Copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s Chicken and Gnocchi Soup. It’s perfect for when you want that restaurant taste at home.
Jump to RecipeWhenever we go to Olive Garden I always get the soup, salad, and breadstick meal. And of course, it’s always Chicken & Gnocchi Soup. Although, with two small kids and a tighter budget, we don’t get to go out to eat as often as we would like.
So I had to get creative and make my favorite soup myself. I looked up some copycat recipes online but they were all slightly different. So I took the best elements of them all and merged the recipes together to come up with my recipe.
It isn’t exactly like the Olive Garden version, but it’s close enough to satisfy my cravings in between outings. I’ve been tweaking the recipe every time I make it, but I have a good recipe set now. It’s delicious with some homemade breadsticks.
I had a hard time finding the gnocchi the first time I went to the store. It’s usually with all the dry pasta (think spaghetti, lasagna, etc.) and on the top shelf in a box. I wish the boxes were a little bigger because I would like more gnocchi in the soup, but not as much as two boxes would make. I keep saying I am going to do one and a half boxes next time, but always forget when I make my grocery list! The rest of the ingredients are pretty standard and easy to find.
Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Step by Step
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 3 stalks celery (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 carrots (shredded)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 16 oz potato gnocchi
- 6 oz baby spinach leaves
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
Preparation
Boil the chicken until it is cooked through then shred the chicken. I like to use the paddle attachment on my stand mixer to quickly and easily shred the chicken. If you do, just watch it closely because it will go from shredded to pulp very quickly.
Meanwhile, in a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and celery, minced garlic, and shredded carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
Stir in the shredded chicken, chicken broth, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring this to a slight boil.
Add the gnocchi into the simmering soup and cook for about 3-4 minutes. The gnocchi will start to float when they are cooked.
Place the spinach in the stockpot and cook, stirring frequently, until it has all wilted, about 3-4 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with cold water and stir it into the simmering soup. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the soup thickens. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Serve warm. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated on the stovetop.
Recipe
Originally Published On: April 27, 2016
Last Updated On: July 28, 2023
Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 3 stalks celery (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 carrots (shredded)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 16 oz potato gnocchi
- 6 oz baby spinach leaves
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Boil chicken until cooked through then shred the chicken
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat
- Cook onion, celery, garlic, and carrots in the hot oil until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes
- Stir in shredded chicken, chicken broth, heavy cream, and parmesan cheese
- Stir gnocchi unto the simmering soup and cook until they begin to float, about 3-4 minutes
- Stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes
- Whisk cornstarch into cold water until smooth
- Stir cornstarch mixture into simmering soup
- Cook until soup thickens slightly, about 5 minutes
- Add italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Other Copycat Recipes
- Honey Garlic Chicken Over Rice Recipe
- Alice Springs Chicken Copycat Recipe
- Chicken Francese over Angel Hair Pasta
- 5 Layer Bean Dip: TexMex Restaurant Copycat Recipe
- Pasta Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie: McDonald’s Copycat
- Copycat Cajun Chicken Pasta from Chili’s
- Cheesy Baked Crab Casserole: Chinese Buffet Copycat
- Cheddar Biscuits
- Garlic and Herb Cheese Fondue
- Banana Cream Cheesecake
- Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- Fettuccine Alfredo
More Recipes with Gnocchi
- Ham Steak and Gnocchi Casserole with Cheese
- Gnocchi with Spinach and Red Pepper Sauce
- Crispy Gnocchi with Tomato and Leek
- Toasted Gnocchi with Spinach
- Seafood Gnocchi Soup
- Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
Other Soup Recipes to try
- One-Pot Potato and Cream Cheese Soup
- Slow Cooker Soups and Stews: Over 50 Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Red Lentil Soup
- Zesty Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Sausage Potato and Kale Soup
- Lazy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
- Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Artichoke Soup
- Pasta Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
- Green Chicken Soup
- Roasted Tomato and Cheddar Soup
- Leftover Turkey Tortellini Soup
- Easy One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)
- Immunity Soup
- Kreacher’s French Onion Soup
- Easy Slow-Cooker Potato and Cheddar Soup
- Seafood Gnocchi Soup
- Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
- Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Minestrone Soup: The Perfect Warm Vegetarian Soup
- Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- Tomato Soup (Vegan and Dairy-Free)
That looks delicious. I had tried to make gnocchi before but I don’t know what I did with it. hahah! I don’t know what it’s supposed to taste or feel like, so yeah, it was a fail.
