Published 10/11/2021 • Updated 8/17/2022
Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup at Home
Calling all Olive Garden fans! This amazing chicken gnocchi soup is FOR YOU. We took everything we love about the Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup, and broke it down into easy to follow steps with simple ingredients so you can make it in your own kitchen. Serve this chicken gnocchi soup with a bread stick just like at Olive Garden. Let’s get into it, shall we?!
Ingredients — What You Need
This Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup recipe packs simple ingredients that don’t compromise on flavor. You’ll need:
Onion: Onion offers such a great soup starter flavor! It adds depth and savoriness. We used white onion, but yellow works, too.Salt, pepper & garlic: These are the only spices you’ll need for this soup! Chicken thighs: We use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in this soup because it’s easy to shred once it’s cooked, and there’s no need to debone.Chicken broth: Technically any kind of broth works, but we love the flavor chicken broth adds to this Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup recipe.All purpose flour: Flour is used to help thicken this soup so that it’s nice and creamy.Chopped spinach: Chop up some fresh spinach to add some greens to this soup! Chopped kale will also work if you prefer that. Celery: Diced celery stalks add a lovely crunch to this soup! Plus, the flavor can’t be beat.Carrots: We love using matchstick carrots because not only do they add another veggie into this soup, but a pop of color as well.Gnocchi: It wouldn’t be Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup without the gnocchi! Because gnocchi cooks quickly, you’re able to put these potato dumplings right in the pot with the rest of the soup ingredients.Heavy cream: We love using a bit of heavy cream in our creamy soups because it adds such great flavor. Feel free to sub for milk if you prefer.
Kitchen Tools You Need
A Dutch oven works great for this Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup recipe. If you don’t have one, a large stock pot will also work! What what else will you need?
How to Make Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card for a list of ingredients and instructions.
Saute Onion, Garlic and Celery
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium/high heat, and then add butter. When the butter is melted add the onion to the pot and sauté the onion for 3-4 minutes. Add the celery and garlic to the pot, stir, and sauté for an additional 3-4 minutes. Don’t skip this step as it’s crucial to releasing the flavors of the onion, garlic and celery into your chicken gnocchi sou!
Brown & Cook Chicken Thighs
Next, add the chicken thighs (with the thigh side down!) to the Dutch oven and brown the chicken for 1 minute. Pour the chicken broth over all of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium/low, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken thighs are cooked.
Shred Chicken Thighs
Carefully remove the chicken thighs from the Dutch oven and shred with 2 forks. Set aside to add back into the soup shortly.
Add Spinach, Carrots & Gnocchi
Add the spinach, carrots, and gnocchi to the pot and turn the heat back to medium/high and let the soup simmer until the gnocchi floats to the top of the soup. Then turn the heat to low. Why do you want the gnocchi to float? Because it indicates that they’re fully cooked!
Make a Slurry
Carefully remove 1 cup of hot broth from the pot and create a slurry by adding the flour to the 1 cup of hot broth. Whisk the two together until a thick slurry forms. Use a spatula to scrape the slurry back into the pot and whisk the slurry into the soup. The soup should thicken quickly at this point!
Add Chicken Back In
Add the chicken back into the soup and mix it all together.
Add Cream
Remove the soup from the heat and slowly add the heavy cream to the pot. Mix until the cream is combined into the soup.
Enjoy!
Heat the soup to the desired temperature over low heat and enjoy with breadsticks or your favorite soup toppings.
How to Thicken Chicken Gnocchi Soup
For this Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup recipe, we used flour to thicken it. In our expert soup opinion over here at Fit Foodie Finds, we’re firm believers that a slurry tastes so much better than corn starch and does the job to thicken it as well. If you want your soup thicker, you can add more flour, but believe us 1/4 cup should do the trick! Can I swap the flour for a different flour? The only other flour we suggest swapping all-purpose for in this recipe is white whole wheat flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Storage
Let your soup cool completely. Then, transfer it into an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
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