Enjoy one or your favorite restaurant copycat soups at home with my version of Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi Soup made with boneless cooked chicken, vegetables and gnocchi in a creamy chicken broth.
Do you love Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi Soup and wish you could eat it more often? Now you can with this homemade copycat version that tastes just like the original.
My youngest daughter and I got to spend a lot of quality time together over the summer as both my husband and older daughter were working during the day.
She kept busy attending a few day camp sessions, volunteering for a township youth program, shopping, reading and completing her school summer assignments. However, every now and then we ventured out for lunch to some local restaurants.
One day while it was a little overcast and rainy, she decided she wanted to go to Olive Garden for soup and salad. It sounded like a good plan to me. She has been there several times before and really loves their Chicken Gnocchi Soup; which is a creamy, chicken based soup with fresh spinach and gnocchi.
I usually get their Pasta e Fagioli or Minestrone, but the Chicken Gnocchi Soup sounded good to me too so we both ordered the same thing for lunch. Besides, if I wanted to try to make it at home for her I just had to try it for myself!
About a week later, I bought ingredients to try to replicate this soup at home and of course she was thrilled. This soup recipe makes quite a bit; so I like to make extra soup to freeze for later.
Besides, I need to stock pile some additional meals in the freezer for our oldest daughter who is away at college and cooking for herself. This way she’ll have some homemade prepared meals for when she comes home to visit that she can take back with her.
How do you make Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi Soup recipe?
For this recipe you’ll need butter, celery, onions, carrots, garlic, all purpose flour, ground nutmeg, ground thyme, fresh baby spinach, cooked chicken, heavy cream, chicken broth and gnocchi
Start by melting the butter over medium heat; then add celery, onions, carrots and garlic. Stir for 1-2 minutes until the celery starts to soften; then whisk in the flour and add the chicken broth.
Next, add diced cooked chicken, nutmeg and thyme; then increase the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan; then add it to the soup along with the spinach and gnocchi. You want to heat it a bit to temper it so that the cream doesn’t curdle when you put it in the hot soup. Simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes or until gnocchi is cooked.
My family loves this Chicken Gnocchi Soup. It was delicious and tasted just like the restaurant version. The soup does thicken the longer it sits and even tastes better as leftovers.In fact, my family sometimes prefers this version to the restaurant one; especially when they get to the end of the pot and only get one or two gnocchi in their bowl.
To speed the preparation, I used leftover grilled chicken and frozen gnocchi, but any type of chicken would work just as well. If you’d like, you can make homemade gnocchi, but I opted to save some time. I’ll definitely be making this Olive Garden soup recipe again. ~Enjoy!
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Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Copycat)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- 1/2 c. Celery, washed and thinly sliced
- 1/4 c. Grated Onion
- 1/3 c. Grated Carrots
- 1 tbsp. Garlic, minced
- 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
- 8 c. Chicken Broth
- 1/8 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. Ground Thyme
- 4 c. Fresh Baby Spinach, rinsed
- 2 c. Cooked Chicken, small dice, roasted or grilled
- 2 c. Heavy Cream
- 16 oz. Gnocchi, frozen or fresh
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat; then add the celery, onions, carrots and garlic. Stir for 1-2 minutes until the celery starts to soften.
- Whisk in the flour; then add the chicken broth.
- Next, add the chicken, nutmeg and thyme; stir well. Increase heat and bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan; then add it to the soup along with the spinach and gnocchi.
- Simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes or until gnocchi is cooked.
Notes
Nutrition
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Or try these other gnocchi recipes:
Why use bouillon and water instead of chicken stock?
Hi Gilly, You can use chicken stock as a substitution; however, at the time I made this recipe I was out of chicken stock. If using chicken stock instead of bouillon, you may have to adjust your salt. The mixture of bouillon and water I used I didn’t need to add any additional salt, but when I use chicken stock, it’s either homemade or low sodium and may necessitate more sodium to get the taste like Olive Garden’s variety. I hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by!
