This chicken gnocchi soup recipe is quick, easy, and comforting. The pillowy gnocchi melt in your mouth!
This creamy chicken gnocchi soup is pretty quick when all is said and done. It takes about 35-40 minutes to make, which isn’t bad. It’s a great way to use up leftover chicken if you have some, but I typically just buy rotisserie chicken when I want to make a soup like this. Generally you will have some meat left over from a whole chicken, so it’s easy to make more than one dish from it.
I know there’s an Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup out there, but I’ve never actually tried it. I see a lot of copycats on Pinterest, and this is not meant to be one, but it’s a very good creamy gnocchi soup… Olive Garden or not. 😉
I actually based this off my chicken spinach tortellini soup recipe which is very similar and I’ve received lots of great reviews on (especially on Instagram).
I won’t go as far as to call this soup healthy, but it does have some healthy veggies in here and only a cup of cream for the entire pot of soup. There are definitely worse comfort foods out there haha.
Gnocchi rules
The gnocchi cooks right in the soup and the starch released from the potatoes helps to thicken it up.
I just buy the shelf-stable gnocchi that you can find in the pasta aisle in most major grocery stores.
How to make chicken gnocchi soup
- Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in a soup pot for 8-10 minutes;
- Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes;
- Add the chicken broth, water, seasoning, chicken and gnocchi then bring the soup to a boil;
- Simmer soup for 10 minutes;
- Stir in the cream and spinach and cook for a few more minutes.
Easy peasy! The perfect weeknight dinner for cold weather.
Substitutions: You can use half-and-half or even milk, but in my opinion you can’t beat the taste and consistency of heavy cream.
Want to throw in extra veggies? That definitely won’t hurt anything in here.
If this soup appeals to you, you may also like my creamy spinach and mushroom gnocchi, my creamy tomato gnocchi soup, or my comforting easy chicken and rice soup.
I hope you’ll love this easy chicken and gnocchi soup recipe!
Questions? Let me know in the comments below.
Easy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots sliced or chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 7 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 cup water
- 2 dashes Italian seasoning
- 2 cups cooked chicken I used rotisserie
- 1 pound potato gnocchi
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach (packed)
Instructions
Add the oil and butter to a large soup pot over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, celery, and carrot to the pot. Sauté for 8-10 minutes with the lid slightly ajar. Stir once or twice while sautéing.
Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pot and cook for a few minutes.
Stir in the chicken broth, water, Italian seasoning, chicken, and gnocchi. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
Stir in the cream and spinach. Cook for a few more minutes until the spinach is wilted and the soup is heated through. Season with salt & pepper as needed and serve.
Recipe Notes
- You can use milk or half-and-half instead of cream if you prefer.
- The longer you cook/leave the soup to sit, the more it'll thicken up because the gnocchi will release starch.
Jeff the Chef says
December 18, 2018 at 9:30 PMWell, a cup of cream is a lot of cream – but I’ve never turned down a creamy soup before! This looks absolutely lovely.
Natasha says
December 19, 2018 at 3:34 PMHaha thank you, Jeff! 🙂
Karly says
December 26, 2018 at 10:05 AMLooks so delicious!
Natasha says
December 26, 2018 at 10:30 AMThanks, Karly!!
nicole says
January 2, 2019 at 11:07 AMI made this last night for a neighborhood New Yeards Day soup party and it was well received. Very easy to make and flavorful. I increased the amount of broth by 1/2 a cup and cut the cream slightly. The next time I make it I will add some tomatoes (perhaps oven roasted and diced). Thanks for the recipe!
Natasha says
January 2, 2019 at 11:35 AMI’m very happy it was well received, Nicole! 🙂
Pia says
January 7, 2019 at 10:26 AMMade it – and it was a great succes. Tried to increase veggies and added The servings to 9 ;-). Now I am supplied with delicious soup for two days plus ;-).
Thank you for a super recipe – and easy too!
Natasha says
January 7, 2019 at 12:09 PMThat’s great! I’m so happy you have plenty of leftovers too. 🙂
Cathy says
February 1, 2019 at 5:39 PMCan I make this dairy free?
Natasha says
February 1, 2019 at 5:40 PMHi Cathy! I think leaving the cream out should be fine. 😊
Cristina says
February 1, 2019 at 9:04 PMI just made this! I liked it but I have to give it another go as I feel I put too much garlic and I slightly under seasoned it. As a good italian I added some grated parmigiano reggiano and that helped fixing the the lack of seasoning!
Can’t wait to try other recipes of yours!
Keep it up and thank you for sharing!
Natasha says
February 3, 2019 at 11:22 AMMmmm parm reg makes everything better!! I’m glad you liked it! Yes, give it another try… it’s all about tweaking to your tastes 🙂
Heidi Bliss says
February 3, 2019 at 12:52 PMMade this today. Doubled everything and used a whole rotisserie chicken. Subbed half-and-half for the cream and thought it was still very creamy. Maybe even better because it wasn’t as heavy as it probably would have been with the heavy cream. Everyone LOVED it! Really, really good. Will make again for sure. Thanks for the recipe!
Natasha says
February 3, 2019 at 1:29 PMI’m so glad it was a hit, Heidi! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Susan says
February 11, 2019 at 5:04 PMI made this tonight. I used whole milk. Still delicious. I added dill instead of italian seasoning and sprinkled with parmesan. Delicious, definitely a keeper!
Natasha says
February 11, 2019 at 7:32 PMSo glad you liked it!! ❤️
Bernadette says
February 15, 2019 at 3:24 PMHi,
Would you recommend a gnocchi brand you like?
Can’t wait to make this!
B
Natasha says
February 15, 2019 at 5:30 PMHi! The grocery stores I frequent are usually pretty limited and only carry one brand (I’m in Canada too so I don’t know offhand which brands are sold where you are), so that’s what I end up buying haha. I don’t really have a preference. I think any shelf stable gnocchi should work. I’d tell you the brand I buy but I’m currently on vacation and can’t check in my pantry – the name escapes me. Hope you like the recipe!