Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Chicken Gnocchi Soup is pure comfort in a bowl – creamy, hearty, and absolutely irresistible! This easy recipe combines tender diced chicken, pillowy potato gnocchi, and fresh vegetables in a rich, velvety broth that’ll have your family asking for seconds. With simple ingredients like chicken broth, half-and-half, and fresh spinach, you can have this restaurant-quality soup on your table in just 30 minutes!

Love More Soup Recipes? Try My Bacon Cheddar Gnocchi Soup or this Tuscan Chicken Soup next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This Chicken Gnocchi Soup is everything you want in comfort food – it’s creamy without being heavy, packed with tender chicken and vegetables, and those little potato pillows (hello, gnocchi!) make every spoonful absolutely perfect. It’s the kind of soup that fills your kitchen with amazing aromas and your heart with pure happiness. Plus, it’s so easy that even on your busiest weeknights.

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Ingredient List

What You’ll Need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (whatever brand’s in your pantry)
• 1 stalk celery, chopped (don’t stress about perfect cuts)
• ½ white onion, diced (yellow works too if that’s what you have)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (or 2 cloves fresh, your call)
• ½ cup shredded carrots (I buy the pre-shredded bag, no shame)
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (Swanson’s my go-to)
• 1 teaspoon thyme (dried is fine, fresh is fancy)
• Salt & pepper (to whatever tastes right to you)

The Good Stuff:

• 3–4 boneless chicken breasts, already cooked & diced (rotisserie saves your sanity)
• 16 ounces potato gnocchi (from the pasta aisle, not the freezer section)
• 2 cups half-and-half (don’t you dare use skim milk here)
• 1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped (baby spinach works great too)

Why These Ingredients Work

Here’s what I’ve learned after way too many soup experiments: those aromatics aren’t just fancy cooking talk – they’re what makes your kitchen smell like someone’s Italian grandmother lives there. I use low-sodium broth because my mother-in-law taught me you can always add salt but you can’t take it back out (learned that lesson the hard way with a batch that could’ve melted ice).

The potato gnocchi? They’re doing double duty here. Sure, they taste incredible, but they’re also releasing starch that naturally thickens your soup without any weird flour slurries. And that half-and-half hits the sweet spot between “I want this creamy” and “I don’t want to feel like I need a nap after eating it.”

Essential Tools and Equipment

You probably have everything you need already:

• Big pot (like, the biggest one you own – this makes a lot)
• Sharp knife that actually cuts things instead of mashing them
• Cutting board (preferably one that doesn’t slide around)
• Wooden spoon for stirring (plastic melts, learned that one the hard way)
• Regular measuring cups and spoons
• A ladle that doesn’t drip soup everywhere when you’re serving

How To Make Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Step 1: Create Your Flavor Base

Heat that olive oil in your biggest pot – trust me on the pot size, this stuff bubbles up. Toss in the celery, onion, garlic, and carrots. I stir these around for about 2-3 minutes until the onions go see-through. My kids know dinner’s happening when they smell this step from upstairs.

Step 2: Add the Chicken and Broth

Dump in your chicken (I usually grab a rotisserie from the store because who has time to cook chicken from scratch?), pour in that broth, and season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring it to a boil and your kitchen will start smelling like somebody who actually knows what they’re doing lives there.

Step 3: Cook the Gnocchi

Here’s where it gets fun – add the gnocchi and let them boil for about 3-4 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when they start floating to the top like little life preservers. My youngest always peers over the pot waiting for this magic moment.

Step 4: Let It Simmer

Turn the heat down and let everything bubble gently for 10 minutes. This is when I usually clean up my mess and set the table. The flavors are getting cozy together, and honestly, this is the hardest part because it smells so good.

Step 5: Make It Creamy

Pour in the half-and-half and add that spinach. Stir it around for maybe 2 minutes until the spinach wilts down. Do NOT let this boil hard once you add the cream – learned that lesson when I had chunky soup instead of creamy soup. Not cute.

Step 6: Season and Serve

Taste it and fix the seasoning. I always need more pepper, but that’s just me. Ladle it up and watch everyone’s mood instantly improve. Works every single time.

You Must Know

Whatever you do, don’t let this soup boil after you add the half-and-half. I made that mistake exactly once – turned my back for two minutes and came back to what looked like cottage cheese floating in broth. Keep it at a gentle simmer and you’ll be golden.

