Chicken Gnocchi Soup is the ultimate cold-weather comfort food! Tender carrots, soft pillowy gnocchi, seasoned chicken are all wrapped up in the most creamy, delicious base. Make it in the crock pot or on the stove top for an easy dinner the whole family is sure to love.
I predict that you’ll fall head over heels for this dreamy soup recipe. Can soup be dreamy? When it’s full of textures and flavors like this one, it sure can. Let’s dive in!
Why you’ll love this Chicken Gnocchi Soup:
- Creamy From-Scratch Soup – This chicken soup is made completely from scratch, but is still easy enough for anyone to master, even if it’s your first time making soup.
- Tons of Flavor – This soup isn’t lacking in flavor one bit! Tender veggies, juicy chicken, and pillowy soft gnocchi mingle in a flavorful, creamy broth.
- Comfort Food – This is the ultimate comfort food! Serve with crusty bread for dunking, and enjoy your life.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found at the bottom of this post.
- Chicken – I usually use chicken breast, but you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs too.
- Gnocchi – You can use store-bought gnocchi or homemade gnocchi. You can find shelf-stable gnocchi in the pasta aisle in the grocery store. Most large grocery stores will carry this.
- Carrots, Onion, and Celery – These chopped veggies build the base of our soup and add so much flavor.
- Herbs – Italian seasoning, thyme, and parsley add tons of flavor. You can even throw in a bay leaf if you have some on hand.
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- Half and Half – You can also use a mix of milk and heavy cream. Use 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream to keep the soup a bit lighter.
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Dairy-free – Use your favorite dairy-free half and half (or part milk, part heavy cream) and butter to make this recipe dairy-free.
- Vegan Gnocchi Soup – Use dairy-free items, vegetable broth, and omit the chicken to make a vegan vegetable gnocchi soup.
- Gluten-free –
- Mirepoix – This is a fancy term for a mixture of pre-chopped onions, celery, and carrots. You can use this if you’re short on time!
- Rotisserie Chicken – Use a shredded rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own, if you’re short on time. You can also use leftover chicken or turkey (cooked of course!) that you might have in the fridge.
How to Make this Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Cook Chicken. Start by cooking the chicken in the bottom of a large pot or dutch oven. Set it aside to rest, covered with foil, and move on to the base of the soup!
Step 2: Build the Soup Base. Sautée chopped carrots, onion, and celery, seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme, in butter, over medium heat, until they begin to soften. Add minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute. We’ll do this in the same pot as we cooked the chicken in to get the most flavor, and use fewer dishes!
Step 3: Simmer Soup. Add the broth and let the soup simmer to build flavor and further soften the veggies.
Step 4: Finish Soup. Stir in the cooked, chopped chicken and add the gnocchi. Boil the soup for 2-3 minutes to let gnocchi cook. Stir in our half and half and spinach (optional) last.
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
Store this soup while it’s nice and hot, with crusty bread! Store leftovers in in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-6 days.
I highly recommend diving into a bowl of this Chicken Gnocchi Soup with a piece of crusty bread for dunking, while curled up in a blanket in front of a fireplace.
Expert Success Tips:
- Season In Layers – When cooking anything, it’s important to build your flavor by seasoning in layers throughout the recipe. So, we season the veggies while they’re sautéing, and we season the chicken in the pot of broth, and then we taste the soup again at the end while it’s finishing cooking to see if it needs additional seasoning. If you wait to add all your seasonings at the very end, the flavor payoff will be much less.
- Tender Chicken – To avoid overcooked chicken, use a meat thermometer! Chicken is done at 165 degrees F.
FAQs:
Yes you can! I don’t think you can double it, because it wouldn’t fit in most soup pots or any crock pot.
You! Freeze in an airtight container and thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating. Or, freeze into individually portioned containers for easy meal prep. This will maintain the best taste and freshness if you thaw in the fridge overnight, rather than trying to quickly thaw it in the microwave.
Can I make this in a Crock Pot? Yes! Find full crock pot directions in the notes of the recipe card below.
No, traditional gnocchi is not gluten-free. It’s made with potatoes (it’s sometimes called potato gnocchi) and flour. Some stores carry gluten-free alternatives, like cauliflower gnocchi.
Recipe Variations:
- Vegetarian – Feel free to leave out the chicken to make this a vegetarian gnocchi soup.
- Gnocchi – You can use egg noodles instead, if you’re not able to find gnocchi or if you prefer noodles instead.
Special Tools:
The links below are affiliate links.
- Dutch Oven – This is my absolute favorite dutch oven and I use it for SO many things – soups, no knead bread, cooking dinner, etc.
