Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This chicken gnocchi soup is a creamy chicken broth with carrots, celery, spinach and soft potato gnocchi, all made in one pot. The chicken breasts cook right in the broth, so there’s no extra pan to wash, and you shred them straight back into the soup.
It’s the kind of chicken and gnocchi soup people order at Olive Garden, made at home with a package of store-bought gnocchi. The full recipe is in the card below.
Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot (6-quart)
- Whisk
- Instant-read thermometer
- 2 forks
Ingredients
Soup base
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 large
To finish
- 1 ½ cups half-and-half
- 1 package shelf-stable potato gnocchi 16 ounces
- 2 cups baby spinach packed, roughly chopped
- grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and a pinch of salt. Cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and thyme and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for 1–2 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Slowly pour in the broth, whisking as you go so no lumps form. Add 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken breasts whole and push them under the liquid. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
- Move the chicken to a cutting board and shred it with 2 forks.
- Stir the half-and-half into the pot and bring the soup back to a gentle simmer. Do not let it boil hard. Add the gnocchi and simmer for 4–5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the gnocchi are plump and tender.
- Stir in the shredded chicken and spinach and cook for 1–2 minutes, until the spinach wilts. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve with Parmesan.
Notes
- Rotisserie chicken shortcut: skip steps 5 and 6 and stir in 3–4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken in step 8. This saves about 20 minutes.
- Shelf-stable gnocchi are in the pasta aisle. Refrigerated gnocchi work the same way. Add frozen gnocchi straight from the freezer and give them 1–2 extra minutes.
- The soup thickens as it sits. Thin it with a splash of broth before serving if needed.
- Nutrition is an estimate per serving from USDA values.
Why This Chicken Gnocchi Soup Works
Simmering the chicken in the broth flavors the broth and keeps the chicken moist. Keep it at a gentle simmer with the lid on; a hard boil tightens the meat and makes it stringy.
The flour cooked with the vegetables thickens the soup enough to coat a spoon while keeping it lighter than a chowder. Half-and-half gives it a creamy color and body with less fat than heavy cream.
The gnocchi go in last because they only need a few minutes. As they cook they soak up some of the broth, which thickens the soup a little more.
Ingredients and Swaps
Chicken breasts shred easily and give you neat strands. Boneless thighs work too and stay a little juicier; cook them to the same temperature. If you have leftover rotisserie chicken, use it here, or save some for our cheesy chicken quesadillas.
Look for shelf-stable potato gnocchi in the pasta aisle, sold in 16-ounce packages. Refrigerated and frozen gnocchi also work.
Whole milk can stand in for half-and-half, but the soup will be thinner. Heavy cream makes it richer.
Baby spinach wilts in a minute. Chopped kale works if you add it with the gnocchi, since it needs longer to soften.
Use low-sodium broth so you control the salt. Parmesan on top adds more.
Tips for a Creamy Soup and Soft Gnocchi
Pour the broth in slowly while you whisk. Flour that hits a lot of liquid at once forms lumps that are hard to break up later.
Check the chicken in the thickest part of the largest breast. Breasts are rarely the same size, and the small one will be done before the big one.
Once the half-and-half is in, keep the heat low enough for a gentle simmer. A rolling boil can make the dairy separate and look grainy.
Watch the gnocchi. They’re done when they puff up and feel soft when you press one against the side of the pot. A few minutes past that, they turn mushy and start to break apart.
Taste before you add more salt. Broth brands vary a lot, and the Parmesan adds salt at the table.
Lighter Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Swaps
- Use 2% or whole milk instead of half-and-half, and add 1 extra tablespoon of flour with the vegetables so the soup doesn’t taste thin.
- Cut the butter to 2 tablespoons.
- Use half the package of gnocchi and add another carrot and a diced zucchini with the gnocchi.
- Double the spinach.
For a creamy chicken dinner with fewer carbs, try our keto chicken alfredo with zucchini noodles.
What to Serve with Chicken Gnocchi Soup
The soup is a full meal on its own. Crusty bread or garlic bread is good for the last of the broth, and a green salad with a sharp vinaigrette balances the cream.
If you like this creamy chicken flavor, try our creamy Tuscan chicken skillet or creamy pesto chicken pasta on another night.
How to Store and Reheat Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days. The gnocchi keep soaking up broth, so the soup will be much thicker the next day. Add a splash of broth or milk as you reheat it in a pot over medium-low heat, stirring, until it’s hot all the way through (165°F / 74°C).
You can freeze the soup for 2–3 months, but the gnocchi go soft and the half-and-half can separate after thawing. If you plan to freeze it, freeze the soup after the chicken step, then add the half-and-half, gnocchi and spinach while you reheat it.
Chicken Gnocchi Soup FAQ
Can I make chicken gnocchi soup in a slow cooker? Yes. Put the raw chicken, diced vegetables, garlic, thyme, broth, salt and pepper in the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 4 hours, until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C). Take out the chicken and shred it. Skip the butter and flour; instead whisk 2 tablespoons cornstarch into the half-and-half and stir it in with the gnocchi. Cook on HIGH for about 30 minutes, until the gnocchi are tender and the soup has thickened, then stir in the chicken and spinach.
Can I make it gluten-free? Use gluten-free gnocchi (check the label, since most potato gnocchi contain wheat flour) and skip the flour. Stir 2 tablespoons cornstarch into 2 tablespoons cold water and add it after the half-and-half, then simmer for 1–2 minutes until the soup thickens.
