Easy Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
This chicken gnocchi soup features rich golden broth, tender shredded chicken, pillowy gnocchi, and fresh vegetables finished with fragrant herbs and a bright squeeze of lemon. No heavy cream, just deeply flavored broth where every ingredient gets to shine. Make it completely from scratch or, I offer a few shortcuts to make it faster.
Featured Comment
This soup was so comforting and bright with the lemon and herbs. I used boneless chicken breasts and cooked the gnocchi separately because I was using chic pea gnocchi for the first time. Besides that I followed the recipe to a T. It was delicious! ~Kelly
I make this soup many times a year because I love gnocchi so much, and this is a great version of a “homemade chicken noodle soup.” My favorite part about this soup, and it seems to be the favorite part for many of the readers that tried it, is the fact that you can make is as homemade as you want but also there are plenty of time saving short cuts. Either way, it is a delicious and comforting soup recipe!
Quick Look: Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- ⏱️ Prep: 10 minutes
- 🍳 Cook: 30 minutes
- 🕒 Total: 40 minutes
- 👥 Servings: 6
- 📊 Calories: ~414 kcal/serving
- 🔥 Cook Method: Simmered on the stovetop
- 👩🍳 Flavor Profile: Bright, herby, and savory with a lemony finish
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken – As far as the chicken, you can cook chicken thigh meat or chicken breast meat right in the broth with vegetables. Chicken will take on a lot of soup flavors this way.
- If you’re in a time crunch, you can always use rotisserie chicken to make the soup faster.
- Vegetables – You start with the base of onion, carrots, and celery. I also throw in some leeks to variate onion flavor and add a little something extra.
- Aromatics – Enhance the soup with homemade chicken stock, fresh herbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice. There is something about fresh herbs and lemon juice that turns plain ole’ soup into something magical. I have many friends who still thank me for this tip.
- Homemade options – You can made this soup the best it can be with homemade chicken stock and homemade gnocchi.
- Gluten Free Substitution – This soup is easy to make GLUTEN FREE simply by using gluten free gnocchi.
- I also have a tip to make homemade gnocchi gluten free and cauliflower gnocchi.
How To Make Easy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Sauté the vegetables first until they’re soft and the onions are translucent and even golden, before adding garlic. Adding garlic too early burns it and turns the whole base bitter.
- Simmer the chicken low and slow. Once you add the stock and chicken, resist the urge to crank the heat. A gentle simmer keeps the chicken tender and juicy instead of tough and stringy. It’s done when it shreds easily with two forks.
- Take chicken out and let it cook so you can shred it of dice it. Either is fine, it comes down to personal texture preference of how you want to cut the chicken.
- Add all your seasoning, stir, and as always, taste the broth. Adjust the spice or saltiness to personal taste.
- When adding the gnocchi, watch the gnocchi closely. It cooks fast. The moment it floats to the top, give it one more minute and pull the pot off the heat. Overcooked gnocchi turns mushy and falls apart in the broth.
- Add the lemon juice last. Stir it in right before serving. This keeps the flavor bright and fresh and rounds up the soup aroma beautifully, which will greatly improve the flavor as well.
Make Ahead Tips
- All components of this soup, you can make homemade ahead of time and save for later. Homemade always tastes so much better so if you’d like to take that route, make your own chicken stock and gnocchi.
- I often make a batch of gnocchi and freeze it in portion bags to use through the week. It takes away so much dinner worry and ready in only a few minutes. The same goes for chicken stock. I keep homemade chicken stock in the freezer because unfortunately, it doesn’t last more than a day or two in the fridge.
- You can save the chicken meat from cooking homemade chicken stock and freeze it separately, in a freezer friendly bag or container. Use this chicken to make soups later.
- When you have all these components on hand, this soup will only take about 40 minutes to make.
Substitutions To Make Chicken Gnocchi Soup Quick and Easy
- Use rotisserie chicken – rotisserie chicken is a great way to make fast and easy soup and it’s already so flavorful. Choose lemon pepper chicken if available, it will go great in this soup. If you don’t have access to rotisserie chicken, you can use cooked and shredded chicken that you may have made ahead.
- Pre-made chicken stock – wonderful thing about homemade chicken stock is that you can make it ahead and freeze it. If you don’t have any homemade, it’s easy to grab low sodium chicken stock at the store.
- Ready Gnocchi – much like chicken stock, you can make a big batch of homemade gnocchi and freeze it uncooked, in portions. Any time you want to make a fast and easy dinner, simply pull out a bag of frozen gnocchi and add it to soup. If there is no homemade gnocchi in your freezer, simply grab a package of prepared ones in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
Will gnocchi still be okay after storing it in soup?
- Yes, store-bought gnocchi will be able to hold its shape while being store with soup for a couple of days. It will be softer though, but still be completely good to eat.
- Note that store-bought gnocchi will hold its integrity a little better than homemade. Homemade gnocchi are also fine to store in leftover soup but will be a little softer.
Chicken Gnocchi Soup FAQs
Can I use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs in chicken gnocchi soup?
Yes, both work well. Thighs are more forgiving, since they stay juicy even if they cook a little longer, and have more flavor but chicken breast works great too. Just don’t overcook it.
