Hearty Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Thick and creamy and so, so hearty, this chicken gnocchi soup is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal perfect for a winter night.
I quite enjoy soup all year round, if you want to know the truth, but I finally feel liberated and free about posting soup recipes now that soup season has “officially started” (just trying to avoid the hate mail here – nothing spawns more anger than posting soup in July, apparently).
Although I’m sure I have many more soups to look forward to over the next chilly months, I do have to say that I’m having a hard time not declaring this soup my absolute favorite of the season.
Honest to goodness, this soup is so deliciously wonderful and was one of the first things I made after trying out my new, favorite way of cooking chicken for recipes that call for, well, cooked chicken.
I found the soup via several copycat type recipes online and decided I had to change the method considerably (I, for one, didn’t want to dirty up several pots so I streamlined it to be a one-pot wonder and I also wanted to lighten it up a bit, taking out 7 tablespoons of fat and using fat free half-and-half).
I was blown away by the finished soup. Thick and creamy and so, so hearty, this soup is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal. Each bite is like a delicious taste of decadent soup heaven filled with tender bites of chicken, pillows of gnocchi (how I love thee, gnocchi, and someday I will really, truly make you from scratch), a smattering of veggies and just simple, great flavor.
Considering we are expecting snow this week, I have a feeling this soup may be on the menu at least once, probably twice, in the next few days. When I find a good thing, I have a hard time letting go, what can I say.
What to Serve With This
- Soft Pretzel Rolls or Chewy Pretzel Bites
- Spinach Strawberry Salad with Homemade Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing
- Fresh, seasonal fruit
One Year Ago: Texas-Style Blueberry Cobbler
Two Years Ago: Bavarian Apple Torte
Three Years Ago: Perfect Pumpkin Roll
Hearty Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups fat free half-and-half
- 1 cup lowfat milk
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (16-ounce) package gnocchi
- 1-2 cups cooked, shredded or diced chicken breasts
- 1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a 4- or 5-quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot and rippling. Add the chopped onion, carrots and thyme. Cook until the onion is translucent and carrots are slightly tender, stirring often, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
- Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking or stirring constantly, until the flour is lightly golden, 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the half-and-half. Whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Stir while bringing the mixture to a boil over medium to medium-high heat.
- Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is slightly thickened, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the uncooked gnocchi and simmer over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup should thicken up quite a bit while the gnocchi is cooking. Stir in the chicken and spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from copycat recipes I found online, including this one
I once accidentally wooed three different men with this recipe. When I was single and poor in college and finally got all the ingredients at one time I was so excited (and couldn’t realistically eat it all myself, probably) I shared it with anyone who I happened upon that day. Inadvertently they all read more into it than intended, and I spent the rest of the summer getting free food from all three of them. We’re all married to different people now, but for a poor college student with little prospects at the time it was a worthy investment!
Hahaha, this was the best thing to read today!
SO delicious!!! New Family Favorite! Easy to put together and everyone devoured it!!
Mel, thanks for featuring this in your recent “forgotten recipes” post. I had some gnocchi my 3 year old asked me to make, and this recipe was the perfect one to help me use them up! It was so incredibly tasty. I didn’t have spinach, so I used some frozen peas and green beans. I’ll definitely be making this one again!
Way to improvise, Vanessa! Thanks for commenting to let me know!
This soup was GOOD! I subbed peas for the spinach since I didn’t have any. A couple of months ago I had made my own homemade gnocchi using Pinch of Yum’s recipe and froze it in one pound packages. This recipe was creamy, filling, and satisfying. I will definitely make it again!
By far my family’s favorite soup. Doesn’t take long to put together and the pay off is huge. The only thing I do differently is use 1 cup cream and 2 cups skim milk for the dairy rather than half and half. So delicious.
Loved this soup. Tasted amazing. I had it at olive garden awhile back and fianally decided to make my own. I added a bit more spinach to make it a bit thicker:)
We love this soup at our house. It’s delicious as it is, we like to use the mini gnocchi for just the right size bite.
I plan to make this tonight omitting the carrots and adding mushrooms. Any thought on quantity of mushrooms for this recipe? I’m famous for overdoing it when it comes to mushrooms. 🙂
I would probably say maybe 8 ounces?
Really good!!!
Holy smokes this was good. “Knocked it out of the park,” was the response I got at dinner. 🙂 Thanks for another great recipe.
We love this recipe, it’s so good I usually double it so we can have it for lunch another day.
I bought potato Gnocchi at a store. When I got home, I realized it wad potato gnocchi with pumpkin. The gnocchi is white, not orange. Can this be used in Chicken Gnocchi soup?
I think it should be fine.
I made this for dinner tonight. It is even better than the restaurant version as I remember it. So yummy and creamy and wonderfully filling. Thank you for another wonderful recipe to add to my list!
I rarely comment, though I’ve made SO so many of your recipes, but my husband and I are on a gnocchi kick lately, and I decided to make this last night. It was a huge hit! I had to add a lot more salt than I normally would, and used all milk/broth instead of half-n-half, but it was still creamy and thick. Thank you Mel!
