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.
Ingredients Needed
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
- gnocchi
How do you make Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup recipe?
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.
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.
What are they saying?
Not only has this soup become one of our favorite recipes, it's one of the most popular searched for and made recipes here at Carrie's Experimental Kitchen. Here are a few comments:
- "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!!!"
- "This was so good and tastes just like Olive Gardenās. My entire family loved it and they are so picky! Thank you so much for sharing!"
- "Excellent recipe! Made a double batch and my family and my youngest who is two loved it!! Will definitely make again!"
- "I love to make soup in the winter and am so glad I came across this recipe. This is bar far the best soup Iāve ever made. I wasnāt sure if my 12 year old son would like it (heās not picky, but not a fan of soup) and he devoured it. Thanks so much for sharing!
- "Iām currently living in Ireland and finding normal American ingredients that Iām use to cooking with, is surprisingly hard. I stumbled upon this recipe and OH MY GOD itās delicious! It was so simple, easy to make and it tastes just like Olive Garden. The nutmeg really makes a difference. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I will definitely be making it again soon!"
~Enjoy!
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Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Copycat)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. Butter
- Ā½ c. Celery, washed and thinly sliced
- Ā¼ c. Grated Onion
- ā c. Grated Carrots
- 1 tbsp. Garlic, minced
- Ā¼ c. All Purpose Flour
- 8 c. Chicken Broth
- ā tsp. Ground Nutmeg
- Ā½ 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
jaclkiegene says
OH MY!!!! Thank you for this recipe, What flavor! Love it!!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
You're welcome, thanks for stopping by.
Kristi says
This is a fabulous recipe, I didn't have celery and it tasted great without it! Love it!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Thank you I'm so glad you enjoyed it and stopped back to let me know.
Jennifer says
I know this is probably silly to ask, but, do you cut up your chicken? Or shred it? It doesn't say
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I cut it up in small pieces and it's not a silly question. š
Lisa says
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!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Lisa, thanks so much for stopping by to let me know! š
Hannah says
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!
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
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. š
Stephanie says
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.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
They should work fine; though it may take a bit longer to cook the gnocchi. I hope you like it!
Shannon says
This soup was delicious and easy! I will be making this soon and often.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
It's one of our favorites as well. Thanks for stopping by to let me know and I'm so glad you liked it!
Sandi says
Can o use cream of celery soup instead of flour
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
The flour helps to thicken the soup, so I don't believe the soup will do that.
Kristin says
can i make this ahead and reheat in a crockpot w/out compromising flavor/textures?
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
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.
Amy says
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!
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
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. š
Amanda says
Would cream of mushroom work in place of the heavy cream?
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
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.
Sylvie says
Excellent recipe! Made a double batch and my family and my youngest who is two loved it!! Will definitely make again!
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
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!
Jen says
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!
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
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!
Jenny deArmas says
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!
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Jenny and thank you so much for stopping by to let me know!
Kristina says
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.
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
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.
Jennifer Ezernack says
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!!!
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
Great idea and I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for stopping by!
Gilly says
Why use bouillon and water instead of chicken stock?
carrieexpktchn@optonline.net says
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!
Ishmael Hernandez says
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.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
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.
Sarah kastelic says
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
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
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!
Alice T says
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.
Carrie's Experimental Kitchen says
Yes, it is per cup. Sorry about the confusion with the recipe card