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This chicken gnocchi soup recipe is quick, easy to make in your own kitchen, and comforting. The pillowy gnocchi melt in your mouth, there’s tender veggies, and the creamy broth is addictive!
Love making restaurant-quality Italian soups at home? You have to try this Zuppa Toscana recipe, Minestrone, or this Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli!
Why you’ll love it
Now, I know you adore the chicken gnocchi soup from a certain beloved Italian-American restaurant, but I wouldn’t say that this is a straight-up Olive Garden copycat recipe. It’s actually even better. That’s right. Your tastebuds are going to do a happy dance after trying it!
This ridiculously tasty creamy chicken gnocchi soup is straightforward and pretty quick to make when all is said and done. It takes about 35-40 minutes to re-create this mouthwatering meal, and you can feel good knowing exactly what goes into it.
Ingredients for it
- Olive oil and butter – a classic combo to cook the aromatics with to start this soup off right!
- Celery, onion, and carrots – this sautéed trio creates a classic flavorful base. Did you know the fancy term for it is soffritto in Italian and mirepoix in French?
- Garlic – I can’t resist adding garlic to soups
- Mushrooms – cremini are my choice for their texture, but you could sub with white mushrooms if in a pinch
- Chicken broth – a wonderful foundation for the soup broth. You can also use chicken stock.
- Italian seasoning – find this blend in the spice aisle at your grocery store. It’s a jar of mixed dried herbs like rosemary and thyme, and it’s a favorite for so many of my recipes.
- Chicken – use up any leftover chicken you have, or grab a rotisserie chicken from the store as a time saver
- Gnocchi – I buy the shelf-stable gnocchi that you can find in the pasta aisle in most major grocery stores
- Cream – heavy cream tops off the irresistible broth! We’re not using enough to overpower the soup. It’s the perfect amount for ideal creaminess.
- Fresh spinach – a handful of baby spinach adds a burst of freshness and even more veggie goodness
Pro tip
- The potato gnocchi cooks right in the soup, and the starch released from the potatoes helps to thicken up the creamy broth beautifully!
How to make chicken gnocchi soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in a soup pot for 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.
Add the chicken broth, water, seasoning, chicken, and gnocchi, then bring the soup to a boil. Simmer the soup for 10 minutes. Finally, stir in the cream and spinach and cook for a few more minutes.
Substitutions and variations
- You can use half-and-half or even milk, but in my opinion you can’t beat the taste and consistency of heavy cream.
- If mushrooms aren’t your thing, you can leave them out.
- You could use matchstick carrots if desired. Simply add them in step 4 since they will cook faster than sliced carrots.
- Want to throw in extra veggies? Go for it! Peas would work great.
- Some freshly grated parmesan would take this soup to the next level.
What to serve this soup with
- Breadsticks, garlic bread, or a slice of your favorite crusty bread would be a fantastic complement to this soup.
- You can’t go wrong with a side salad. Try this homemade balsamic dressing or this easy Italian dressing with mixed greens!
Leftovers and storage
- This gnocchi soup will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container, but keep in mind that the gnocchi will continue to release starch. If the soup gets too thick, add another splash of broth or cream to thin it out when reheating over a low heat.
- You could try to freeze leftovers, but dairy can separate when reheating after it’s been frozen, and the texture of the gnocchi may change. It’s best to just eat it within a few days.
I hope you’ll agree that this is the best chicken gnocchi soup recipe! Questions? Let me know in the comments below. Tag me on Instagram and show me your creations!
Easy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots sliced or chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 7 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups cooked chicken I used rotisserie
- 1 pound potato gnocchi
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach (packed)
Instructions
- Add the oil and butter to a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the pot. Sauté for 8-10 minutes with the lid slightly ajar. Stir once or twice during this time.
- Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pot and cook for a few minutes.
- Stir in the chicken broth, water, Italian seasoning, chicken, and gnocchi. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the cream and spinach. Cook for a few more minutes until the spinach is wilted and the soup is heated through. Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve.
Notes
- You can use milk or half-and-half instead of cream if you prefer.
- The longer you cook/leave the soup to sit, the more it’ll thicken up because the gnocchi will release starch.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on December 18, 2018. It’s been tweaked to be even easier, tastier, and has new photos!
We Russians love any soups. This recipe I tried for the first time and absolutely loved it! Perfect for rainy night! 🍲😋
Excellent! So happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Made this for dinner and we loved it! Definitely saving this recipe. I ommited the mushrooms but followed the recipe exact besides that.
So happy to hear it, Jenny! Thanks for letting me know!
SO amazing! Made this tonight and even my pickiest child finished every bit of it. Made it with some breadsticks. In my opinion this is even better than Olive Garden. Thanks for this wonderful recipe. It will be added to the seasonal favorites!
Aww!! I am so happy it was a hit! Thanks for letting me know! 😀
Made this for dinner it was delicious paired with a ceasar salad oh my
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Love love love all your recipes!
So happy to hear it, Yolanda! Thank you 🙂
Hi! I’m going to make this for Sunday family dinner tomorrow and was just curious about the gnocchi. I’ve never cooked with it and the shelf stable one I got says it’s ready in two minutes! Should I just add it at the very end if I want it piping hot when guests come so it doesn’t get soggy? I usually let soup cook for a few hours but it’s nice that this one doesn’t have too! I bought an extra packetof gnocchi to make the sausage and kale recipe too 🙂
Hi Marie! I’d cook it longer than that, because it releases starch and helps thicken the soup. I wouldn’t say the shelf stable stuff goes soggy per se – it’s pretty dense. It’s not quite like pasta since it’s made of potatoes. Let me know if you like the recipes! ❤️
I’m planning on trying this recipe out this week! I would like to add those baby gold potatoes to it. Would you suggest I boil the potatoes in water on their own and then transferring it in with the rest?
I think since they’re small, you could probably cook them right in the soup if you think they’ll be done in 10-15 minutes or so (maybe cut them into small-ish pieces). The extra starch should also thicken the soup more, which is a good thing in my opinion. But it’s really up to you! Let me know how it goes.
The recipe was delicious! I couldn’t find gnocchi anywhere though at my grocery store but you were totally right about the potatoes. They cooked quite well in with the soup!
So happy it worked out!
I just made this today for dinner. It is so DELISH! I followed recipe exactly. I used half and half and it was plenty creamy for my taste. I could eat the whole thing myself. Thanks for this recipe! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Aww so glad to hear it!! 🙂
Has anyone tried freezing the leftovers? How do you think it would freeze?
Just made this and it was amazing! I swapped out the cream for lactose free half and half and it was perfect. Thank you for sharing.
So pleased you enjoyed it, Jen!!