This Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup is so creamy and comforting! It's an easy healthy one-pot recipe that'll become your new favourite.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado oil.
- Chicken breast – you could also try making this soup with rotisserie chicken, turkey breast or sausage.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots would also be good.
- Celery – swap out for another aromatic like carrots.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic can be used in a pinch.
- Flour – use your favourite gluten-free flour if you need the soup to be gluten-free.
- Carrot matchsticks – shredded carrot would also be good.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Parmesan cheese rind – you can leave this out if need be, but it adds amazing flavour.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth would be the best substitute here.
- Gnocchi – you could try making this soup with another kind of pasta or orzo, but the cooking time may vary.
- Heavy cream – use half and half for a lighter option. You can use dairy-free milk, but the soup won't be as creamy.
- Baby spinach – kale would also be delicious in this soup.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast is a great dairy free substitute.
How to make chicken gnocchi soup
Step 1: Cook the chicken.
Brown the chicken cutlets in a pot, then let them rest before dicing into pieces.
Step 2: Sauté the veggies.
Sauté the onions, celery and garlic until softened, then sprinkle with flour and toss to combine. Add the carrots, salt and pepper, parmesan cheese rind, chicken broth and diced chicken.
Step 3: Simmer then add the gnocchi.
Simmer the soup and add the gnocchi during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Step 4: Add the cream and spinach.
Remove the parmesan rind then stir in the heavy cream and spinach.
Step 5: Cook for another minute.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over top and serve.
What to serve with chicken gnocchi soup
Looking for ideas on what to serve with this chicken and gnocchi soup? Here are some of my favourite side dish ideas:
- Homemade Olive Garden breadsticks or Olive Garden salad to go with the Olive Garden theme
- Kale salad
- Mini grilled cheese sandwiches
- Steamed broccoli
Frequently Asked Questions
You can try making this soup dairy free by leaving out the parmesan cheese rind and substituting the heavy cream for a dairy-free milk or cream. Keep in mind that the soup won't be as creamy and will have a slightly different taste, but you can definitely give it a try!
There's no need to pre-cook the gnocchi before adding it to the soup. Just add it to the pot during the last 5 minutes of cooking time and it will cook right in the soup.
Yes! If you want to cut down on prep time, you can use any leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. You can skip the first step of the recipe and dice the cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces, then add it to the soup along with the carrots, parmesan cheese rind and chicken broth.
This soup will be plenty thick already, since you'll be sautéing the veggies in flour. If you want it to be even thicker, let it simmer for a bit longer before adding in the gnocchi. The longer it simmers on the stovetop, the thicker it will get.
Storing and reheating
You can store any leftovers of this chicken gnocchi soup in the fridge for up to 3 days in glass bowls or airtight containers. Keep in mind that the gnocchi will continue to soak up the liquid while it sits, so the gnocchi might be a bit softer after reheating. Reheat the soup in a pot on the stovetop or microwave it for 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh parmesan and serve!
Freezing this recipe
Cream-based soups don't tend to freeze well as the cream will separate as it thaws. If you want to freeze this chicken and gnocchi soup, I'd recommend freezing it before you add in the heavy cream, gnocchi and spinach. Follow the recipe instructions as normal up until step 3, then remove the parmesan rind and freeze for up to 3 months in glass bowls or Ziploc bags without the gnocchi, cream or spinach.
When you're ready to enjoy, let the soup defrost in the fridge overnight, then bring the mixture to a simmer on the stovetop. Add in the gnocchi and cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the heavy cream and spinach and cook for another minute. Serve with parmesan and dig in!
More delicious soup recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to pack up your weekly lunches.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 lb chicken breast sliced into cutlets
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 cups carrot matchsticks
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 parmesan cheese rind optional
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 500 g gnocchi store bought
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 cups baby spinach chopped
- Parmesan cheese optional, for serving
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Add chicken cutlets, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste (NOT the 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper, just to taste), then cook for 3 minutes per side until browned. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes before dicing into pieces.
- Add remaining tbsp olive oil, then saute onions, celery and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Sprinkle mixture with flour, tossing to combine, then add carrots, the 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper, parmesan cheese rind (if adding), chicken broth and diced chicken and its juices.
- Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes, adding gnocchi in the last 5 minutes of cook time.
- Remove parmesan rind if using, then stir in heavy cream and spinach, cooking another minute. Serve with some parmesan cheese sprinkled overtop if desired and enjoy!
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