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
I made this soup today. It was good for the most part except I screwed up I think with the vegetables. The carrots and celery weren’t tender. I think I cut them up too big. It also needed some salt, but maybe that’s because I used reduced sodium chicken broth. I wasn’t sure when the soup was getting thick or not, I don’t think I did enough time for that either. I really flopped this recipe when cooking this soup.
Jessica, it definitely sounds like you know what to do next time to help make the soup a little better.
I made this tonight for dinner and it was EXCELLENT. I used Gnocchi whole wheat pasta, as I could not find the potato Gnocchi, but you do not miss it. We had this soup at Olive Garden this past week and this recipe was just as delicious.
i ate 4 bowls of the chicken gnocchi soups for the first time it was amazing u guys sould be really proud of your selfs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Since I love this soup at Olive Garden, I had to try it. WOW, it was great. I think next time I will add another can of broth & see how it tastes, but I thought it was pretty much right on the money as is. Thanks for this recipe!
This soup was awesome…..easy to make and perfect for this cold, gloomy November day!
This soup is AMAZING! We doubled the chicken and chicken broth and used only 1/4 tsp of thyme. We will definitely be making this again. THANK YOU.
is there a place with stats like carb content?? ty
I don’t provide nutritional info, I am not qualified dietician. I have software recommendations on my about page, if you want to run your own nutritional information.
I thought this was really good!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I am very preggos and have of course getting cravings, this soup hit the spot thank you so much!
I just made this recipe, and eating it right now. I made it vegetarian though, with vegetable broth and no chicken. Even with those changes, this soup is still remarkably close to The Olive Garden’s. I imagine that with the chicken broth and chicken, it would be almost exact. Will be adding this recipe to my stash, and making it often! Thanks!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe for the Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup, it is one of my favorites too.
This recipe is perfect as-is. I made it for my family and they loved it and I will be making it for both sets of in-laws tomorrow night for dinner, because as my husband said “it’s impressive”. Thanks.
This was a very easy recipe to follow. My family and I felt there was way too much thyme in this soup. It was a little bland so I ended up adding more chicken stock and a little salt. Once we got passed the thyme, the soup was very good. I will be making it again for a party this weekend, but will only put in a small pinch of thyme.
THIS RECIPE WAS AWESOME I PREPARED IT YESTERDAY AND FED 8 PEOPLE, SERVING PLENTY TO EVERYBODY. THANKS U SAVE MY LIFE!!!!!
I’m making this recipe as I type this. The actual cooking instructions (time/temp/boil or simmer?) could be a lot more specific. But so far it tastes good!
I have made a few additions to the directions for the soup recipe, I hope this was/is helpful for you. ~stephanie
I was wondering how many people this recipe will feed
I edited the recipe to show it will serve about 8 servings. ~Stephanie
Thanks so much for the quick reply. I’m making this tomorrow for my in-laws!
wow a great recipice finally the real recipice of olive garden i did the soup today exactly how they said but add 1 more can of broth and use perdu chicken breast short cut and rosted put more then a cup waited for the soup to thicken i was amazed by the taste and texture .i will eat this with garlic bread i can wait for my husband to come home and try it.i am going to copy this in my book recipice .tums up
I think made this my family loved it! We subbed milk for half and half because I forgot it and the thickness was perfect. Our grocery had prepared gnocchi, so I used those and half the amount of frozen spinich and it was great.
Made it tonight follow directions exactly, it was great. I bought store bought gnocchi from Trader Joes, I might make my own next time or just leave out, bacon might be a nice touch too. Very good will make again
This was good…I used 2 cans of chicken broth, and added some basil and fresh parsley to it. Also made homemade gnocchi. Used 2 cups half and half and 2 cups one percent milk. Topped with fresh grated cheese.
The one major flaw in this recipe is that there is not enough chicken stock in relation to half&half which causes the soup to be quite bland compared to Olive Garden’s version. I suggest adding at least 50% more chicken stock, if not twice as much. Also, I would add the celery in with the onion and garlic in the beginning because otherwise it is too crunchy in the finished soup.