Personal Secret: I season my rotisserie chicken with extra salt and pepper before I add it to the pot. Sounds weird, I know, but it makes such a difference. My neighbor asked for my “secret ingredient” and couldn’t believe it was just more seasoning on the chicken.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Watch Those Gnocchi Like a Hawk – They go from perfect to mushy faster than my kids lose their backpacks. Once they float, start timing.
• Rotisserie is Your Friend – I buy the pre-cooked chicken from Costco and call it a day. Life’s too short to poach chicken on a Wednesday.
• Room Temperature Everything – Let that half-and-half sit on the counter while you prep. Cold cream hitting hot soup = disaster soup.
• Season as You Go – I probably taste this soup six times while making it. Don’t be shy about adjusting things.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

After making this probably a hundred times, here’s what else works:

• When I Feel Italian: Sun-dried tomatoes and extra garlic. Sometimes basil if I remember to buy it before it dies in my fridge.
• Veggie Explosion: Whatever’s about to go bad in my crisper drawer – zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers. Toss them in with the onions.
• Spice It Up: My husband likes heat, so sometimes I’ll add red pepper flakes or a few shakes of hot sauce.
• Herb Garden Fantasy: If I actually remembered to water my herbs and they’re still alive, fresh rosemary or oregano instead of thyme.

Make-Ahead Options

This soup is my Sunday prep hero! I make everything except the gnocchi and spinach, then store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. When it’s time for dinner, I reheat the base, toss in fresh gnocchi, and finish with spinach and cream. The gnocchi turn into little soup sponges if you store them in there, which is… not the texture we’re going for.

You can freeze the base (minus gnocchi and cream) for up to 3 months. I learned this during my “let’s batch cook everything” phase last winter.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Here’s what I wish someone had told me the first time I made this: timing matters, but don’t stress about it. If your soup looks too thick, splash in more broth. Too thin? Let it simmer longer or mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with some cold water and stir it in.

Store-bought gnocchi from the refrigerated section cooks faster than the shelf-stable stuff in boxes. Keep an eye on it either way – nobody wants soup dumplings that feel like rubber balls.

Also, this recipe makes a lot. Like, more than you think. I always end up with leftovers, which honestly is the point because then I don’t have to think about lunch tomorrow.

Serving Suggestions

I serve this with whatever bread I can find – usually those frozen dinner rolls that puff up in the oven, or sometimes just plain old crackers if I forgot to plan ahead. My mother-in-law brings over her homemade sourdough when she comes for dinner, and let me tell you, that combination is dangerous.

For fancy occasions (aka when my in-laws visit), I’ll serve this in those bread bowls from the bakery section. Looks impressive, tastes incredible, and honestly just feels fun to eat soup out of bread.

This has become our “someone’s sick” soup, our “it’s cold outside” soup, and our “I have no idea what to make for dinner but need something good” soup. It fixes almost everything.

How to Store Your Chicken Gnocchi Soup

In the Fridge: Keeps for about 3 days in whatever containers you have. The gnocchi will soak up some of the liquid, so it might look thicker when you reheat it. Just add a little more broth.

In the Freezer: The soup base without gnocchi and cream freezes fine for up to 3 months. I usually forget to label things, so write the date on there or you’ll be playing freezer roulette in six months.

Reheating: Low and slow on the stove, stirring every now and then. Don’t microwave this on high unless you want cream chunks floating around. Been there, done that, had to start over.

Allergy Information

Heads Up: This has dairy (the half-and-half) and gluten (the gnocchi).

If you’re dairy-free, try coconut milk instead of the half-and-half. I’ve done this for my lactose-intolerant sister and it actually tastes pretty good – different, but good. For gluten issues, look for gluten-free gnocchi. Most grocery stores carry them now, usually right next to the regular ones.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use frozen gnocchi instead of fresh?

Sure! Don’t even bother thawing them. Just dump them in the boiling soup and they’ll cook up fine. Might take an extra minute or two, but that’s it.

My soup turned out way too thick – what happened?

This happens to me sometimes too. Those gnocchi release starch and suddenly you’ve got more like a casserole than soup. Just thin it out with more chicken broth until it looks right to you.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

Yeah, but it’s kind of weird. Put everything except the gnocchi, cream, and spinach in there. Cook it on low all day, then add the gnocchi for the last 30 minutes and the cream and spinach in the last 5. Honestly though, it’s so fast on the stove I’m not sure why you’d bother.

I messed up and the cream got chunky – can I fix it?

Nope. Once it’s curdled, it’s done. I learned this the expensive way. Just start over with new cream and keep the heat lower this time. We’ve all been there.

Can I throw other vegetables in here?

Absolutely. I’ve done mushrooms, corn, peas, even some leftover roasted broccoli. Add the harder stuff with the onions, soft stuff at the end with the spinach. Use your judgment.

💬 Made this soup? Tell me how it went! Did your family inhale it like mine does? Any weird substitutions that actually worked? I love hearing about kitchen wins (and disasters).