Where do I find gnocchi at the grocery store?
Check the refrigerated fresh pasta section first. You can also find shelf-stable gnocchi in the pasta aisle that those are not ideal.
Can I freeze chicken gnocchi soup?
Freeze it without the gnocchi. Cool completely, transfer to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Add fresh gnocchi when you reheat it on the stovetop.
More Comforting Soup Recipes
- Borscht Recipe
- Pasta E Fagioli Soup Recipe
- Tomato Gnocchi Soup
- Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
- Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
- Italian Meatballs & Gnocchi Soup
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Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
This chicken gnocchi soup features rich golden broth, tender shredded chicken, pillowy gnocchi, and fresh vegetables finished with fragrant herbs and a bright squeeze of lemon. No heavy cream, just deeply flavored broth where every ingredient gets to shine. Make it completely from scratch or, I offer a few shortcuts to make it faster.
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Servings: 6
Calories: 414kcal
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 leeks
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 celery ribs
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1.5 lbs chicken thigh meat can also use chicken breast meat
- 8 cups homemade chicken stock can also use store-bought
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary
- salt
- pepper
- 16 oz gnocchi* homemade or store-bought from refrigerated section
- 1/2 lemon – juice only
Instructions
- Dice onion, leek, carrots, and celery. (Use only the white parts of the leek, discard the green stalks.)
- In a large Dutch oven, add oil and preheat over medium heat.
- Add onion, leeks, carrots, and celery to the pot and saute until vegetables are softened.
- Smash and mince the garlic and add it to the pot. Stir and cook until garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the stock and bring to simmer.
- Add chicken meat and lower the heat to medium-low, cover loosely with a lid, and let the soup cook until chicken is tender.
- Take chicken out into a separate bowl and shred it using 2 forks.
- Stir in red pepper flakes, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Taste to make sure there is enough salt. Add shredded chicken back to the pot.
- Raise the heat again to medium and bring everything to a gentle simmer.
- Add gnocchi and cook until gnocchi is done and float to the top. (Gnocchi is usually ready in about 5 minutes but if using frozen gnocchi, it might take a couple extra minutes.)
- Stir in fresh squeezed lemon juice and serve right away.
Video
Notes
*Gluten free note: To make this soup gluten free, use gluten free gnocchi. Many stores (especially healthy grocery stores) carry gluten free gnocchi. If you can’t find them at your stores, you can make homemade gnocchi but substitute gluten free all purpose flour.
Storing: Store the leftover chicken and gnocchi soup right in the Dutch oven you cooked it in or in an airtight container, in the refrigerator. Make sure to COOL the soup to room temperature first and cover the pot with the lid if using the same pot.
Stored properly, this soup should be good for about 3-4 days. Reheating: You can reheat the individual portions in the microwave. If you need to reheat a lot at the same time, do it on stovetop in the Dutch oven over medium heat until warmed through. Freezing: This soup will freeze very well but without gnocchi. Freeze soup in an air-tight freezer container and don’t fill the container all the way so there is room for soup to expand as it freezes. You can also freeze it in zip-lock freezer bags. Cook gnocchi in thawed soup while reheating.
Stored properly, this soup should be good for about 3-4 days. Reheating: You can reheat the individual portions in the microwave. If you need to reheat a lot at the same time, do it on stovetop in the Dutch oven over medium heat until warmed through. Freezing: This soup will freeze very well but without gnocchi. Freeze soup in an air-tight freezer container and don’t fill the container all the way so there is room for soup to expand as it freezes. You can also freeze it in zip-lock freezer bags. Cook gnocchi in thawed soup while reheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 1230mg | Potassium: 784mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4059IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 5mg
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Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in February 2020.
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30 Minute Meals, Chicken Dinner Recipes, Fall Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Soup Recipes,All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
When is the lemon juice supposed to be used?
Made this dinner this weekend and my family loved it plus it made great leftovers for lunches.
I’m not sure, if my rating shows on my previous comment.
I wanted to make chicken and gnocchi soup, but not the creamy one. This was perfect, very tasty. My 3 year old granddaughter loved it too. Thank you for the delicious recipe! Definitely a keeper 😊
Thank you so much for your kind words! It’s wonderful to know that it was a hit with both of you. Your feedback means a lot, and I’m glad the recipe is a keeper for you! 😊
This soup was so comforting and bright with the lemon and herbs. I used boneless chicken breasts and cooked the gnocchi separately because I was using chic pea gnocchi for the first time. Besides that I followed the recipe to a T. It was delicious!
Really enjoyed this. Used store bought gnocchi, home made broth & fewer pepper flakes because of a little one for lunch.
I am so glad you liked it, Sharon!
This soup was so good and really easy to make!
Thanks, Victoria! Glad you liked it!
I have made this 2 times with my preferences.. For others….I do not see where the amount of oil is definitized. thank you for clarifying and a great soup recipe.
This was delicious! The first time I made it with homemade broth and rotisserie chicken, and the second time with store bought broth and rotisserie chicken. Would highly reccomend.
I am so glad you liked it! 🙂