Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup (Copycat Recipe)

Chicken – you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts or you can use boneless skinless chicken thigh meat. Thigh meat is more flavorful and juicy but does have a slightly higher fat content. Breast meat is leaner, but not as juicy or flavorful.

Veggies – you will need the classic base vegetables for the soup: carrots, onion, and celery. This is called either “mirepoix” or “softito,” or “soffritto.” It a flavor base for many soups and if you make soups often, you can prepare it ahead of time.

Garlic – Fresh garlic will yield MUCH better flavor than pre-minced.

Chicken Broth – chicken stock is best for deeper, richer flavor, but if you need to, you can substitute vegetable broth if needed. When using store-bought broths and stock, try to get “low sodium” or “no salt added” kind. Try to also get bone broth if available, it will have a richer flavor.

Gnocchi – you can use homemade gnocchi or store-bought gnocchi. If using store-bought, I highly recommend that you get them from the refrigerated section!

Herbs – use an aromatic combination of fresh thyme. If you don’t have access to fresh thyme, it’s completely okay to use dried. Just remember that dried herbs do tend to me more potent, so use half the amount listed in the recipe.

Spinach – while it’s best to use fresh spinach, you can use frozen spinach if needed. Just make sure to thaw and drain off excess liquids first.

Milk – use whole milk for rich and creamy soup. If you need to keep it lactose free, use lactose free milk. If you need to keel the soup dairy free, you can use almond milk or soy milk but note that it does taste quite different from milk.

Heavy whipping cream – for the best rich and creamy texture, do use heavy whipping cream and nothing less. (If you need to keep it lactose free or dairy free, use lactose free half and half and some lactose free sour cream. There are some plant-based whipping cream options if needed, check your grocery stores.)

See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.

1. Cooking chicken.

• Add oil to a large Dutch oven over medium heat to sear your chicken breasts (1). This is one of the best ways to add flavor to your soup. Searing locks moisture into the chicken as well as adding to the fond in the bottom of the pot.

2. Sauté the vegetables.

• Take chicken out and let it rest a bit while you sauté the vegetables (2). When the vegetables are soft, smash, mince, and add garlic to the center of the pot (3).
• Dice chicken when vegetables are softened and add it to the pot as well (4).

3. Add liquids.

• Start pouring in stock (5) and milk (6) while scraping the bottom of the pot and slowly stirring.

PRO TIP: When adding your milk and broth to the pot, make sure to scrape up all the browned goodness off the bottom of the pot and mix.

• Add Parmesan rind and seasoning to the soup (7). Cook the soup over medium-low heat until it comes to a gentle simmer.

PRO TIP: Parmesan rind should be cooked with the soup but when the soup is done, make sure to find it and discard.

4. Add final ingredients, then serve!

• (If using packaged gnocchi, check gnocchi package instructions for exact cooking time) Add gnocchi (8), spinach, grated parmesan cheese (9). Cook until gnocchi is done and pour in heavy whipping cream (10). (Best way to tell if gnocchi is done, is to wait until it floats up to the surface. This usually takes 3-5 minutes.)
• Once the gnocchi is done, discard the Parmesan rind.

PRO TIP: Don’t let the soup come to a full boil at any point because there is a high chance that milk and cream will curdle. Gentle simmer is okay but don’t let it boil.

Recipe FAQs

Storing and Shelf Life

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.

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 Chicken Gnocchi Soup

You can freeze this soup but only partially made.

Much like my Chicken Gnocchi Soup, you would have to freeze it without gnocchi in the soup as they will change texture and not be appetizing. 

You also want to freeze it without cream, milk, or spinach. So essentially, you will be making the soup half way in order to freeze it.

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. 

To finish the soup, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then heat it though in a pot over medium heat and lower the heat. Add milk, cream, gnocchi, Parmesan cheese, and spinach, and cook until gnocchi is cooked.

More Gnocchi Recipes To Try

• Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Homemade Tomato Herb Gnocchi
• Homemade Gnocchi
• Creamy Tomato Gnocchi
• Italian Meatballs & Gnocchi Soup

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.