Skip The Bread And Top French Onion Soup With Gnocchi

When you're looking for a delicious, filling and luxurious meal, a decadent French onion soup is certain to make the cut. After all, what's not to love about a warm and comforting mixture of caramelized onions, carbs, and plenty of cheese? You can even keep things simple by making slow-cooker onion soup with crusty toast. However, there is another tasty and unexpected way to load up on carbs and elevate your French onion soup all at the same time. For this, you will need to skip the bread and rely on another hearty ingredient instead.

The ingredient in question is gnocchi – the Italian potato-based pasta. (Or is gnocchi a dumpling?) You may never have thought to replace the bread in your French onion soup with gnocchi, but once you taste it, you are likely to never return to the original bread-laden version of this classic soup ever again. So why does it work so well?

Before diving into the merits of adding gnocchi to your French onion soup, let's touch on what it is. These little dumplings originated in the Northern part of Italy, shaped by that region's climatic conditions. It was cold, so potatoes grew well there but the grains suffered. As a result, these little "lumps" — which is what gnocchi translates to in Italian — were created. Gnocchi is traditionally made from potatoes, flour, and eggs.

French onion soup with gnocchi is very creamy and rich. The dumplings' compact yet hearty form makes them stand up well to robust soups or dishes with thick sauces. They also help thicken the broth, enhance the flavor profile of the soup, and float invitingly atop the liquid, just as breadcrumbs or croutons might. All of these factors make gnocchi an excellent addition to French onion soup.

If you are eager to try this twist on traditional French onion soup by adding gnocchi, here are some things to consider. You could make the gnocchi at home, but store-bought gnocchi works equally well. Either way, you must remember that there are two ways to add gnocchi to French onion soup. You can boil it and pan-sear it before adding it to the broth, or bring the soup stock to a boil and cook the gnocchi in it. You can tell when gnocchi is done when it floats to the top of the boiling liquid.

Regular gnocchi can also easily be replaced by gluten-free gnocchi. You could experiment and add your favorite pasta shape instead of gnocchi. And if you want to keep the bread involved, it can be added along with gnocchi for a double shot of carbs. Just be sure to top it with lots of cheese!