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Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup has a thick and rich broth with shredded carrots, celery, chopped spinach, gnocchi and chicken hidden throughout. This tastes even better than Olive Garden!
Bring restaurant quality soup to your home. I just love the Italian flavors in the slow cooker pasta e fagioli soup or creamy zuppa toscana too, so be sure to give them a try!
Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
You guys are going to love the incredible creamy and rich broth. It is flavored with the perfect amount of seasonings and it even has one of my favorite herbs inside…. thyme. The added chicken and gnocchi (which I absolutely love) are so hearty. When you add in the freshness of the shredded carrots, celery, and spinach this soup is full of flavor! Put this on your list of must try soups! You will not regret it.
This chicken gnocchi soup is full of flavor in every bite. The combination of the vegetables, creamy broth and gnocchi give this soup 5 stars. It is simple to make and so delicious! Make this a complete meal by serving this favorite olive garden soup with homemade breadtwists and a side salad asparagus salad with lemon vinaigrette or antipasto salad.
Ingredients to Make Gnocchi Soup:
This Olive Garden Copycat recipe has been on my list of soups to make for a few years now. I love all of Olive Garden’s Soups but their Chicken Gnocchi soup is awesome. The best part is that it is so easy to make! It comes together in less than 20 minutes.
- Butter: Use the butter to make the roux.
- Olive oil: Add to the pan with the butter onion and celery and garlic.
- Onion: I keep frozen diced onion in my freezer so that I can easily add it to any dish.
- Celery: Diced celery gives this soup a great crunch and fresh flavor.
- Garlic cloves:Minced garlic adds a deep Italian flavor.
- All-purpose flour: The flour makes a roux which gives the soup its consistency.
- Half-and-half: The creaminess of this soup.
- Chicken broth: Add as much as you like depending on how thin you like your soup. For a thinner soup use more broth.
- Fresh thyme: Earthy and a little bit sweet, with a slightly minty
- Shredded carrots: I love the sweet flavor the carrots add!
- Spinach leaves: Chopped so that you don’t have big pieces in your spoonful.
- Chicken breast: Diced and cooked chicken. Cut into pieces before cooking so it will cook quicker. Cook it in a little bit of olive oil until it’s just done. Add a little salt and pepper to it if you like.
- Potato gnocchi: Hint- find this on the pasta isle.
- Salt and pepper: To taste!
How to Make Gnocchi:
Gnocchi is made from potatoes, flour, and eggs. It seems like an odd combination I would have never thought of, but I am so happy someone did! Although it does take time to make from scratch, making gnocchi can be so fun!
When I am in the mood and I have the time, I enjoy making it myself. However, it tastes great store bought too! If you are hoping to try it from scratch here is the breakdown:
- Boil Potatoes: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel potatoes and add to pot. Once cooked, scoop out inside.
- Combine: 1 cup mashed potato, flour and egg in a large bowl. Knead until dough forms a ball.
- Cook Gnocchi: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in gnocchi and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until gnocchi have risen to the top; drain and serve.
Olive Garden Favorite Soup:
- Make a Roux: In a large pot add butter and olive oil. Over medium high heat sauté onion, celery and garlic until tender. Next, add the flour to create a roux and cook for another minute.
- Add In Liquids: Slowly add the half and half and chicken broth and stir until it starts to thicken.
- Spices and Ingredients: The thyme, carrots, spinach, chicken and gnocchi.
- Simmer: Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes or until gnocchi is cooked and soup is thickened. (If you want a thinner soup add another can of chicken broth.) Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Tips for the Best Chicken Gnocchi Soup:
- Gnocchi: It is best to use mini gnocchi if you can find them (or make them mini), they’re the perfect size for soup.
- Sauce: Don’t let the sauce get too hot or it can separate. Continually stir the sauce to prevent any separation.
- Spinach: For best results use fresh spinach. The frozen spinach will become mushy in the soup over a long period of time.
- Vegetables: Dice vegetables small and the same size to have them cook through evenly in time.
Variations:
- Substitutes for Gnocchi: A great substitution is pasta. The small shells or orzo are perfect for adding to this soup as well as rice.
- Protein: Substitute Italian sausage instead of chicken in the soup. Before adding it to the soup, brown the sausage at the beginning, then add it in.
- Vegetables: Sneak in extra vegetables like peas, zucchini or asparagus.
- Thicker Soup: Add extra cream to make it even richer.
- Chicken: To save time use pre-shredded, cooked chicken from the grocery store.
Slow Cooker Adaptations:
I would still definitely use cooked, diced chicken. Also, go ahead and sauté the veggies and garlic. Then put the chicken and veggies all together in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the liquids and all the other ingredients except the gnocchi, half and half, and spinach. Cook on low for three to four hours, adding the gnocchi in for the last hour of cooking. Before serving, add the half and half and spinach and stir to combine. The spinach should wilt quickly. Serve.
