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This chicken gnocchi soup recipe is thick and hearty. Serve it with crusty bread for a filling and delicious meal. Your family will love it!
If you’re looking for a warm, comforting meal, this chicken gnocchi soup is the perfect recipe. It’s creamy, hearty, and packed with tender chicken, fluffy gnocchi, and fresh vegetables. Whether you’re making it for a family dinner or a cozy night in, this soup will quickly become a favorite. If you love Olive Garden’s chicken gnocchi soup, then this post is for you!
What Is Gnocchi?
- Gnocchi (pronounced “NYOH-kee”) are small, soft dumplings traditionally made from potatoes, flour, and eggs, although they can also be made with semolina, ricotta, or even vegetables like spinach. They originate from Italy and are often served as a pasta dish.
- The most common type is potato gnocchi, which are made by boiling and mashing potatoes, mixing them with flour, and shaping the dough into small pieces before boiling them. They have a soft, pillowy texture. and are usually served with sauces such as pesto or marinara.
- Gnocchi can be used in various dishes, such as soup, but can also be baked, pan-fried, or boiled.
Why This Recipe Works
There are lots of variations of this soup available online, many claiming to be the original Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup. Other recipes are categorized as “copycats,” which is what I’m featuring today. To set my recipe apart from all the others, I tried very hard to streamline the steps for you, and keep the ingredients in order.
Prep Tips
- Any kind of gnocchi can be used, but shelf stable potato gnocchi works the best. Gnocchi can be found in the pasta aisle of your grocery store.
- Any kind of chicken can be used, but rotisserie chicken works great for this soup, and it’s a big time-saver. Pull off the breast meat and chop it into pieces. If there is any juice in the bottom of the chicken bag, make sure to add it to the soup. Boneless chicken thighs or boneless breasts can be used as well.
- Make sure to use fresh spinach. Frozen spinach will get mushy.
- You can use heavy cream or milk instead of half & half.
- The easiest way to make this creamy chicken gnocchi soup is to assemble all of your ingredients before you start cooking. It goes very quickly and smoothly if everything is ready and at your fingertips.
How to Make
- Add butter and olive oil to a large dutch oven.
- On medium high heat, add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.
- Saute on the stove top for 5 minutes until tender.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, half and half, thyme, salt, and black pepper.
- Add chopped chicken and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add gnocchi and spinach.
- Simmer for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Remove the sprigs of thyme. Serve immediately.
Cooking & Storage Tips
- Have some extra chicken broth on hand. When it’s finished cooking, if the chicken gnocchi soup is too thick for your taste, just add chicken broth to thin it out a bit.
- To store, transfer any leftover soup to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- To reheat, portion the soup into individual serving bowls and heat each one in the microwave. The soup will get very thick after it sits in the refrigerator, but it thins out after it’s reheated. If it’s still too thick for your taste, just add chicken broth.
- For added flavor, deglaze the pot after you’ve added the flour with white wine, then add the chicken broth and half & half.
- Adaptation: try adding other proteins such as cooked turkey or Italian sausage instead of chicken.
- I’ve never had any luck freezing creamy soups. When they are thawed, they tend to separate. To fix this, you can whisk in a bit of cream or reheat it gently while stirring to bring it back together. It’s also a good idea to freeze the soup without the gnocchi. Just add freshly cooked gnocchi when you reheat it.
FAQ’s
Making soup is like therapy for me. The time spent in the kitchen is relaxing. Chopping and organizing the ingredients makes me feel accomplished and productive. I love that a pot of soup makes enough so we have leftovers for a second meal. If you aren’t a soup maker, I encourage you to give this recipe a try. If you already love making soup, I hope you have found some inspiration from this recipe and the tips. Enjoy!
Note: soup making is not an exact science. I have made countless pots of soup, and no two have turned out the same. The measurements in all of my soup recipes are guidelines, and can easily be adjusted according to your family’s tastes.
Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
Rate this Recipe Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 large onion chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 cup carrots shredded
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (or two finely chopped garlic cloves)
- 1/4 cup flour
- 32 oz. chicken broth
- 1 cup half and half or whipping cream
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
- 2 cups chicken cubed
- 1 cup packed fresh spinach
- 16 oz. potato gnocchi
Instructions
- Add butter and olive oil to a large dutch oven.
