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This copycat Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup recipe is full of savory vegetables, tender chicken, and fluffy gnocchi (potato dumplings) in a rich, creamy broth. You’ll save money by making it at home, and it only takes 30 minutes to make! (And it’s just as delicious made with leftover turkey after Thanksgiving!)
When the weather starts cooling down, I start looking for new soup recipes to try. Of course I have a few standbys that I make a few times every fall and winter (I’m looking at you, borscht, French onion, and beef and barley!), but I also like to keep things interesting with new recipes (like Polish dill pickle soup!).
Chicken gnocchi soup at Olive Garden has always been one of my favorites there. And I’ve been wanting to try my hand at recreating it at home for a while.
This recipe nails it! If you love the Olive Garden classic, you’ll go crazy for this soup. Homemade chicken and gnocchi soup is cozy, nourishing, and packed with flavor, which makes it the perfect comfort food.
And now is a great time to make this soup! Not only is the weather chilly and calling for soul-warming meals, but the timing couldn’t be better. With Thanksgiving just passed, you can use leftover turkey (instead of rotisserie chicken) in this soup!
Take 30 minutes to whip up this chicken and gnocchi soup recipe and then curl up with a bowl of it on the couch with your sweetie and a warm blanket. And bonus, you probably won’t have to cook the rest of the weekend because leftovers are even better!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Tastes just like the OG. If you like the chicken gnocchi soup at Olive Garden, get ready to be amazed because this homemade version tastes exactly like it!
- Budget-friendly. Instead of eating out (or ordering takeout), you’ll save money by making this at home.
- Ridiculously easy. Actually, it doesn’t get any easier. This soup whips up in just 30 minutes from start-to-finish in 1 pot!
- Feed a crowd or meal prep. This recipe makes 8 servings, which is good if you’re feeding a large group or if you want to meal prep!
Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup Ingredients and Substitutions
- Olive oil – to sauté the vegetables
- Butter – in addition to olive oil, we use a little butter to sauté the vegetables for richness
- Yellow onion – we use 2 cups of diced yellow onion, which is about 1 very large onion diced
- Celery – this recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of sliced celery, which is about 3 large celery stalks
- Carrot – here we need 1 cup of julienned carrot, which is about 2 medium carrots
- Garlic – don’t skimp on the garlic here, it adds great flavor and aroma
- Fresh thyme – fresh herbs brighten the flavor of this soup, but if you don’t have fresh thyme you can use 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves instead
- All-purpose flour – to thicken the soup
- Chicken stock – use your favorite store-bought chicken stock
- Whole milk and heavy whipping cream – we use a combination of whole milk and heavy whipping cream to get the perfect thick, creamy texture for our chicken gnocchi soup
- Salt, black pepper, and dried Italian herb seasoning – these pantry-staple seasonings add a ton of flavor to the soup
- Potato gnocchi – look for it in the pasta aisle or the refrigerated area near the fresh pasta (or make your own gnocchi if you have time!)
- Rotisserie chicken – Olive Garden uses roasted chicken in their recipe, so rotisserie chicken is a time-saving option instead of roasting a chicken; another great option is to use leftover turkey after Thanksgiving
- Fresh baby spinach – this adds pretty flecks of green and bumps up the nutrition
Whole Milk and Heavy Whipping Cream Substitute
In a pinch you can use half and half instead of whole milk and heavy whipping cream, but your soup will be a bit less thick and rich. This is because half and half is a combination of equal parts whole milk and light cream (not heavy whipping cream).
How to Make Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Add the oil and butter to a 5 or 6-quart Dutch oven or another similar pot over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, and carrot, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and thyme, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the flour and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Turn the heat down to low and stir in the chicken stock, milk, cream, salt, Italian herb seasoning, and black pepper. Bring the soup up to a simmer, stirring frequently, and using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom. Once simmering, add the gnocchi and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently (scrape up from the bottom so the potato dumplings don’t stick).
- Stir in the chicken and spinach, and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.
For the Full Olive Garden Experience at Home
Serve this copycat soup with garlic breadsticks (from the frozen aisle at the grocery store)!
Storage and Reheating
Once cooled to room temperature, store chicken gnocchi soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
This soup reheats well on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. You can also reheat it in the microwave for 1-minute intervals, stirring between each.
Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe FAQs
What’s in the Chicken Gnocchi Soup at Olive Garden?
According to the Olive Garden website, their Chicken & Gnocchi Soup is:
A creamy soup made with roasted chicken, traditional Italian dumplings and spinach.
Olive Garden
With a little bit of trial and error, this copycat chicken and gnocchi soup recipe is an extremely close replica. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments below!
What Are Gnocchi?
Gnocchi is an Italian dish of soft, fluffy, and slightly chewy potato dumplings.
To make them, riced potato is mixed with egg, salt, and a little flour to form a dough. (Riced potato is similar to mashed potato, but it’s much lighter and fluffier. To make riced potato, boiled and peeled potato is pressed through a food mill or potato ricer.)
The gnocchi dough is rolled into logs, cut into small pieces, and then pressed down the tines of a fork or against a gnocchi board to add ridges. After that, the gnocchi is left to dry out a bit, and then boiled in salted water until it floats.
Gnocchi is essentially potato-based pasta. It’s typically served with some type of sauce, such as a cream sauce, tomato sauce, or ragu (meat sauce), or is sautéed with butter and herbs.
And gnocchi is also a delicious addition to soup!
Should You Cook Gnocchi Before Adding to Soup?
No, for this recipe you don’t have to cook the gnocchi separately before adding it to the soup.
Whether you’re using store-bought gnocchi (either from the refrigerated section or the pasta aisle) or homemade gnocchi, it typically only takes about 2 to 4 minutes to cook in boiling water.
Gnocchi is done cooking when it floats to the surface.
How Do You Keep Gnocchi From Getting Soggy or Mushy in Soup?
If it’s cooked too long, gnocchi has a tendency to become gummy or soggy. The best way to make sure gnocchi retains its chewy, fluffy texture and doesn’t get mushy in soup is to add it toward the end of the cooking process.
More Olive Garden Copycat Recipes
- Easy 30-Minute Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Recipe
- Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks
- Copycat Olive Garden Salad with Easy Homemade Dressing
Let’s Connect
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Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups diced yellow onion (2 cups diced = about 1 very large onion)
- 1 1/4 cups sliced celery (1 1/4 cups sliced = about 3 large celery stalks)
- 1 cup julienned carrot (1 cup julienned = about 2 medium carrots)
- 7 large cloves fresh garlic peeled and crushed
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 16 ounce package potato gnocchi in the pasta aisle
- 3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach roughly chopped
Instructions
- Add the oil and butter to a 5 or 6-quart Dutch oven or another similar pot over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onion, celery, and carrot, and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and thyme, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the flour and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Turn the heat down to low and stir in the chicken stock, milk, cream, salt, Italian herb seasoning, and black pepper. Bring the soup up to a simmer, stirring frequently, and using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom.
- Once simmering, add the gnocchi and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently (scrape up from the bottom so the potato dumplings don’t stick).
- Stir in the chicken and spinach, and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.
- Serve.
Notes
- Whole Milk and Heavy Whipping Cream Substitute: In a pinch you can use half and half instead of whole milk and heavy whipping cream, but your soup will be a bit less thick and rich. This is because half and half is a combination of equal parts whole milk and light cream (not heavy whipping cream).
- Storage: Once cooled to room temperature, store chicken gnocchi soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: This soup reheats well on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. You can also reheat it in the microwave for 1-minute intervals, stirring between each.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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