Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Soft potato gnocchi and tender chicken make this creamy soup feel generous from the first spoonful. Spinach settles into the broth, while thyme gives the rich base a gentle savory flavor around the little pillows of gnocchi.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 13 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Chicken
- Cuisine
- Italian
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Soups · Soups & stews
A few quick notes
1. Let the vegetables soften first
Give the celery, onion, garlic, and carrots those few minutes in the oil before adding broth. The onions should look translucent, which helps the soup taste rounded instead of sharp.
2. Add the gnocchi after the boil
Bring the broth mixture to a boil first, then gently stir in the gnocchi. It only gets a short boil before the soup settles into a simmer, so don’t add it too early.
3. Keep the creamy finish brief
Half and half and spinach go in near the end. A minute or two is enough for the spinach to turn tender while the soup stays creamy and fresh-tasting.
Get to know the ingredients
Cooked chicken means cooked chicken
The chicken is already cooked and diced before it goes into the pot. Here it warms through and shares flavor with the broth, but the soup’s timing doesn’t cook raw chicken.
Use potato gnocchi
Use potato gnocchi, and it goes straight into the boiling soup. Stir gently so the pieces stay intact as they cook and soften.
Half and half, with an option
Half-and-half gives the soup its creamy body. For a richer bowl, swap one cup of it for heavy cream.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 3 steps completeMake room for Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Taste before you serve
Once the spinach is tender, taste the soup and adjust with salt and pepper if it needs it. That last check matters here because broth, chicken, and gnocchi can all change how seasoned the bowl tastes.
A little more help as you go
Use low sodium broth as written
The broth is low sodium, and the salt is added to taste. That gives you room to season at the end instead of starting with a soup that’s already too salty.
Chop the spinach roughly
Roughly chopped spinach is easier to stir through the creamy soup and softens quickly. Add it with the half and half, not earlier with the broth and gnocchi.
A few questions you might have
Can I start with raw chicken breasts?
No, not with these directions. The chicken is cooked and diced before it’s added, and the simmering time here is meant for warming it through, not cooking raw chicken safely.
Why does the gnocchi go in before the half and half?
The gnocchi needs time in the boiling broth and then the simmer. The half and half is saved for the end so the soup turns creamy after the gnocchi has cooked.
Should the spinach cook for the full simmer time?
No. Stir it in at the end with the half and half and cook just until tender. Adding it earlier would miss the recipe’s quick finishing step.
How do I know the vegetables are ready for the broth?
Look at the onion. After a short saute with the celery, garlic, and carrots, it should be translucent, and then the chicken, broth, seasonings, and thyme can go in.
Can I make it richer?
Yes. For a richer soup, swap one cup of the half-and-half for heavy cream.
Any more cooking tips?
Milk: for even more creamy richness, swap one cup of the half and half for heavy cream.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: lecremedelacrumb.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
