The first time I tasted Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi Soup, it was during a winter lunch with friends. As the steaming bowl arrived at our table, I was instantly captivated by the aroma of herbs and cream. That first spoonful of pillowy gnocchi and tender chicken swimming in rich, velvety broth was pure comfort in a bowl. I knew immediately I had to recreate this magic at home. You can enjoy the same taste that you can get from the Olive Garden with this easy copycat recipe.
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Why This Homemade Version Beats the Original
This copycat Olive Garden soup elevates the restaurant experience in several key ways:
- Gnocchi Perfection – Cook gnocchi to your ideal tenderness rather than the sometimes overcooked restaurant version
- Superior Chicken Quality – Use freshly roasted chicken instead of pre-processed meat for juicier, more flavorful results
- Customizable Consistency – Control the thickness of your soup for your perfect creamy texture
- Vegetable Freshness – Enjoy vibrant, just-cut vegetables with perfect al dente texture
- Herb Intensity – Adjust seasonings to amp up flavors beyond the sometimes subtle restaurant version
Everyone Loves Chicken and Gnocchi soup
Why does everyone love this recipe? This is one of those chicken soup recipes everyone loves because it is made with tender gnocchi, juicy chicken, fresh carrots and celery, and a perfectly seasoned chicken broth. Make salad and breadsticks to so with this soup.
The Secret to Perfect Chicken Gnocchi Soup
The magic of this recipe lies in creating a silky, flavorful base and ensuring each ingredient maintains its distinct texture while melding harmoniously with the others.
Ingredients
- Butter – Creates a rich foundation and helps form the roux that thickens the soup
- Olive oil – Adds authentic Italian flavor while preventing the butter from burning during sautéing
- White onion – Provides a sweet, aromatic base that’s milder than yellow onions
- Celery – Contributes essential savory notes and subtle texture to the soup
- Fresh garlic – Delivers aromatic depth that’s essential for authentic Italian flavor
- All-purpose flour – Works with butter to create the roux that gives the soup its signature thickness
- Half and half – Creates the creamy, luxurious texture that makes this soup so comforting
- Low-sodium chicken broth – Forms the flavorful foundation while allowing you to control salt levels
- Dried thyme – Adds classic herbal notes that complement chicken perfectly
- Dried parsley flakes – Provide color and fresh flavor balance to the rich base
- Ground nutmeg – Enhances the creamy elements with subtle warmth and complexity
- Shredded carrots – Adds natural sweetness, color, and nutritional value
- Cooked chicken breast – Delivers tender protein chunks throughout the soup
- Potato gnocchi – Creates the signature pillowy texture that makes this soup unique
- Spinach – Contributes fresh color, nutrition, and a slight texture contrast
Should you use store-bought or homemade gnocchi?
Store-bought gnocchi is perfect for this recipe. You can take the extra step in preparing homemade gnocchi, but premade potato gnocchi works well. Gnocchi can be found in a couple of places in your supermarket, and you have options to purchase them.
- Many local stores sell shelf-stable potato gnocchi in the pasta aisles. I have purchased this at Walmart and Kroger, and I have been told that some dollar stores carry gnocchi.
- I have seen fluffy fresh gnocchi sold in the fresh sections of higher-end grocery stores, where you would pick up a prepared meal. Fresh gnocchi has a better texture and is more desirable, but not every grocery store offers it.
- I have even found it available in the grocery store’s frozen section.
Either type of gnocchi will work well. Your family will love this. Have a hard time finding gnocchi? Make your homemade potato gnocchi.
Preparation tips
- 🥄 PREP TIP: Fresh garlic makes a massive difference in flavor
- 🔥 COOKING TIP: Don’t boil after adding cream to prevent curdling
- ⏰ TIME TIP: “Prep vegetables while heating broth
How to make Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi
Making this Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup recipe is straightforward. You will find that all of the ingredients are very common in your average grocery store. We think it is easiest if you gather all of your ingredients before you start preparing the soup. This way, you will have everything on hand to get started.
First, you will sauté the vegetables in butter over medium-high heat. Then, add some flour and cook that through. You will then add the half-and-half and chicken broth. Please bring it to a low boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Cooked chicken and gnocchi are added to your seasoned broth and vegetables. Adjust your seasoning, and you will be ready to serve this soup in less than an hour.
Customizing this soup for you
Some people want a larger punch of flavor from their soup, so you can add some additional chicken soup base to dial up the flavor. I would add an extra teaspoon or two of chicken base to this to bring up the flavor. While I don’t find adding a soup base too close to the restaurant version, it can add something additional.
Want to add in a few more vegetables? We recommend adding some chopped zucchini; you could also add carrots or spinach.
Can you use a Crockpot for this recipe?
Yes, you can. I like to saute the vegetables first before I prepare the soup. You don’t need to do that if you like.
Place all of the vegetables, except the kale, chicken, seasonings, and stock, into the crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours. Shred the chicken, add the remaining ingredients, and cook for another hour.
If the soup is too thin, make a cornstarch slurry of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with two tablespoons of water. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the soup, turn the crockpot on high, and stir until the soup has thickened.
How to Store and Reheat Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- 📅Refrigerate any leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- ❄️Freezer – freeze for up to 3 months in an air-tight container
- 🔥Reheat – this creamy soup is best reheated in a large pot on the stove over low heat. This way, the creamy broth won’t break down.
Can you freeze copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup?
Yes, you can freeze this soup. The soup stays well in the freezer for several months when stored in an airtight container. The consistency of the soup will change a bit; if you can, I recommend freezing the soup without the gnocchi and adding gnocchi when you reheat it. The texture of the gnocchi will change after it is frozen. Thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight.
