Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup is deliciously creamy and takes less than 30 minutes to make. This copycat Olive Garden soup recipe tastes just like the restaurant version!
What is gnocchi?
Gnocchi are essentially little potato dumplings. You can make your own, or do what I do and buy a package that is ready to use. Gnocchi can usually be found in the refrigerated section at the grocery store near the cheese.
What is Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup?
I love Olive Garden for lots of reasons, but I really love their soup. For me, I really can’t decide which one is my favorite. I alternate back and forth between all of them, but I really love this Chicken Gnocchi soup and also the Zuppa Toscana.
The Chicken Gnocchi soup is made with onions, celery, garlic, carrots, spinach, gnocchi and chicken in a creamy chicken broth.
Ingredients in Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup
Butter – Real butter works best!
Olive oil – Add a little bit of olive oil to the butter to add some richness and flavor to the soup.
Onion – I prefer to use yellow onions in soup – I think they have the best flavor!
Celery – You will need 1/2 cup of chopped celery for the soup.
Garlic – The recipe calls for 2 cloves of garlic, minced. Save time by keeping minced garlic in stock in your refrigerator!
Flour – 1/4 cup of flour is needed to help thicken up the soup.
Half and half – You will need 4 cups (1 quart) of half and half to provide the creaminess in the soup. You can use whole milk instead or even one with a lower fat percentage, but just know that the soup will be a little runnier and not quite so creamy!
Chicken broth – You will need two (14.5 oz) cans of chicken broth. You can use low-sodium if you’d like, but regular really doesn’t seem to be too salty.
Salt – Just 1/2 teaspoon of salt gives the right amount of flavor to the soup. You may want to adjust this a little bit to taste, especially if you use a low-sodium chicken broth.
Thyme, parsley and nutmeg – These spices provide the most amazing flavors in the soup! I use dried versions that are found in my spice rack in the pantry and they work great.
Carrots – The recipe calls for finely shredded carrots, but you can use diced ones if you prefer that or have some on hand in your freezer.
Spinach – Fresh spinach works best. You’ll need about a cup of coarsely chopped spinach for the soup.
Chicken breast – You will need 1 cup of diced, cooked chicken. Go ahead and use leftover chicken you have on hand or even use a rotisserie chicken and feel free to add more if you are trying to eat more protein.
Gnocchi – You’ll need a 16 ounce package of pre-made, ready to use gnocchi. This can usually be found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, near the cheese.
How to make Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and mix together.
Add the onion, celery and garlic and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the onions become translucent. Whisk in the flour and cook for about one minute.
Whisk in the half and half and chicken broth and bring to a simmer until thickened.
Add the salt, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, carrots, spinach, chicken and gnocchi. Simmer until everything is heated through.
Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup onion finely diced
- ½ cup celery finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup flour
- 4 cups half and half
- 2 14 oz cans chicken broth
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup carrots finely shredded
- 1 cup fresh spinach coarsely chopped
- 1 cup chicken breast diced and cooked
- 1 16 oz gnocchi (ready to use)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and mix together.
- Add the onion, celery and garlic and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the onions become translucent. Whisk in the flour and cook for about one minute.
- Whisk in the half and half and chicken broth and bring to a simmer until thickened.
- Add the salt, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, carrots, spinach, chicken and gnocchi. Simmer until everything is heated through.
Nutrition
Time saving tips for making Chicken Gnocchi soup
-Use a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking and dicing a chicken breast. I use rotisserie chicken in most of my chicken recipes because it is so easy and the chicken is delicious. To save even more time, purchase several rotisserie chickens the next time you are at Costco and then shred them all at once, portioning out the chicken into freezer bags. I put all the bags in the freezer and just pull one out in the morning on days that I know I need chicken for dinner.
–Make your own mirepoix and keep it on hand in your freezer. Mirepoix is a fancy word describing a mixture of chopped celery, onion and carrots. Spending a little bit of time a few times a year chopping and prepping veggies will save you a ton of time later on!
-Use minced garlic. I always keep minced garlic in my refrigerator to use in recipes. That way I know I always have some ready and it saves a couple minutes during dinner prep.
HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP?
If there are leftovers, keep this soup stored in an airtight container for no more than 3 days. To reheat simply place it in a pot on the stove and stir until warmed through or reheat it by the bowl’s worth in the microwave.
Can you freeze Chicken Gnocchi soup?
This soup doesn’t freeze very well because of the half and half cream in it as well as the gnocchi. The gnocchi will get soggy as the starches break down. Better just to eat this soup fresh or within a couple of days!
LOOKING FOR MORE GREAT SOUPS? CHECK THESE OUT!
- Creamy Vegetable Soup
- Classic Chicken Noodle Soup
- Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup
- French Onion Tomato Soup
- Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup
- Chicken Alfredo Soup
- Three Cheese Soup
- Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup
- Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup
- Cheesy Tomato Soup
Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup is deliciously creamy and takes less than 30 minutes to make. This copycat Olive Garden soup recipe tastes just like the restaurant version!
Gb says
The olive garden I was at was skimpy on the gnocchi. I has one piece it cream chicken. Stop being cheapos olive garden.
Nicole says
Haha, well at least when you make it yourself you can control the portions and get all the gnocchi and chicken you want 🙂
Carlene says
I made this recipe. It had a great flavor. However, when I make it again, I will only use 1/2 a pkg of gnocchi as my family found that there was way too much in it and made the soup too “pasty” for their tastes.
Nellie says
Thanks for letting us know! You definitely can adjust the amount of gnocchi according to personal preference.
DD says
This is the BEST copycat version of Olive Gardens gnocchi soup!! I have tried several other recipes but this one is a keeper. Highly recommend making this soup!! I always serve the soup with homemade bread! Thanks for the amazing recipe !! Oh, I also wanted to say my 2 picky eaters love this soup as well!!
DD
Nicole says
Thats so awesome! Glad to hear it!