- On medium heat, add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic.
- Saute for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour over the vegetables and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, half and half, thyme, salt, and pepper.
- Add chopped chicken and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add gnocchi and spinach.
- Simmer for 15 – 20 minutes.
- Remove the sprigs of thyme. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, and love it, please come back to leave a comment and a 5-star review. I would really appreciate it, and it would help me so much. Thank you!
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This soup is so delicious that I’ve made it twice in less than a week. It’s a perfect meal- especially on a cold day. I made no changes to the recipe. This soup was a favorite of mine at Olive Garden but it was never this good! My husband can’t stop raving about it!
Hi Julie…so glad you liked the soup, and thank you very much for the rating!
So many good smells while cooking this and so many compliments – the best was my husband’s: add it to “the book” (aka the recipe card box) after taking the first couple bites.
Is the serving size one cup? Please advise. It sounds absolutely scrumptious and wonderful for a cold evening. Thank you.
Thank you for reminding me of this recipe. I have made it several times, and it is a big hit with my family. My plan this Friday is to adapt it to meatless using a vegetable broth and a combination of chopped and whole shrimp. It will be perfect with a Caesar salad and home made bread. I strongly believe that once any home cook masters a few basic soup recipes the skills can be carried over to other ingredients to create yet another variation. I have not tried this recipe with sausage or turkey but now I have more ideas. Have a lovely day during this transitional season.
I’ve made similar recipes before with varying results. In trying to “slim” it down a notch, I’ve used 2% milk. One time was great, the next time not so much…it just separated and was a mess! I’m going to try this with half and half and add some white wine. I think my family will love this!
Wednesday night is Soup Night at our house and this soup was a hit! My hubby, who is not an adventurous eater asked for seconds and gave a huge compliment with “This is tasty – can I have more?”
Cant wait to try this
I love your new little Millie, already!!
Best of luck with her
Easy and delicious, bookmarked. I added a little extra butter and EVOO and some extra herbs like basil and rosemary and because we like spicy I threw some cayenne powder and it gave it a spicy edge!
Hey Keena…thank you so much for the comment and rating. I’m glad you liked the soup, and your additions sound amazing!
Made this last night, cooked the chicken and used the broth. I had to add a bit of Better Than Bullion to the broth but this soup id a keeper! We loved it. It makes a lot. I plan to freeze some.
We loved this soup!!
I used a little less fresh spinach and it was wonderful. I also had some thin fresh organic carrots so I sliced them on the bias, they looked great and had just the right bite texture!
As Anne said if you have chicken breast already cooked its a real time saver!!
This recipe is a keeper!
Thank you Anne!
My husband is standing at the stove still enjoying this delicious soup after two bowls! He called it a home run after his first spoonful. I agree. Wouldn’t change a thing. I was afraid it might be too heavy but it wasn’t. Thanks, Ann!
Made it, loved it! Just one suggestion– add more liquid when adding the gnocchi which absorbs a lot of liquid. Otherwise, it will become texture of stew.
It turned out magnificent. So easy for a home cooked meal and perfect size for leftovers (me being single). I will keep this one in the book and share with friends and family 🥰
Made this for the family last night for dinner and it was a huge hit! I loved your advice about having everything chopped, measured and ready because it was the fastest dinner I have thrown together! I loved all the fresh veggies in the recipe and using the rotisserie chicken made this even more simple! This recipe is a keeper and we will definitely be having it again. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
I can’t wait to try your recipe! I first had this at a work potluck and loved it. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thank you for this. I have scanned the online recipes for this soup several times but haven’t tried it yet. I will try this one as soon as I can get to the grocery when some of this darn white stuff and ice melts enough for me to get down my 460 ft driveway! I make one soup a week for 2 people. I then freeze half for later use. I am touched to see that you have some for your father. Until my MIL passed, I was able to share foods with her as well. She used to sit at her kitchen table, promptly at 4 pm with her silver ware and plate or bowl in place waiting for me to unpack her dinner. We would chat and plan for the next day. Have a lovely Sunday!