Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
Creamy, cozy, and loaded with tender chicken and pillowy potato gnocchi, this copycat Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup is the one my family asks for the minute the weather cools down. After years of working in restaurant kitchens, I know the little details that make a restaurant soup taste so rich, and I built every one of them into this homemade version, PLUS a secret ingredient of my own.
Servings: 8
Calories: 400kcal
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp avocado oil divided
- 1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken thigh meat
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 celery ribs
- 1 medium carrot
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme 1/2 tsp dried
- salt
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 16 oz gnocchi*
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 oz fresh spinach
- 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 parmesan rind about 2 inches long
Instructions
- Preheat a Dutch oven or another soup pot over medium heat and add about 2 tablespoons of canola oil.
- Sear and cook chicken meat until just done and take it out of the pot. Set chicken aside for it to cool down enough for you to handle it.
- While chicken is cooking, dice onion, celery, and shred the carrot.
- Add another teaspoon of oil into the same pot and add diced onions, celery, and carrots. Cook vegetables until softened.
- Dice chicken while vegetables are cooking.
- Stir in minced garlic and cook until it's fragrant.
- Add chicken back to the pot with vegetables, stir, and pour in chicken stock and milk. Lower the heat to medium low and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Add seasoning and a sprig of thyme.
- Optional: Parmesan rind cooked in soup will add great flavor so if you have a whole wedge of parmesan cheese, cut off the rind, and add it to the soup. (You will discard it with the thyme sprig later.)
- Cook the soup until it comes to a simmer and then add gnocchi.
- Cook just until gnocchi floats or according to the time on package instructions.
- Stir in chopped spinach, grated Parmesan cheese, and heavy whipping cream. Cook for a few minutes, until spinach is wilted.
- Take off heat right away and discard the sprig of thyme and Parmesan rind.
Video
Notes
- Gluten free: to make this soup gluten free, use gluten free gnocchi. Many stores, especially health food stores, carry it. You can also make homemade gnocchi with 1:1 gluten free all-purpose flour.
- Rotisserie chicken shortcut: skip the sear, soften the veggies in 2 tablespoons of oil, and add the diced chicken with the gnocchi so it only heats through.
- Half-and-half: you can replace the milk and heavy cream with 3 cups of half-and-half. Keep the soup below a boil once you add it.
- Storing: refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container within 2 hours of cooking for 3 to 4 days.
- Reheating: reheat portions in the microwave, or larger amounts on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Stir in a splash of warm broth to thin thickened leftovers.
- Freezing: freeze the soup base without the gnocchi, milk, cream, or spinach for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then add those ingredients while reheating.
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 414mg | Potassium: 529mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 2898IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 173mg | Iron: 3mg