Love the Chicken Gnocchi Soup from Olive Garden? If so, you’re going to fall head over heals for this Olive Garden Copycat recipe! This soup is Better Than Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup and it’s full of flavor, chicken and gnocchi!
RECIPE IS BELOW IN PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BUT BLOG POST IS FULL OF “HOW TO MAKE IT”, TIPS, INFORMATION AND FAQ
When we lived down at Camp Lejeune, NC, we were so excited when we finally got an Olive Garden! I fell in love with their Chicken Marsala, Salad and Chicken Gnocchi Soup! However, I found myself more and more disappointed with the Chicken Gnocchi Soup at Olive Garden as the years went on. It became more watery and sometimes I’d order Chicken Gnocchi Soup only to get a bowl of hot milk and spinach with maybe one piece of gnocchi and no chicken. So that only meant one thing! I need to make my own at home! This is my copycat version of Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi Soup and I think it’s Better Than Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi Soup to be honest!
Quick glance at what you’ll need for Better Than Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup: (amounts in recipe card below)
- butter
- olive oil
- chopped celery
- minced garlic
- shredded carrots
- salt
- black pepper
- onion powder
- Italian seasoning
- flour
- chicken broth
- milk
- heavy cream
- cooked, shredded chicken meat
- chopped frozen spinach
- gnocchi
How to make Better Than Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup:
In a large pot, over medium heat, melt butter and heat olive oil. Once butter is melted add in celery and cook for about 5-10 minutes until soft. If you want the celery to be a bit crunchy, 5 minutes is enough time. I like for the celery in this soup to be very soft. Add in the minced garlic and stir. Let the garlic cook for 2 minutes, your kitchen is going to be smelling wonderful at this point.
Add in carrots and seasonings. Add in flour. Stir until everything is combined. Stir and cook flour mixture for 2 minutes.
This is going to thicken the soup but you don’t want the taste of raw flour in your soup. So make sure to take the time to stir and cook the flour a bit before moving on to the next part of the recipe.
Add in chicken broth and stir well to break up any clumps.
What type of Chicken broth to use for this homemade soup:
- Homemade Chicken Broth
- Low Sodium or Regular Store Bought Chicken Broth
- Chicken Bouillon made chicken broth
- Chicken broth made with something like Better Than Bouillon®
Add in milk and heavy cream, stir. Toss in frozen spinach and cooked, shredded chicken, stir.
Chicken Tip – You can really use any chicken for this recipe as long as it is cooked before it goes into the soup. I love the dark meat from chicken, so that is what I use but you could also use chicken breasts.
Store bought rotisserie chicken are perfect for meals like this! When I make this soup, I use the thighs and legs of rotisserie chicken and save the chicken breasts for recipes like this Chicken Pot Pie Casserole.
Turn up heat and bring soup to a boil. Gently add gnocchi to soup and boil for 4-5 minutes. Serve Hot/Warm.
QUICK GLANCE Better Than Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup FAQ:
- Can I use homemade gnocchi? You sure can!
- Can I use fresh spinach instead of frozen? Yep! Just toss in 2 handfuls or so instead of the frozen.
- Does this soup store well? I think so! It does get a little thick as it cools but loosens up as it reheats.
Better Than Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Better Than Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Yield:
8 cups soup
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
30 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes
Love the Chicken Gnocchi Soup from Olive Garden? If so, you're going to fall head over heals for this Olive Garden Copycat recipe! This soup is Better Than Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup and it's full of flavor, chicken and gnocchi!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped celery (about 2-3 stalks)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups milk
- 1.5 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken meat (2 legs and 2 thighs, cooked)
- 8 ounce chopped frozen spinach
- 16 ounces gnocchi
Instructions
- In a large pot, over medium heat, melt butter and heat olive oil.
- Once butter is melted add in celery and cook for about 5-10 minutes until soft.
- Add in garlic and stir. Let cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in carrots and seasonings.
- Add in flour. Stir until everything is combined.
- Stir and cook flour mixture for 2 minutes.
- Add in chicken broth and stir well to break up any clumps.
- Add in milk and heavy cream, stir.
- Toss in frozen spinach and cooked, shredded chicken, stir.
- Turn up heat and bring soup to a boil.
- Gently add gnocchi to soup and boil for 4-5 minutes.
- Serve Hot/Warm.
Notes
A store bought Rotisserie chicken is great for this recipe! You'll need the meat from 2 legs and 2 thighs!
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Hi! Making this tonight and it looks great so far, the only problem I have is that this makes a LOT so I need to know if I can freeze it 😅 It’s only my boyfriend and I so we don’t want this to get wasted. A reply is appreciated, thanks!!
Hi Chesney! I’m so sorry, I just saw this! Yes! You can freeze this in an air tight container 🙂
Thanks so much for this recipe! It was a hit with my family, and was really really close to Olive Garden’s. I used fresh spinach instead of frozen because that’s what I had on hand. Thanks again!
I made a big pot of it last night so easy and good
Loved it! I don’t think I would change a thing!
This recipe was spot on! I just added a bit of garlic salt to taste and it was so delicious!
Delicious and Excellent
I have made this soup 3 times and it is so good! The only change I made was use fresh spinach. I love that you can freeze it.
Next time I’ll use the whole bag of fresh baby spinach. I always use better than boullion products for any soups or when a recipe needs broth. It’s the best out there, especially any of the low sodium versions 😋
I love better than bouillon! I think it’s great for all kinds of recipes.
First time I made it except the gnocchi came out gummy. They aren’t suppose to right? What did I do wrong?
Hi Gina! Store bought gnocchi when boiled instead of baked (and added into a soup) is more gummy than if they were baked and served with pasta sauce.
Absolutely wonderful! I used the entire rotisserie chicken and instead of powdered onion, I used 1/2 a large yellow onion. Cooked the onion/celery/ carrots together. Our local farmers market has a lady that makes homemade spinach gnocchi- perfection,
This is an incredible recipe, I’ve made it 4 times and it’s so good! I do use fresh spinach instead of frozen and sometimes I make it with Ditalini pasta instead of the gnocchi. We love it both ways and people always ask for the recipe!!!