Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi soup is one of the most popular soup recipes. This Olive Garden copycat recipe is a rich soup with roasted tender chicken, soft pillowy gnocchi, shredded carrots, celery, and fresh spinach in a warm bowl of goodness. Hands down, this is one of my favorite Olive Garden copycat recipes. You can prepare this comforting soup for the whole family. If you love gnocchi, you will love this soup.
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Easy copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup recipe
This is an Olive Garden favorite, but this soup is so good you will want to make a double batch every time you make it.
The Chicken and Gnocchi soup will taste like you spent hours at the stove, making your family a delightful chicken and potato gnocchi soup. You can make this soup in about 30 minutes.
Everyone Loves Chicken and Gnocchi soup
Why does everyone love this recipe? I think this is one of those chicken soup recipes everyone loves because it is made with tender gnocchi, juicy chicken, fresh carrots and celery, and a perfectly seasoned chicken broth. To accompany this soup, make salad and breadsticks with this classic Olive Garden dish.
Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Ingredients
I love this easy gnocchi soup, which uses simple ingredients. In no time at all, your entire family will fall in love with this soup that you made in the comfort of your own home. Go to the recipe card for the exact quantities and steps to make this recipe.
- Butter – you can use either salted butter or unsalted butter
- Olive oil – is used to saute the onions and celery
- White onion – I like the white onion for this recipe. It tends to be a bit sweeter and has less heat than yellow onion.
- Celery – fresh celery adds a beautiful earthy flavor
- Fresh garlic – to make the best soup, use fresh garlic so the flavor sings through
- All-purpose flour – this is used to make a roux, the base of your creamy soup.
- Half and half—I recommend using half and half instead of whole milk; it reheats better. If you want something completely decadent, swap the half-and-half for heavy cream.
- Low-sodium chicken broth – I would use it if you have homemade broth.
- Dried thyme – adds a beautiful earthy flavor
- Dried parsley flakes – add a lovely pop of color to your recipe
- Ground Nutmeg – enhances the flavor of your soup
- Shredded carrots – you can purchase carrot matchsticks to make this easy
- Cooked chicken breast – If you have leftover rotisserie chicken, I suggest this. The Olive Garden does not use this, but it is an opportunity to drive up the flavor. Also, this recipe can be made with cooked chicken thighs.
- Potato Gnocchi – My keto friends will swap out the gnocchi for cauliflower gnocchi. Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi is a favorite. If you can find it, some people love this with mini gnocchi.
- Spinach – regular spinach is fine, but I prefer fresh baby spinach.
Should you use store-bought or homemade gnocchi?
Store-bought gnocchi is perfect for this recipe. You can take the extra step in preparing homemade gnocchi, but premade potato gnocchi works well. Gnocchi can be found in a couple of different places in your supermarket, and you do have options to purchase them.
- Many local stores sell shelf-stable potato gnocchi in the pasta aisles. I have purchased this at Walmart and Kroger, and I have been told that some dollar stores carry gnocchi.
- I have seen fluffy gnocchi sold in the fresh sections of higher-end grocery stores, where you would pick up a prepared meal.
- I have even found it available in the grocery store’s frozen section.
Either type of gnocchi will work well. Your family will love this. Have a hard time finding gnocchi? Make your homemade potato gnocchi.
How to make Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi
It is straightforward to make this Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup recipe. You will find that all of the ingredients are very common in your average grocery store.
First, you will sauté the vegetables in butter over medium-high heat. Then, add some flour and cook that through. You will then add the half-and-half and chicken broth. Bring it to a low boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cooked chicken and gnocchi are added to your seasoned broth and vegetables. Adjust your seasoning, and you will be ready to serve this soup in less than an hour.
Can you use a Crockpot for this recipe?
Yes, you can. I like to saute the vegetables first before I prepare the soup. You don’t need to do that if you like.
Simply place all of the vegetables, except the kale, chicken, seasonings, and stock, into the crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Shred the chicken, add the remaining ingredients, and cook for another hour.
If the soup is too thin, make a cornstarch slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with two tablespoons of water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the soup, turn the crockpot on high, and stir until the soup has thickened.
How to Store and Reheat Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Refrigerate any leftover soup for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- Reheat – this creamy soup is best reheated in a large pot on the stove over low heat. This way the creamy broth won’t break down.
Can you freeze copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup?
Yes, you can freeze this soup. The soup stays well in the freezer for several months when stored in an airtight container. Thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight.
More Olive Garden Recipes
- Asiago Tortelloni Alfredo with Grilled Chicken
- Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
- Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
- Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo
- Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
- Olive Garden Dressing
- Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
- Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli Soup
- Olive Garden Salad Recipe
- Zuppa Toscana
Popular Soup Recipes
Love soup? Check out these soup recipes and try one of my great dessert recipes to complete your meal.
Look at more of my copycat Olive Garden recipes to make your favorites at home.
Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced onion
- 1/2 cup finely diced celery
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 quart half-and-half
- 28 ounces chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 cup carrots finely shredded
- 1 cup spinach leaves coarsely chopped
- 1 cup chicken breast cooked, and diced
- 16 ounces package ready-to-use gnocchi
Instructions
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion becomes translucent.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the half-and-half. Simmer until thickened.
- Whisk in the chicken broth. Simmer until thickened again. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, thyme, parsley, nutmeg (if using), shredded carrots, spinach, chicken, and gnocchi.
- Simmer until the soup is heated through. Before serving, season with additional salt, if necessary.
Video
Notes
- You can use leftover roitisserie chicken for extra flavor
- You may want to use less thyme than suggested
- Some gnocchi is very large, you can cut these pieces in half
- You may want to add additional salt to the final soup, this soup does not have a lot of salt in it, especially if you use low-sodium chicken broth
Reeno
Hey…so I kind of made this s the Tuscan soup! Italian suds get instead of chicken, etc….great!! I really deviated from the recipe and went more towards the Tuscany…but OMG!! Love it
Lisa storms
I just made this today. Absolutely delicious. No thyme or nutmeg. But i used 1 can of broth. Nice and thick. Thank you will make it again.
Devi
Both thumbs up for you Stephanie. We always get this soup from Olive Garden and its my families fav. I made the soup at home simply following your recipe when my husband was not home. When he came home I told him to close his eyes while I was giving him a spoon full of this soup and asked him to guess what it is. He guessed it right and asked me i have gone to Olive Garden without him. LOL I always make this soup at home now and my family and friends love it. I can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe.
Ken
I make this in my crock pot. I use leg quarters that I can get for as little as $0.37/pound. I cook the chicken and most of the vegetables on low for a few hours before adding the half and half, gnocchi and spinach. Comes out great and gets lots of compliments.
SHANNAH
hey, how long would this soup keep in the fridge?
made it was very good besides i ended up putting to much gnocchi
Marie
OMG this was amazing. After reading the comments I omitted the thyme, and I used on can of evaporated milk along with unsweetened almond milk. This is my new favorite soup — and so easy! Thanks!!!
Alicia
Made this before ever trying the real deal at an Olive Garden. I have to say I like the copykat version better. I’ve made it several times now(without the optional nutmeg) and I already can’t wait to make it again!
Doreen Jackson
I make this soup, but instead of chicken, I use leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Tastes delicious.
Lace
Thank you for this a million times thank you 🙂 turned out great… I didn’t use the recipe exactly but it was a great start!!!
Elaine Garland
This is absolutely now my favorite soup.
I used Wondra flour in place of regular flour.
I used 1 can of fat free evap. milk with 2 1/4 sups of 1% instead of half & half. It keeps the calories down and you really can’t tell the difference.
Because I had just purchased fresh mushrooms, I added 1 cup of chopped.
Added an extra cup of shredded carrots and I used frozen chopped spinach and also added extra.
Vanderlynn Strahan
Just came back from a family trip to California. We did the Olive Garden for dinner,and loved the chicken gnocchi soup. Tried your recipe, and love it. Mahalo from Maui.
tiffany hammonds
i love this soup if you can get it thick enough or miss a thickening step put a little chicken broth in a cup and whisk in cornstarch then add to soup…works like a charm and i use cubed potato instead of noodle as well as powdered thyme instead of those yucky ol “fresh ones”.
Samantha
How many quarts would you get from this?
Amanda
This looks delicious! I think i will make this on this cold dreary day today! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jill Cannon
Thanks so much for this! It’s amazing!
Amy
I just made this and it’s ok. I still prefer OG. If I ever make it again I’ll defiantly leave out the thyme, it ruined it for me.
Alisha Saddler
Great recipe I loved it. My boyfriend loves gnocchi so I used 1 and a half boxes of gnocchi which my boyfriend loved but I definitely thought there was too much I will definitely would only use only one box next time. Thanks so much.
Simone
This is delicious! I omitted the celery because I forgot it but double up on the carrots & spinach & used mini gnocchi so there was more in every bite, yum. Also, I only used one cup of heavy cream & then the rest I used my almond milk & it came out great. I boiled my chicken breast in a little water & shredded it before adding to my soup as well. Thank you, great share!
Becki
Where do you find mini gnocchi?
Denise
I have found it at giant eagle/market district here in Ohio. In the pasta aisle. It’s called bite sized gnocchi. I used to cut the big ones in half. This is much better!
Kay
Just made this soup. AWESOME!K!!!!!!! This will be on my dinner table a lot this winter.. thank you for shareing the recipe.
Chelsea
I’m looking for different soup recipes that I can make large batches of and freeze to get me through the winter. I’d love try this one, it sounds delicious! Do you happen to know if it freezes well?
Whitney
Freezes great:) just add a little milk and heat it back up on the stove!