How to Store Chicken Gnocchi Soup:
It is a bummer that this soup does not freeze well but it does reheat well. Place back on the stovetop and reheat on a low setting and slowly stirring it. This will help the soup from separating.
- Freezing: Unfortunately you cannot store this soup because of the dairy and gnocchi, it won’t freeze well. The gnocchi will become soggy and the dairy mixture will separate.
- Storing: If you are planning on lots of leftovers you can cook the gnocchi separately and add to individual servings.
Warm, Comforting Soups to Try:
- Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
- Crock-Pot Lentil Soup
- Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
- Cheeseburger Soup
- The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup
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Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
Equipment
- Want to make this even easier? Here are a few products that I LOVE:
- Calphasdon Cookware Set
- Cuisinart Stainless Steel
- Chopper Utopia Kitchen Cookied
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1 14 ounce can chicken broth for a thinner soup use 2 cans
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves chopped
- 1 cup diced cooked chicken breast I used rotisserie
- 1 16 ounce package potato gnocchi on the pasta isle
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot add butter and olive oil. Over medium high heat sauté onion, celery and garlic until tender. Add the flour to create a roux and cook for another minute.
- Slowly add the half and half and chicken broth and stir until it starts to thicken. Add the thyme, carrots, spinach, chicken and gnocchi. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until gnocchi is cooked and soup is thickened. (If you want a thinner soup add another can of chicken broth.) Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I would definitely skip the thyme, it’s too overpowering and I honestly don’t believe that Olive Gardens version has it. Very easy to make though! Will keep and just delete thyme next time!
What can you use to substitute for the half and half? My Aunt lives in England and can’t get half and half. Thank you
Single cream is about the same as half and half.
I want se gnocci soup, or pretty much any soup. Its fall aND I love soup!
You can refrigerate this and reheat right ?
Yes definitely.
Yellow or sweet onion? Any preference? & I’m not big on thyme… think it’d be okay without? Thanks!
Any one is fine! I used a white onion.
I can’t wait to try this! Could you substitute whole milk for the half and half?
Yes you definitely can!
Thanks! Going to try it this week!
I tried it. It’s delicious.
Hi could you explain what is half-and-half? A kind of milk? Thanks
It is half cream and half milk.
Alyssa bet your tired of explaining half and half lol
Hi Alyssa, can you please tell me what ‘half and half’ refers to? We’re not familiar with this here in Australia. Thanks in advance!
It is half heavy cream and half milk. It is located in a container next to the milk. 🙂
In the UK, half & half is called single cream.
What is half-and-half, please?
It is half milk and half heavy cream.
Too much thyme! It ruined my entire batch. Cut it down to a teaspoon or maybe even half a teaspoon.
Did you use fresh thyme or dried? The recipe calls for fresh, so if you used the same amount of dried it would have been too much. 🙂
Were you using “fresh” thyme like the recipe calls for “dried” thyme? That would make a huge difference. 1 tablespoon fresh is equivalent to 3/4 tsp dried.
I’ve just omitted the seasoning – thyme all together and tastes ok
Same here. I was not happy. I should have snuck up on it. No on will eat this. Arrrg. Trying to find a way to fix it. Word to other people making this, sneak up on the thyme.
I want to try this but what do you mean by ” half and half?” Half of what?
Its half cream and half milk. It is located in the milk section called half and half.
You have got to be kidding, Right?
Half and half is a creamer some people would use it their coffee. Find it in the refrigerator section near the heavy whipping cream and milk, coffee creamers.
This made me chuckle(in a good way) half and half is a cream that’s usually used for coffee and such. Go to the dairy aisle in your grocery store and they have cartons of half and half(which is thicker creamier type of milk you could say)
Suggestions on how to make this gluten free are appreciated, thanks!
Use gluten free gnocchi, corn starch in place of the flour & gluten free chicken broth.
Just use gluten free flour and gnocchi. You can also use corn starch to thicken soup.
I haven’t been to the olive garden in years! (there’s only one w/in 300 miles of us, and it’s always PACKED). I had no idea this was a soup from olive garden! My friend and I have been making this soup for a while, I thought we just made it up! LOL
Sorry to be the grammar police, but as far as I know there is no Isle of Pasta, rather one could find gnocchi in an aisle of pasta. ;p Recipe sounds delicious though!
Wow.
Really?
Hey girl this looks so good! I love soups like this! I am so ready for Fall to start here in Oklahoma! It is still hot in the lower 90’s this week, but starting Saturday it’s going to get better in the 80’s ha! Still warm but better!
I prefer the refrigerated gnocchi. Would I prepare it any differently?
You can just let the soup simmer for 3 or so minutes and it will be great.