This soup looks incredible. I have a question though – if I didn’t want to include chicken in the recipe, would I have to alter the other ingredients somehow? Or can I just leave it out, add vegetable broth & call it good? I’m a total newbie at cooking.
I think you could leave it out just fine. 🙂
Looks like a great soup. It could use a pinch of nutmeg, and a splash of white wine would be an elegant addition.
Did this one vegetarian style tonight, and with milk in place of half and half. Probably not as thick, but still supper yummy. Also, I’ll add another package of gnocchi and more veggies next time since I left out the chicken.
I love this soup and have made it quite a few times, but every time I do it is WAY too thick. I’ve tried adding more chicken stock. Do you have any suggestions? It always ends up being a paste, even though I’m not letting it simmer or sit. Thanks so much.
That’s odd, Becca – but maybe it’s due to the brand of gnocchi you are using (some have more flour in them and also coating them which could thicken up the soup). You might try completely eliminating the flour in the recipe to see if that helps.
Do you think I could sub out MORE fat free half and half for the milk too? Would it be creamy enough and still thicken? We don’t keep milk in usually and I just was wondering for the ease of grocery shopping 🙂 Thanks in advance! I can’t wait to try this!!
Tara – I haven’t tried subbing out any of the milk so I’m not sure how all fat free half and half would do in the soup. Certainly worth a try – not sure if it will be quite as creamy, though. Good luck!
Made this for the first time for my in-laws and it was addictively delicious! It wasn’t complicated or labor-intensive and again, just so good! I could eat it alll day. I did whole wheat flour and whole wheat gnoccis and used veggie broth since my father-in-law is vegetarian. Was impressed it came out soo good with those trades! Would recommend that trade for those needing to add more fiber and nutrients!
Could I use regular half and half in this? I tend to stay away from anything fat free because of the chemicals added into it.
Carlie – Sure. That will work fine.
Hi Mel – Do you have a favorite brand of store bought gnocchi? I’ve tried a few and I’m never impressed. I can always trust you to recommend the best!
Kate – I’ve only bought DaVinci and a local brand (when I lived in Wisconsin – it was handmade) but I’m experimenting making my own and keeping it in the freezer because storebought gnocchi can be hit and miss!
This was great! I used all 2% milk because that’s what I had. I used potatoes instead of spinach. My friend and I enjoyed it and I will make it again. Now I have some tasty leftovers for lunch :-).
I modified this slightly. In added celery and leeks. And didn’t use the spinach. It’s pretty good that way.
Great soup for this time of year! I made this but substituted the chicken broth for a homemade vegetable stock so that I could really control the salt, i.e., practically none. Worked out very nicely.
I have been really excited about this recipe and finally made it tonight. The only problem was that the purple carrots left in my garden turned the soup very purple. No hiding it. It is testiment to how much they trust you that everyone ate it “this is Mel, right?”.
Lol! I get the “this is Mel?” comment every time I make something new! Hilarious!
My family and I really liked this. It is a very hearty soup like you said. I used WW Gnocchi and no carrots, the only changes. My fam told me it was good but too much gnocchi so next time I will halve it but I loved it as is and having leftovers for lunch today!
Is it fate that I made this soup exactly one year after you posted it? Well, I’d like to think so, but something about October just begs a hearty soup. And it was incredible. And I LOVED your chicken cooking method. I even poured the excess chicken juices (which sounds horrible, but was not!) from the skillet into the soup to give it more of that perfectly roasted flavor. I made this with your whole wheat dinner muffins and it was a wild success!
You can get Pasta di Casa Mia gnocchi (a product of Italy) at Costco. It comes in a yellow and white box with 4 – 1 lb. packs inside. I just picked up some last night. I googled the soup and came up with your website. Thanks.
I would love to make this for the weekend! It looks so yummy that I don’t even care about it being summer time LOl.
I have only tried gnocchi a few times only at OG. I like how fluffy it is and melts in the mouth. Can you share some brands or links where I can find gnocchi like that so I can make this? Thanks so much!!!
Hi Sarah – I’ve bought several brands over the years and quite honestly can’t remember the name (maybe DaVinci was one?). I’ve also made my own gnocci with ricotta and it is super easy and delicious. The blog Budget Bytes has a great ricotta gnocchi recipe (google it and it should come up).
Made this tonight! And LOVED it!! It is a perfect comfort soup! 🙂
Made this last night, YUM!
I’m trying this tonight. Of course I’m doubling the recipe because I have a large, hungry family. I, too love the soup at Olive Garden and hope this soup will be just as good or better. Can’t wait to try it!
Wow! Made this tonight and it is amazing! I did swap out the half and half for whole milk and added a little extra milk and chicken broth. My son especially liked the
“pin-gnocchi-o”!
I’m making this tonight, Mel! Can’t wait. I have made homemade gnocchi and it is from heaven…here’s the link! http://mmmcafe.blogspot.com/2012/07/homemade-gnocchi.html