cream and spinach into the pot.
Salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and serve.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with crusty bread or garlic toast.
- Pre-cooked bacon crumbles work great when you’re short on time.
- Add in some chopped rotisserie chicken to make this heartier and higher in protein.
- Shelf stable gnocchi or fresh refrigerated gnocchi both work fine for this recipe.
- I used my 3 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 4, 6 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. I don’t recommend freezing this one. The cream and gnocchi don’t hold up well once thawed.
- Other recipes you can make with mushrooms are Instant Pot Lisa’s Comfy Casserole and Slow Cooker Chicken Mushroom Tortellini Soup.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Bacon Cheddar Gnocchi Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A creamy soup made with pillowy gnocchi, smoky bacon, sharp cheddar, and pantry seasonings. It’s easy to make in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp dry minced onion
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 oz sliced mushrooms
- Dash red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 16 oz gnocchi
- 5 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup chopped spinach
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to sauté setting. Add in the broth and onion and let the broth heat up while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Add in the carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, garlic powder, pepper, thyme and rosemary.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set SOUP button to 1 minute. When time is up move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Turn to sauté setting and stir in the gnocchi. When it floats to the top turn off the pot.
- Stir a cup of the hot soup into the cream to temper it. Stir the bacon, cheddar, spinach and cream into the pot.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and serve.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add broth, onion, carrots, mushrooms, red pepper, garlic powder, pepper, thyme and rosemary into slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.
- Stir in the gnocchi and cook for 30 more minutes.
- Stir a cup of the hot soup into the cream to temper it. Stir the bacon, cheddar, spinach and cream into the slow cooker.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup into bowls and serve.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
More gnocchi recipes to try…
Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup with Kale and Parmesan
A cream based soup with tender, moist bites of chicken, bacon crumbles, bright green leafy kale and dumpling-like gnocchi. This soup is a 10 out of 10 at my house. If I start a soup restaurant and can serve only 3 soups this will be one of them.
Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup
A creamy soup with tender, moist bites of chicken, bacon crumbles, bright green leafy kale, Parmesan cheese and dumpling-like gnocchi.
Instant Pot Tuscan Gnocchi
Pillowy bites of gnocchi with a cream cheese sauce, tomatoes, spinach and a bread crumb topping.
Western Cowboy Gnocchi
Pillowy gnocchi, seasoned ground beef, chili beans, tomatoes and green chiles pressure cooked or slow cooked together, then finished off with bacon crumbles and melty cheddar.
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
We’ve made this and it was fantastic! We had the time and did it in the crock pot which we find easier to clean than the instant pot. The combination of cheddar, bacon and gnocchi was amazing! The recipe did not specify when to add the spinach and I didn’t realize until half way through cooking. I quickly added it and the resulting soup did not seem negatively impacted.
Thank you for making it. I am so glad you enjoyed it and that the crock pot worked well for you. Thanks for pointing out the spinach too.
When should the spinach be added?