Wonderful…thank you so, so much. I made this today and it was very much enjoyed by all. A few weeks ago I tasted this at olive garden…w h en o found your recipe I was excited to try it… I used rotisserie chicken and I minced Spinach… it came out great.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Ishmael and thank you so much for stopping back to let me know. I’ve also used rotisserie chicken and it comes out even better.
I am in diet class and would like to know calories and fats per cup we have to write it down i make this at least once a month and share with friends everyone loves it
Hi Sarah, I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe, we do as well! I’ve added nutritional information to the recipe card though it may not be 100% accurate (based on brands I used), but it should be close enough. There are 194 calories and 11.8g of fat per cup of soup. I hope this helps!
I want to confirm the nutrition information is 194 calories per cup and not 194 calories for 1 g. I was confused by the gram shown as the quantity in the nutrition chart. 1 gram is a pretty tiny amount.
Yes, it is per cup. Sorry about the confusion with the recipe card
I used a store bought rotisserie turkey breast instead of chicken and also chopped up my baby spinach and turned out sooooo good!! Great on a really COLD night!!!
Great idea and I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for stopping by!
Burnt my tongue a few times because it smells so good i couldn’t wait. got to use my new fancy soup bowl. such a good dinner on a cold night.
I’m sorry about your tongue, but I know what you mean..it’s so good! I’m glad you liked the recipe. Thanks for stopping by to let me know.
This was so good and tastes just like Olive Garden’s. My entire family loved it and they are so picky! Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jenny and thank you so much for stopping by to let me know!
Someday I’d like to attempt making my own gnocchi, but until then, do you have any recommendations? I purchased some off the shelf once, it was terrible. I’ve heard frozen isn’t bad, but not sure what brand or where to start. There are a lot of options and I am a gnocchi newbie. Thanks!
For this recipe I used frozen gnocchi; however, I can’t remember the brand name as it’s not something I purchase often. It worked well in this soup. If you want to give homemade gnocchi a try, you can check out this post for Homemade Gnocchi http://goo.gl/hF9lgl where my then 11 year old daughter made some herself. It’s actually quite easy to make at home!
Excellent recipe! Made a double batch and my family and my youngest who is two loved it!! Will definitely make again!
I’m so glad you and your family liked the recipe Sylvie. I think I’ll do the same next time I make it, my family devoured it too quickly. Thanks for stopping by to let me know!
Would cream of mushroom work in place of the heavy cream?
I don’t think it would work for this recipe. You could substitute regular/skim milk instead but you may have to thicken the sauce a bit with some flour/water or cornstarch/cold water.
I love to make soup in the winter and am so glad I came across this recipe. This is bar far the best soup I’ve ever made. I wasn’t sure if my 12 year old son would like it (he’s not picky, but not a fan of soup) and he devoured it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know Amy. I know, kids eating habits can be a little quirky at times. I’m so glad you all enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
can i make this ahead and reheat in a crockpot w/out compromising flavor/textures?
Hi Kristin, Sorry for the delay in response. I’ve never tried it, but if you keep it on low or warm I’m sure it would be fine. If you plan on freezing it first; then reheating it in the crock pot, I wouldn’t add the gnocchi before freezing. Instead add them into the soup before you plan on eating it. It may be ok, but I’m not certain and wouldn’t want the gnocchi to become to “gummy”. Let me know how it comes out.
This soup was delicious and easy! I will be making this soon and often.
It’s one of our favorites as well. Thanks for stopping by to let me know and I’m so glad you liked it!
Can o use cream of celery soup instead of flour
The flour helps to thicken the soup, so I don’t believe the soup will do that.
I couldn’t find frozen gnocchi, I found some in a box…hopefully it works just as good! I’ll be posting a follow up comment after dinner.
They should work fine; though it may take a bit longer to cook the gnocchi. I hope you like it!
