Chicken Gnocchi Soup is one of my favorite soups for the cozy warm weather! It’s so creamy, filled with colorful veggies, chicken, and pillowy potato gnocchi! This copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup is incredibly easy to make and tastes so much better!
This post may include affiliate links that earn us a small commission from your purchases at no extra cost to you.
5-Star Reviews
“So good and way better than the restaurant version because there are no junk ingredients!” -Kimberly
Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Copycat Recipe)
Chicken Gnocchi Soup is a super creamy soup filled with the most delicious mini potato gnocchis. What I love most is how flavorful they are with every bite! With a rich cream base, shredded carrots, onions, spinach, soft pillowy gnocchi dumplings, and chicken—this soup is so satisfying!
Replicating restaurant style quality is my passion. It helps me to save money and time and I serve a healthier meal! Want more restaurant copycat recipes? Try our Bang Bang Shrimp, Carrabba’s Sausage and Lentil Soup, and Applebee’s Fiesta Lime Chicken!
Tips for Beginners
- Do not continue boiling after adding the cream. The cream may curdle after a while.
- I highly recommend using fresh spinach. Frozen spinach will make the soup watery.
Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 30 ounces chicken broth click for homemade recipe!
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 16 ounces potato gnocchi
- 1/3 cup white flour
- 2 cups half and half
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. 3 tablespoons butter until just melted.8 tablespoons butter
- Add in the onion and carrot and stir to coat in the butter. Saute for 3-5 minutes or until onions are translucent.1 small yellow onion, 1 cup shredded carrot
- Stir in garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes or until fragrant.1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Pour in the chicken broth and add in the nutmeg, thyme, paprika, salt, and pepper. Add in chicken breast and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Allow to cook for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken and set aside.30 ounces chicken broth, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 2 lbs boneless
- While chicken is cooking, heat remaining butter in a small sauce pan. Once melted, stir in the flour briskly with a whisk.1/3 cup white flour
- Pour in the half and half, whisking while you pour. Once fully combined and smooth, allow to simmer to 3 minutes or until thickened. Whisk often.2 cups half and half
- Stir in the parmesan cheese until combined. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, whisking with your hand until smooth. Set aside.1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Once chicken has been removed from the broth, add in the 16 ounces potato gnocchi. Allow to simmer, covered, for 5-7 minutes or until gnocchi rises to the top and is done.16 ounces potato gnocchi
- Stir the cream mixture into the broth/gnocchi mixture.
- Cube the cooked chicken and return to the soup, along with the spinach. Heat until warmed to your liking, but do not allow to come to a boil.
Video
Becky’s Tips
- Use mini size gnocchi for the soup. They are easy to scoop in and so tasty.
- Swap potato gnocchi to cauliflower gnocchi or simply use any pasta.
- Throw some sun dried tomatoes on top while serving.
- You can also use skinless boneless chicken thighs or shredded chicken.
- Feel free to add peas, zucchini, asparagus, and broccoli.
- Adjust the salt in the recipe if you’re using salted butter.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
How to Make Chicken Gnocchi Soup Step by Step
Cook vegetables and chicken: Heat a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 3 tablespoons butter (out of 8 tablespoons butter) until just melted. Add in 1 small chopped yellow onion, 1 cup shredded carrot and saute until onions become translucent.
Stir in 1 tablespoon minced garlic and cook a couple more minutes.
Add broth and chicken: Pour in the 30 ounces chicken broth, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. At the same time add in 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
Allow to cook for 8-10 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Remove chicken and set aside.
Prepare the soup base: While the chicken cooks, melt the remaining butter in a small saucepan and whisk in the 1/3 cup white flour.
Then whisk in 2 cups half and half, and let it simmer until it thickens.
Stir in 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, remove from heat, then whisk in 1/3 cup heavy cream.
Once the chicken is fully cooked through, remove it from the pot and set it aside.
Add gnocchi and cook: Add the 16 ounces potato gnocchi into the broth mixture and let it simmer until the gnocchi rises to the top (that’s how you know it’s cooked through). It takes around 5-7 minutes.
Combine soup base and chicken: Pour the cream mixture from the saucepan into the rest of the soup.
Cube the chicken breast then add it into the soup, along with the chopped spinach, and stir until heated.
I just love how creamy and delicious this chicken gnocchi soup recipe turns out.
How to Store and Reheat
Refrigerate: Refrigerate leftover soup for up to 3 days. Place it in an airtight container and store. Keep in mind, gnocchi and veggies absorb the juices and your soup may get thicker. Add some chicken broth or half and half and adjust the consistency. You may need to adjust salt per taste.
Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this chicken gnocchi soup. Cooked gnocchi sticks with each other. The soup may curdle after thawing due to dairy.
Make ahead: If you like to plan in advance and want to make this ahead of time, refrigerate the chicken, gnocchi, and soup base in separate containers. When ready, cook everything together until it reaches a soft boil.
Serving Suggestions
In my opinion Chicken Gnocchi soup makes a complete meal in itself, lean protein from chicken, carbs from gnocchi and fat from the cream base! You could also pair this with my Olive Garden Salad with Dressing or some homemade garlic bread.
Add an Italian Cream Cake for dessert if you’re celebrating something special!
I first had this soup at Olive Garden several months ago. It was amazing! This version is as close as you can get! My husband ranks it as the best soup he’s ever had!
Amazing recipe! This was my first time making chicken and gnocchi and it turned out so good!!
It took some effort as I am a novice at cooking awesome dishes. But, well worth it! It’s delicious! Thanks Becky!
This soup is AHHHH-MAZING! The base stock is so delicious and flavorful that you could use it for just about any soup you want to make. My family loves this soup!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing, Tara!
Delicious. It’s not a quick soup but it is very similar to the Olive Garden’s. This is a large pot of soup. I hope it freezes well.
LOVE to hear that!!
I made my own gnocchi just so I could try this recipe and omgeee it is delish! I skipped the roux step because I didn’t mind a thinner soup and instead added a good splash of Half & Half at the end. Soup bowls were topped with fresh grated parmesan and there were no leftovers :) I had bookmarked several Chicken Gnocchi Soup recipes but opted for this one because it went above and beyond the others especially in the seasoning department. I can gladly say that those other recipes are now in the recycle bin! Many thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Thanks, Rebecca! Glad you found a recipe that works for you!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! i love it
My whole family really enjoyed this soup! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So great to hear!
So good and way better than the restaurant version because there are no junk ingredients!
YES!
Seriously one of my favorite soups! SO good!!
Yes! All time fave