It feels like soft pasta. It should give easily, but not fall apart. Basically, when it starts to float it’s done. I hope that helps because I love gnocchi and maybe you can give it another try.
I love it at Olive Garden and your Chicken Gnocchi recipe looks so delicious I have to try it! 🥣
It’s very similar to their soup. Mine is slightly different but still delicious!
Ooh – never thought of shredding chicken with the paddle attachment! Cool hack. I have not had this soup at OG before, but after this neverending viral whatever-it-is, I sure could use some good chicken soup right now, so may have to try this soon!
The paddle attachment works really well. But as I said, just watch closely because it will become chicken pulp very quickly! I only use the “stir” setting so it doesn’t do too much.
I have always wanted to know how to make this! I love the soup, salad, and breadsticks deal at Olive Garden. I get that every time, lol! Now, I can make it at home so that’s awesome, thank you!
That’s the only meal I ever get there, too. It’s just so yummy. But eating out is expensive and not always easy with young kids, so we make it at home now whenever I get a craving for the soup 🙂
It looks delicious and would make a perfect dish for the winter season. I’m lactose sensitive so I would skip the cream.
This would be a difficult one to make without dairy products, but I’m sure it can be done!
I could definitely eat that meal! Gnocchi, heavy cream and parmesan sounds like a match made in heaven. Im gonna make this for dinner tonight!
Oh my gosh, yes, they are so good together! And don’t forget the spinach to add that bit of healthy greens in there!
I haven’t had gnocchi in a soup before but this sounds great! I’ll have to keep it in mind for a cold winter’s night.
Oh, you should definitely give it a try! I love gnocchi and have made a few soups with it now. They add just the right texture to the soup.
This is such a great recipe for this time of year! I will be making this soon!
I agree, I love soups and stews in the cooler months. And you can’t beat coming home to dinner being ready!
I love this soup at Olive Garden! Yummm, this recipe looks so delicious.
Mine isn’t exactly the same, but very similar. I can’t figure out that missing “secret” ingredients, but this is close.
I love to have this kind of recipe and the soup looks cool. Though it’s hard for me to make it possible by me as I’m always a busy man. But thanks for the worth sharing.
Luckily, most of the recipe is letting it simmer, so it isn’t a whole lot of “active” time. And the leftovers reheat really well since I know it wouldn’t be possible to eat it all in one sitting.
This sounds like a great recipe for this wet and windy Autumn weather we’re having in the UK right now… a warming and filling soup! My family would love this!
We are just starting to get some of the cooler weather here in south Texas this week and next. But I know other parts of the US have gotten snow already, so for those in cooler climates, I figured it was a good time to start posting my soups. I hope you and your family enjoy the meal!!
Chicken and Gnocchi soup! That sounds delicious I will definitely try out the recipe also being a mother of 2 kids.
This is one of my absolute favorite soups! I hope you enjoy it as well.
I just made a similar soup this past week but with dumplings. I will try it with gnocchi (you can find that a lot here!). I love to add Japanese mustard spinach to these kinds of soups because I love it!
I never thought about using dumplings in this. My husband loves dumplings, I’ll have to try that next time!
I love gnocchi! I’ve never used it in a soup. Can’t wait to try this!
Chicken and Gnocchi soup at the Olive Garden was the first time I had ever heard of gnocchi! I’ve had fun experimenting with it in other types of recipes.
I’m so glad the weather is starting to cool off. Now I can get back to cooking in the kitchen, can’t wait to give this recipe a try.
Me, too! We are finally starting to have decent weather and I love all the warm, comfort food that comes with it.