Made this last night and it was AMAZING! I substituted, celery seed and onion powder since we aren’t a fan of the crunch it gives. I also increased all the seasonings, and used fat free half/half to save some calories. So so so good! My palette was happy!
Hi Hannah, I’m so glad you liked the soup and I bet you couldn’t even tell the difference in the taste with the added seasonings. Sometimes I’ll use regular milk to and make more of a roux to cut back on calories as well. Thanks for stopping by to let me know. 🙂
I’m currently living in Ireland and finding normal American ingredients that I’m use to cooking with, is surprisingly hard. I stumbled upon this recipe and OH MY GOD it’s delicious! It was so simple, easy to make and it tastes just like Olive Garden. The nutmeg really makes a difference. I also threw some mushrooms in there just because I had some on hand and didn’t want them to go bad-turned out great.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I will definitely be making it again soon!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Lisa, thanks so much for stopping by to let me know! 🙂
I know this is probably silly to ask, but, do you cut up your chicken? Or shred it? It doesn’t say
I cut it up in small pieces and it’s not a silly question. 🙂
This is a fabulous recipe, I didn’t have celery and it tasted great without it! Love it!
Thank you I’m so glad you enjoyed it and stopped back to let me know.
OH MY!!!! Thank you for this recipe, What flavor! Love it!!
You’re welcome, thanks for stopping by.
I made the soup tonight for my daughter, being the first time i followed the instructions exactly but for some reason the soup was so good but very salty, i added the 6 boullions like you asked. What i did wrong, had somebody tell you that before.Thanks for sharing your recipe
Hi Sandra, I have not heard that before. Maybe it was the particular brand of bouillon cubes you used? I used Herb Ox brand and it was fine for us. I have also made this soup using College Inn Chicken Broth (low sodium/low fat) instead of the bouillon cubes if you would like to try that. The soup was still fantastic!
This looks really good. You said you it makes a lot with the recipe and you freeze it. In your experience what do you find is the best way to freeze soups? Ziploc bag or something else? Thanks.
Most of the time when I make this particular soup, my family winds up eating it within a couple of days so there generally isn’t much left to freeze. When I freeze other soup, I use Rubbermaid containers with secure lids and press out as much air as I can before sealing.
I have been waiting all week to make this recipe and it was amazing! This is my favorite soup at Olive Garden and to say I was excited is an understatement. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to make and my whole family loved it! Thank you!
I’m so glad it lived up to your expectations Caitlin and you’re right it’s so easy to make! My family requests this all the time now. Thank you for stopping by to let me know your thoughts, I really appreciate it!
I want to make this soup and use chicken stock or chicken broth that I have in the cupboard. How much should i use? 8 cups?
Thanks!
Yes, you can use 8 cups of chicken broth that will work just fine. Enjoy!
question, I will be making this for our Monday crock pot soup day at work,so will be making it ahead on sunday, should I make it as directed,then just heat it up on low for a few hours before lunch? Any suggestions? Thanks!!
Yes. You can make it as prepared, refrigerate it; then heat it in the crock pot the next day. I personally think any soup tastes even better after it sits a while. Let me know how you and your co-workers like it!
Before I heated up the heavy cream, I put a cup of grated Parmesan in a sauce pan, along with two teaspoons of oil, and just enough cream to cover everything. Waited until it melted and then added in the rest of the cream to heat! The soup tastes EXACTLY like olive gardens, but better!
Thank you!
I LOVE that idea of adding the extra cheese into the cream! I’m so glad you stopped by to let me know and that you enjoyed the soup Bridget.
I just tried this recipe and it turned out fabulous. It will definitely be a staple at my house. Thank-you!
Thank you Yvette, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
OMG, I just made this soup, and it’s to die for!!! It’s my favorite soup at Olive Garden, and this version tastes just like O G’s. It’s the kind of soup I eat until I’m almost sick, but I still want more. I couldn’t find frozen gnocci in my area, but I used what I found in the pasta area, and it turned out wonderfully. Like someone else mentioned, I cut the gnocci in half, and used a rotisserie chicken. Thank you for a new favorite…..I’ll be making this often, and will probably double the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup Lois. I could eat this for days myself!!!
