Chicken Gnocchi Soup

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.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword Comfort Food, Easy Soup, Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Servings to 8 bowls

Calories 389kcal

Author Stephanie Simmons

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

Chicken Shortcut: You can use shredded rotisserie chicken to save time, or you can slice your chicken breasts in half lengthwise and season. Then, add to the pot with the veggies and broth and let the chicken cook in the broth during the 10-15 minutes that we're simmering the veggies. For the best flavor, you'll want to cook the chicken in the pot, then build the soup on top of that, but these are great time-saving options!

Slow Cooker Directions: To make this in a crockpot:

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!

Nutrition: Nutrition info is based on 8 bowls of soup.

Nutrition