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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.
Alyssa, I made this per recipe instructions except used very little fresh thyme to meet our taste.
It turned out great and will make it again. This was the first time using gnocchi’s and I liked them. Will be trying more of your recipes. Thanks Jim.
I made this at a friend’s house using what she had on hand ( no celery ot thyme. Substituted Italian seasoning). Used heavy whipping cream instead of half and half. And a can of cooked chicken. Plus other ingredients. It turned out amazing!! Went to Olive Garden a week later. Ordered their soup, ours was way better!! Thanks for sharing ?
This was the easiest, spot on recipe!! So very delicious! My family absolutely loved it!
Just made this!. YUMMY! I had to add extra broth to thin it out. I used dried thyme and added basil. I felt like it was missing something and basil did it. l will make this again.
Hello, Alyssa. I wanted to thank you for sharing this recipe. I love this soup but I hate the chicken Olive Garden uses. I’m not crazy about the texture. I gave some of it to my co workers and they loved it. One even saIf it is better than Olive Garden themselves.
YAY! That is great! I am SO happy that you loved it! Thanks for sharing! XOXO
Am sure that they use turkey or hens that don’t produce eggs anymore , it seemed to me just makes more cents for their bottom line ! Not surprised bean counters look for a cheaper protein alternatives ! Loved the soup regardless and both times I had it @ Olive Garden I would think of what and how they made it , thanks for helping with recipe will try it tomorow ,making chicken stock from scratch
Made this last night, made gnocchi from scratch pan fried chicken after drudging etc… Butter and olive oil like you would for chicken piccata . ommited the thyme came out awesome!
That is awesome you made it your own. I am so happy for you! Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO
made the Chicken Gnocchi. Not crazy about using thyme. It was ok but will leave the thyme out. I would use a different spice. Thyme is too strong for our taste
what’s “half and half”
Half milk/half cream, it is in the dairy section.
If you’re Canadian like myself, it’s called Blend here ?
I can’t get gnocchi at the store in my tiny town. Could i just use tortilini instead? And is there anything i should do different?
I have never tried it with tortellini. You will have to let me know how it works! You may need to add it at the very end since it is more tender than gnocchi. Hope that helps and it is yummy!! XOXO
Giant shell macaroni is good in this recipe. You need to increase broth ingredients when you do. The shells fill up with the broth.
Do you need to cook the Gnocchi before you add it to the soup?
No, the Gnocchi will cook towards the end of the recipe. Hope that helps! XOXO
I made the Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup— and I didn’t change much… more broth and chicken stock- but it was hands down one of the best soup recipes I’ve made. I’m home sick today and I can’t wait to make this soup. It’s comforting.
That is awesome to hear! I do love this soup and it is simple to make at home! Thanks for sharing! XOXO
This is very delicious soup!!!!!! Never had the olive garden one but im sure this one is better.
AWE! Thank you SO much! I am so glad that you loved it! XOXO
I made this tonight, I doubled the recipe and only used a dash of dried thyme after reading reviews. It was delicious and perfect! Just like Olive Garden’s. I am adding this to my fall soup collection.
THAT IS FANTASTIC!! I am so glad you loved it! It is one of my favorite soups! Thanks so much for sharing! XOXO
I am not usually one to say bad things about anyone else’s cooking but I am compelled to this time..I am sorry. I LOVE the soup at Olive Garden so I ran out and got all the stuff for this recipe immediately and made it just as the recipe above said. And unless you LOVE LOVE LOVE Thyme you will hate this soup. One tablespoon was over the top. ALL I could taste was the Thyme. Plus the carrots and the celery were crunchy. I THINK that the celery should be cooked alone for a while THEN add the carrots and onions and cook them til the onions are clear. THEN follow the recipe EXCEPT only add a sprinkle of Thyme..you can always add more if you want but you cant take it back out once it is in. Otherwise I think this recipe is spot on and will be awesome.
This was a great recipe, thank you for sharing! I used everything that it called for but used frozen carrots and I used 32oz of chicken broth. I also added a little chicken bouillon and it was much better. It was still creamy even after adding so much liquid.
That is AWESOME!! I am so happy it turned out and your could make it your own! Thanks for sharing! XOXO
I made this soup for dinner tonight and it was amazing. The only change I made was to skip the celery as it’s not a family favorite. It was creamy & filling and the first time I’ve ever had gnocchi. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I will be making it again.
Your first time?!? I feel privileged to have you try this recipe first! I am so happy you all liked it! Thank you so much for sharing! XOXO