What to serve with chicken gnocchi soup
There are so many things you can serve with this soup. You may want to serve the classic Olive Garden Salad; we have found a good old-fashioned Caesar salad that also hits the spot. But when it comes to bread options, you could serve some garlic bread, crusty bread like sourdough bread, or even our copycat Olive Garden bread sticks.
You may want to garnish this soup with cheese. To top the soup, you could use fresh grated Romano or grated Parmesan.
More Olive Garden Copycat Recipes
- Asiago Tortelloni Alfredo with Grilled Chicken
- Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
- Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
- Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo
- Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
- Olive Garden Dressing
- Olive Garden Minestrone Soup
- Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli Soup
- Olive Garden Salad Recipe
- Zuppa Toscana
Popular Soup Recipes
Love soup? Check out these soup recipes and try one of my great dessert recipes to complete your meal.
Look at more of my copycat Olive Garden recipes to make your favorites at home.
Homemade Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced onion
- 1/2 cup finely diced celery
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 quart half-and-half
- 28 ounces chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 cup carrots finely shredded
- 1 cup spinach leaves coarsely chopped
- 1 cup chicken breast cooked, and diced
- 16 ounces package ready-to-use gnocchi
Instructions
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a large pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion becomes translucent.
- Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in the half-and-half. Simmer until thickened.
- Whisk in the chicken broth. Simmer until thickened again. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, thyme, parsley, nutmeg (if using), shredded carrots, spinach, chicken, and gnocchi.
- Simmer until the soup is heated through. Before serving, season with additional salt, if necessary.
Video
Notes
- You can use leftover roitisserie chicken for extra flavor
- You may want to use less thyme than suggested
- Some gnocchi is very large, you can cut these pieces in half
- You may want to add additional salt to the final soup. This soup does not have a lot of salt in it, especially if you use low-sodium chicken broth
My wife and I just ate this soup at the Olive Garden in Vermont and it was just so delicious that we felt that we couldn’t stop eating it.
I wasn’t sure what to do with the 1 Tbsp olive oil and could not find a use for it, so I am leaving it out. I am cooking the gnocchi right now, so will let you know how I liked the soup after dinner 🙂
You add it in with the butter when you sautee the vegetables. Thanks for noting that it wasn’t clear. ~Stephanie
Wondering if the thyme and parsley are fresh or dried? I saw comments that the thyme is a little strong, if the recipe is for fresh herbs and you use dried herbs this would make a big difference. If you use dried (and recipe calls for fresh) you would only need about half.
When I create recipes I use dry spices, I generally keep fairly fresh spices, I am a major fan of Myspicesage.com, penzeys.com, thespicehouse.com, so it may have been a difference on the level of seasoning we prefer. I have also noticed that when recipes are prepared from scratch, they can vary when you go to the restaurant.~Stephanie
Made this tonight-with a few changes. I live alone and was afraid gnocchi would be too mushy if I stored it for a day or two-so used tortellini instead. I also don’t care for spinach-so did not use it. I did use 1 and 1/2 cup chicken instead of 1 cup. Smelled and tasted delicious!!! This was the first time I made soup, will definately make this again. Thanks for the recipe.
At dinner today, at Olive Garden, I had this soup. It was TO DIE FOR! Im looking forward to making this soup at my next dinner party. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this!
Made the soup today. It taste great. A little thicker than Olive Garden, just use more broth. Other than that it was terrific. Now I just need their breadsticks to dip.
has any one every made this and is it any good?? becuase i was at olive garden and it was sooooo good.??
Well I made the soup, and it was pretty good 😉 ~Stephanie
very good! I didn’t have half and half so I used canned fat free milk. I used frozen spinach, didn’t have fresh.
Not so bad, a little thick. I need to go and have Olive Garden’s one more time to provide a final outcome.
i did not think it was like olive garden
Thanks for explaining why it was not like Olive Garden’s soup. Your comment was so helpful
This one is my favorite! I just found your recipe and am going to try it tonight. I hope it satisfies my Olive Garden craving! 🙂
This is a great recipe the Thyme is way to strong however I used 1/4 teaspon and it was still to strong. But am making a second batch and will add less than a pinch and see how it comes out. Thanks for this recipe I can have this anytime at home how great is that I am going to make this for girls lunch see if anyone can tell i made it myself…:)
this is really good and really easy, The only thing I cna say is the thyme is strong and you can use less.. about a pinch or two would do
I just made this tonight for dinner. My husband loved it! It was very easy to make. Thanks!
My husband is gonna LOVE ME when I make this for him!!! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Beef barley. My hands down favorite.
Gnocchi is my absolute favourite Italian dish – I usually make it with Gorgonzola sauce, but I may be tempted to try it in a soup! Delicious.
The secret to the Olive Garden’s Chicken and Gnocchi soup is the cardamom in the gnocchi. So make the gnocchi from scratch, and add cardamom if the recipe doesn’t call for it.
Soup making is one of my favorites signature dishes. I’m not that good at Asian soups, so I can’t resist a good Won Ton soup, or Pho soups. Yummy! As for your Olive Garden Kopycat… if I could get the breadsticks to go with it and no fat grams, I’d eat it with relish. This looks amazing!
Soup is one of my favorite meals…so Stephanie, of course I will try this soup. I often make a 6 qt crock pot full of soup to surprise my co-workers with. I think I will make this next along with some Parmesan bread sticks. Thanks for the recipe. It looks and sounds delicious.
Living in the Pacific Northwest, I have to say that it is hard for me to order anything else besides a LARGE bowl of creamy clam chowder, topped with some creamed sherry. Yum! My second choice is definitely french onion.