Chicken Gnocchi Soup
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This super cozy Chicken Gnocchi Soup recipe is easy to make on the stovetop in just 30 minutes! It’s an Olive Garden copycat recipe that’s even more delicious and creamy than the restaurant version.
Why you’ll love this soup
Growing up, Olive Garden was my go-to restaurant for birthdays and celebrations. What can I say, I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma and going to “the city” for dinner at Olive Garden felt really fancy!
As an adult, I still have fond memories of the soup, salad and breadstick combo at Olive Garden, which is why I’ve made copycat recipes for their Italian Salad, Pasta Fagioli Soup, and now this Chicken Gnocchi Soup.
This soup has all of the same ingredients as Olive Garden, but it tastes even better because it’s homemade! Here’s why you’ll love it.
- It’s flavorful and creamy. You can’t beat a delicious soup that’s full of flavor, and both creamy and chunky, giving it great texture.
- It’s so easy to make. You only need one pot and 30 minutes to make this creamy chicken gnocchi soup.
- It makes great leftovers. You can even double the recipe, so you make sure that you have leftovers to eat throughout the week!
Ingredients
Here I explain the best ingredients for this chicken gnocchi soup recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For the exact ingredient measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Olive oil – or your favorite neutral-flavored vegetable oil to cook the vegetables.
- Celery – you’ll need one stalk of celery for this recipe. Once it’s chopped, this should equal around 1/2 cup of diced celery.
- Onion – I recommend a yellow onion in this recipe for it’s nice, neutral flavor.
- Shredded carrots – you can peel and shred carrots at home, or purchase a bag of pre-shredded carrots at the grocery store to keep things simple.
- Garlic – I recommend fresh minced cloves for the best flavor.
- Cooked, shredded chicken – you can pull this from a rotisserie chicken, or use this easy recipe for Instant Pot Shredded Chicken. The chicken can be cooked and shredded, then stored in the fridge, up to 3 days in advance of making the soup.
- Chicken broth – since this is the main ingredient in the base of the soup, I recommend purchasing, or making, a high-quality chicken broth or stock. I found this Custom Culinary Chicken Base at a restaurant supply store in San Diego and am absolutely obsessed with it. You can order it online. It’s a little expensive for chicken bouillon, but oh my gosh the flavor is so good.
- Dried thyme – if you want to use fresh thyme, you’ll want to double the amount.
- Salt and black pepper – to season the soup.
- Potato gnocchi – prepared gnocchi can be found on the pasta aisle at most major grocery stores. Sometimes you’ll also find it refrigerated in the deli section of the grocery store.
- Half and half – this ingredient helps create the creamy base of the soup. If you want to make it extra creamy, you can use heavy cream instead. I do not recommend using milk as it will make the base of the soup too runny.
- Fresh spinach – to finish the soup, just like at Olive Garden.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook the vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large pot, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat. Add diced onions, celery, and shredded carrots. Cook for 4-5 minutes, then add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the chicken, broth and seasoning. Add cooked, shredded chicken to the pot, along with chicken broth, thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine everything and turn the heat on the stove up to high. Bring the liquid to a boil.
- Add gnocchi. Gently stir in the gnocchi. Boil for 3-4 minutes, then reduce the heat on the stove to medium. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
- Make it creamy. Stir in half-and-half, and chopped fresh spinach leaves. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Use a ladle to spoon the soup into bowls and serve immediately. Optionally top with fresh grated parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
Serve it with
Olive Garden Copycat Italian Salad
and Garlic Knots, Cheesy Pull Apart Rolls, or a warm, sliced baguette for dipping right into the soup.
Storage and reheating
Store chicken gnocchi soup leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat an individual portion in a bowl in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
To reheat more than one serving, I recommend transferring it back to a pot on the stove over medium heat, and heating it up for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly until the soup is hot again.
If the broth of the soup seems too thick when you reheat it, you can add more chicken broth to thin it out. The gnocchi tends to soak up some of the broth when it sits in the fridge, and therefore it will thicken the soup.
I do not recommend freezing this soup. Because of the dairy in the soup, it will not freeze well.
How to make it in a Crock Pot
If you’d like to slow cook this chicken gnocchi soup with raw chicken breasts, instead of making it on the stove with cooked chicken, follow these simple instructions.
- Add one pound of raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts to a slow cooker with the diced onions, diced celery, shredded carrots and minced garlic. Pour in the chicken broth, then add the thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.
- After the cooking time, remove the lid from the Crock Pot, then reach two forks in to shred the chicken right in the slow cooker. Add the gnocchi, half-and-half, and chopped spinach leaves to the slow cooker and stir to combine everything.
- Cook for an additional 45-60 minutes, then serve.
More soup recipes
Make a super cozy menu for the week with these other popular soup recipes!
Made this chicken gnocchi soup recipe and loved it? Be sure to rate it 5 stars below!
Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 stalk celery, diced (about ½ cup)
- ½ cup onion, diced
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken, click link for Instant Pot recipe, or use rotisserie chicken
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces potato gnocchi
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onions, and carrots, cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add the cooked chicken, chicken broth, thyme, pepper, and salt. Turn the heat on the stove up to high and bring the liquid to a boil, then gently stir in the gnocchi.
- Boil for 3-4 minutes, then reduce the heat on the stove to medium. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the half and half and spinach and cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Store chicken gnocchi soup leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat an individual portion in a bowl in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. If the broth of the soup seems too thick when you reheat it, you can add more chicken broth to thin it out.
- If you want to make this recipe in a Crock Pot, refer to the blog post above for those instructions.
Nutrition Facts
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