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.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Table of Contents
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
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Its very good. We swapped out gnocchi for cubed and cooked potatoes. Turned out great. We also thought the thyme was strong but after adding more broth it was perfect.
I just made this and it was AMAZING!!!
Have made this several times and it is fantastic every time .making it Sunday for a church gathering.
I made this soup today with your homemade gnocchi recipe and your breadsticks recipe. And it was delicious!! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipies!!
Bland and unremarkable. I followed the recipe exactly as written and found the soup to be a waste of time and money.
You should add a twist to it with your own seasonings and some cheeses. That’s what I plan to do when I make it.
I am on the fence about this recipe. I really want to like it and I think it could be fantastic but the Thyme is overwhelming (even with 1/2 tsp) so I might cut that back next time I make it.
Do you have a recommendation for a good ready gnocchi? The one I purchased is just not complimenting the recipe.
Last comment! In the ingredients section – you are missing the salt measurement (but it is listed in the directions).
I appreciate your comments. I have a hard time figuring out how 1/2 teaspoon of a herb for a gallon of soup to be too much, but if it is for you, then omit it. it sounds like thyme may not be your favorite herb, no problem there. With things I don’t love, I always scale up on them, instead of adding them in all at once.
As far as recommendations on gnocchi you might like fresh best. Check the refrigerated section of your grocery store for ready made pasta. I love whole foods in house made pasta, but I think that is overkill for this dish.
You should season with salt to taste. You may need a little more or a little less. Depending on if you used low sodium or a regular chicken broth, or if you started with fresh chicken as opposed to chicken that had already been seasoned and cooked.
I think cooking is more of an art than a science. There is a lot of variability in fresh ingredients. My recipe serves only as a guide for your cooking. You should always season and adapt a recipe to your personal preferences.
I made this for dinner tonight. It is awesome and tastes just like the real deal. Very impressed. Thank you for sharing it!
Can I use coconut milk in place of half n half?
You could, the recipe would functionally work, but I would not be up for that flavor, but that is me. I would rather use a cashew milk, again, that would be my personal preference.
I use canned coconut milk (the higher the fat the more it is like half and half). I wouldn’t use the drinking coconut milk (like so delicious, silk, etc). The recipe turns out awesome!
Ugh forgot the garlic. Would garlic salt or powder work? How much?
I would add about 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder.
would the soup be fine without the onion my mom is allergic .?
I think so.
My family loves this soup so I surprised them and made it for supper. They ate the entire pot and even though I’m a fairly good cook they could not believe I hadn’t purchased it from O. G. Thanks so much for the recipe. I will be making this on a regular basis.
Wow. That is a serious thumbs up from your family. It’s great when you can make a meal your whole family will love.
Will it still turn out ok without the half and half? Snowed in in Jersey right now and this sounds delicious!
It will work ok. Half and half is better for when you want to reheat.
I’ve made this soup lots of times because I enjoy the original at Olive Garden & think this homemade version is delicious. This soup does not disappoint on the flavor profile, we absolutely love it. I make the recipe as is with 2 changes. I double all ingredients except the half & half, nutmeg & gnocci. It’s vegetable hearty, thick & makes a big pot of soup. I also cut regular gnocchi in half or lately I have found the mini pearl type gnocchi, which is slightly more expensive but perfectly sized. I made this last night for dinner, husband ate 2 bowls, today we are in the middle of a blizzard…but it’s warm & comforting in my kitchen with this awesome new classic soup on hand. Thanks so much for this recipe, I haven’t made my regular chicken soup since finding this, it’s a keeper in my book! Now I have to see what other goodies are on this teriffic site!
We are also very snowed in…have this soup cooking now…va here
I hope the soup keeps you warm and toasty.
I also cut the gnocchi in half. I luv this soup and can eat the entire pot by myself!!
I have been looking for a comment/reply about when do you add the spinach – that is not in the directions – and what is the lemon juice for – also not in the directions. No one commented on it, so please let me know what to do with those two ingredients. Thanks!
Oops, sorry, wrong recipe! Do I feel stupid now 🙂
JayPea, thank you… You made me laugh, after reading your posts. I’ve also made this mistake, more than once. Good for you, for admitting you were wrong; If you had not I wouldn’t have had “a laugh.” Thanks again, for “just being human.”
Sincerely,
Tammy Starr
Turned out great!..Even with dollar store ingredients..tried it first with cheaper ingredients in case i screwed up but it still came out great…loved it…will continue to use those ingredients by the way..lol…my family really enjoyed this recipe..
The dollar stores will sometimes surprise you with what they have in them.
Absolutely LOVED it and so did my hubby. Yummy! Thank you.
Love love love this recipe!! I have made this over and over, never have enough lol. To anyone that hesitates on adding the nutmeg, don’t. I am not a fan of the spice, however it really makes the soup unique so don’t skip it. I have also gotten rave reviews, and everyone like it better than the one it is created in like of. Kudos to you for sharing this one 🙂
Hi Stephanie,
First time trying to cook this soup with this recipe and it came out awesome, just as good as Olive Garden. ‘m a guy that’s not afraid of the kitchen, or trying new things but was pleased & well worth it when my girlfriend said it was better than when she tried to make it using a different recipe. Made it as a starter soup before the main course, baked ziti (first time making this too), but the soup was very filling. Saving this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
I want to make it the night before and heat it up the next day. Will it still retain it’s creamy-ness and also, stay thick?
Help! I thought my gnocchi was ready to use. It was the refrigerated Rana brand. I guess I should have boiled them first. They are just soft blobs of dough not cooking in my simmering soup. How can I fix this without ruining the soup?