Do you cover the soup while simmering? Or leave it uncovered and that’s what helps thicken it?
I leave the soup uncovered while it’s simmering. The roux (butter and flour) helps to thicken the soup. I hope you enjoy it!
Hi,
This recipe sounds good and looks pretty easy to make. I do have one question with the bouillon cubes… instead of using them, can i substitute and use 8 cups of chicken broth? If so, I won’t have to add the 8 cups of water as the recipe calls right?
Thank you!
You sure can and yes, you can omit the water. Depending on how you prefer to season your food, you may need to adjust the salt and pepper. I hope you enjoy it!
This is so good! I haven’t had the Olive Garden version, but it’s one of my daughter’s favorites and she requested it for dinner. Searched online for a copycat and settled on yours. So glad I did! I made it today (along with your homemade gnocchi recipe … also wonderful) and it is a keeper! She says it’s even better than the restaurant version. Thanks for creating and sharing this wonderful recipe!
It’s my daughters’ favorite soup as well and she begs me to make it all of the time. I’m so glad you all enjoyed it and tried the gnocchi as well!
This is the best version of the Olive Garden soup yet! We make this at least one or twice a month and then when we go to Olive Garden my husband says their soup doesn’t taste right! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I would dare say this soup is better than the one at Olive Garden.
Thanks Yelena and my kids think this tastes better too! haha I’m so glad you enjoy it! 🙂
I love Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup, I tried your recipe it came out ok. Can you tell me why it came out kinda orangish not white Ilike the Olive Gardens followed the recipe to the tee can’t figure out what I did wrong thank you
Found out why it turn orangish I grab the wrong bouillon I used chicken bouillon with tomato in it other that it still tastes good thank you
Ahhh…that would do it. 🙂 Glad you liked the recipe even though it was the wrong bouillon. It will be white next time if you used the regular chicken bouillon. Or you could just use chicken broth instead, that would work too.
Can you freeze this since it has cream in it and then add cooked gnocchi later?
Yes, as long as you don’t thicken it with cornstarch it freezes well. Enjoy!
absolutely awesome!! My husband had 2 bowls and is taking for lunch!!
I just made some more last week and it never lasts long around here either. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Lorie!
Just made this and it is soooooo good! Thank you!
You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’m about to make some this week too as my daughters’ birthday dinner request. 🙂
Where is the original recipient with bullion cubes? That’s how I’ve been making it since I found the recipe. Now it says to use chicken stock. I only have bullion cubes available at the moment.
You can use bouillon cubes as well. It’s one cube per every cup of water. So 8 bouillon cubes + 8 cups of water OR 8 cups of chicken stock. I’ll add it back to the recipe card. Sorry for the confusion.
This was so delicious!!! It was a huge hit with my husband and kids! Thank you for sharing!
You’re very welcome and I’m so glad you all enjoyed it Lauren!
This is pretty much the best soup I’ve ever made. I added Italian sausage and omitted the veggies, but it’s the recipe here that is so great. Seriously. Very good. Thank you for sharing.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Anais and I bet the addition of sausage made it taste even better!
We basically go to Olive Garden specifically for this soup so when I saw this recipe I rushed to make it. I made this for the kids Monday and it was so good they begged me to make it again. I made a double batch tonight and it’s just as good. It tastes exactly like Olive Garden’s! I just sautéed some boneless chicken breast, seasoned only with salt & pepper (I’m Puerto Rican, so seasoning without adobo & Sazon is almost unheard of in my family lol) and it was perfect. Thanks for the amazing recipe! I’ll be making this for a VERY long time.
I’m so glad you liked it Jen!! Thanks so much for trying my recipe! 🙂