
A delicious, warm and comforting Italian Meatball & Gnocchi Soup recipe. A super easy family meal made in the slow cooker. Minimum effort, maximum taste!

Autumn has most definitely kicked in here in the UK and although I am a little sad to see the back of warm sunny days, I have to admit I’m quite excited about getting back into the swing of making warm comforting family meals!
Today’s recipe for this Slow Cooker Meatball & Gnocchi Soup certainly ticks the warm and comforting box!
A delicious combination of meatballs and gnocchi in the classic flavours of an Italian soup all cooked together in the slow cooker.
For busy families this recipe is ideal. Simply throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker (no frying needed), leave to cook for several hours and then add the gnocchi towards the end. It couldn’t be any easier!

My family all loved this recipe and I can see it being a permanent fixture on our meal planning this winter! If you try this recipe please do let me know what you think.
Or tag me in a picture on Instagram. I’d love to see your pictures!
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Slow Cooker Italian Meatball & Gnocchi Soup
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 5 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 4 1x
Category: Main Meal
Method: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: Italian
Description
A delicious, warm and comforting Italian Meatball & Gnocchi Soup recipe. A super easy family meal made in the slow cooker. Minimum effort, maximum taste!
Ingredients
- 12 uncooked beef meatballs
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 cans of chopped tomatoes
- 600ml / 2.5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs or oregano
- 500g / 1 lb gnocchi
- To garnish: grated parmesan and fresh basil
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients except the gnocchi, parmesan and basil in a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Add the gnocchi and cook on low for another 1 hour or on high for 30 minutes. If the soup appears too thick then add a little extra stock or water.
- Serve immediately garnished with grated parmesan and fresh basil leaves.
If you liked this recipe you may also enjoy:
Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese


Isi says
Hello!
I tried this recipe tonight and absolutely loved it! Quick and easy and really delicious!
I had some things in my cupboard that I wanted to get rid of so I modified your recipe as follows:
Used only 1 can of tomatoes, but used tomatoes al arrabiata, which gave it some extra spice.
To make up for the missing can of tomatoes, I also used one jar Dolmino’s bolognese sauce and then left out the tomato puree.
I also happened to have gnocchi with green pesto filling that added an extra bit of flavour to it. I’ll try it with “normal” gnocchi next time to see how that works but just wanted to share these slight modifications in case anyone would like to try that. I just happened to have the tomatoes and sauce on hand and wanted to use them up.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe, I’ll definitely be making it again!
★★★★★
Kristi says
What size of tomato cans?
Ciara Attwell says
400g
Emma says
This looks delicious. Do you think it would work with low sodium stock without losing too much flavour?
Ciara Attwell says
You can definitely use low sodium stock. I use them all the time!
Georgia says
Another fab slow cooker recipe Ciara. This is filling and comforting too.
★★★★★
Rachael says
This looks so good!!! Can this be cooked on the stove instead of in the crockpot? Or could I cook it in the crockpot the night before then reheat to eat?
Ciara Attwell says
Hi Rachael, either is fine. You can cook it on the stove on a very low heat. Or in the crockpot the night before and reheated is good too!
Gargi says
Is there a way I can make it vegetarian?
Ciara Attwell says
Yeah sure, just use veggie meatballs or you could leave them out altogether!
Kawn says
Oh we love Gnocchi, I have to try this recipe. love your images they look so cozy and comforting i feel i just want to put in a big oversized warm sweater and sit and eat this.
★★★★★
Ciara Attwell says
Thanks Kawn, if you try it let me know what you think!