- Meat Thermometer – Using a meat thermometer is the best way to ensure that your chicken is not overcooked or undercooked.
More Soup Recipes to Love:
- Cozy Chicken Dumpling Soup
- Tomato Basil Soup
- One Pot Cheddar Cauliflower Soup
- Hearty Minestrone Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup & No Knead Bread
More Olive Garden Copycat Recipes:
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Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs chicken breast
- 3 tsp dried thyme divided
- 1 and 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
For the Soup:
- 3 tbsp salted butter
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 4 large carrots, diced
- 1/2 a large yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour 16 grams
- 5-6 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 16 ounce package gnocchi I don't use frozen – I use the shelf stable type you find in the pasta aisle.
- 1 and 1/2 cups half and half Or milk
- 1 cup fresh spinach optional
Instructions
- Cook Chicken: Heat olive oil in large dutch oven or soup pot. Season the chicken breast with salt + pepper and 1 tsp thyme. Cook chicken, flipping occasionally to help it cook evenly, until done (no longer pink in the middle). Let rest on a plate until later. You may need to cook the chicken in batches so as not to crowd the pot. Note: If you let any of the chicken get dry and you end up with black bits in the bottom of your pot, you may want to start the rest of the soup in a new pot for the sake of flavor. Brown bits are fine – that's flavor! We just don't want to build our soup on top of burnt residue. Note: See tip below for a shortcut option with the chicken.
- Make the Soup: Roughly chop your carrots and celery, and dice your onion and garlic. Melt butter in the pot you cooked yoru chicken in. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, remaining 2 tsp of thyme, an extra pinch of salt and pepper, and the Italian seasoning. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for 12 minutes. The carrots + celery will have softened but won't be completely tender.Add the broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Then, lower to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the carrots and celery have softened. Cut the chicken into chunks and add to the pot with the uncooked gnocchi. Let the soup boil for just 2-3 minutes to cook the gnocchi. Then, turn the reduce the heat to low and slowly add the half & half. Stir in the spinach – the heat of the soup will wilt it. If you want your soup a bit thicker, add a tablespoon of flour or cornstarch into a small bowl with 2-3 tablespoons of the soup. Stir together until combined and smooth. Stir this into the soup and bring it to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes to allow this mixture to thicken the soup a bit and cook out the raw flour taste. Troubleshooting Tip: I have had the soup split a bit after adding the half and half. This can happen if the heat is too high when you add the half and half. If this happens, you'll see the butter separating on the top of the soup. Lower the heat and add an ice cube, then whisk constantly. This can help shock the soup back together. If it doesn't help a ton at first, add a second ice cube and repeat. I've never had to add more than 2 to fix it when I've had this happen.
- Serve + Store: Serve warm with crusty bread – the best! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to a week. The creamy soup base will thicken up in the fridge, but it will smooth back out when reheated in the microwave or on the stove!Soup can also be stored in freezer-safe container in the freezer for 2 months. Move to fridge a day before using to let it thaw.
Notes
- Add chicken, spices, garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and broth to your crock pot (omit the olive oil and butter). Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken in the crockpot.
- Add gnocchi and cook 30-45 minutes, until gnocchi is cooked.
- Stir in the half and half and spinach, and you’re done!
SuzyM says
Curious, it says one package Gnocchi x ounces… Is the Gnocchi Fresh or Frozen, and how many ounces should be used? This sounds really yummy ~ Thanks!
Stephanie Simmons says
Hi Suzy! Whoops, thanks for catching that error! It should be one 16 ounce package. I don’t use frozen gnocchi – I’m not sure if this is considered fresh, but I use the type you find in a package in the pasta aisle. Hope you enjoy this soup!
SuzyM says
Thanks for the reply. I made this for lunch today and just got finished having it for dinner too! I used Trader Joe’s Frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi, since I already had them in the freezer. It was delicious ~ Thank you for the recipe.
Stephanie Simmons says
Glad you enjoyed it, Suzy! It’s one of our favorites this time of year. 🙂
Rezel Kealoha says
It looks so creamy and comforting. I wish it would start getting cooler here so I can make these kinds of soups. Thank you for sharing it!
bluebowl says
Thank you for your kind words!! ? Not sure where you’re located but here in Iowa it got real cold real fast in the last few days! ☃️ They’re even predicting snow on Friday!
Tatiana says
I love gnocchi and creamy soup with them sound just right ! Trying it tonight !
bluebowl says
So glad to hear that! 🙂 Enjoy!
Jenna Urben says
My good friend just shared her chicken gnocchi soup recipe with me and I’ve been dying to try it! Yours looks so creamy and delish too 🙂
bluebowl says
Thanks so much! It’s great for these chilly fall days 🙂