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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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
Hello!
Followed the recipe but added pepper & a little more salt. It came out perfectly. Thank you so much for this!!!
I don’t eat chicken but this recipe looks so good I really want to try it. Think I could omit the chicken and it be ok? Or maybe add shrimp?
You could totally omit the chicken and it would just be a creamy soup. I don’t eat food from the water so I can’t say anything about the shrimp.????
Maybe try scallops…
We don’t do chicken either, we substitute it with 1 1/2 cups cooked cannellini beans (or 1 15 oz. can drained and rinsed), we also use vegetable stock instead of chicken.
Hello. I had some of this soup home made copying olive gardens. I loved it and wanted to make it so bad but my bfs sister isn’t someone that I could ask for recipe and I wasn’t going to ask her. Anyway I went and tried olive gardens but there’s was too creamy for me. I like more of a broth base. The one I ate at home was luke broth base , I couldn’t make out in had cream. I’m real sensitive to it too so I don’t think it did but I dunno. Do you have Any suggestions… I would like to guess to add less half and half more broth but I’m new to the cooking thing. Thanks
This came out wrong. Let me start over….
One night at my then boyf’s house his parents called for dinner and usually I don’t eat with them ( pre cooked garbage ) but this night he brought a bowl of soup and ask me to try it. I did and I loved it but as it turns out his sister made it. I would’ve ask but she’s not approachable in the least so I ask their momma for recipe but getting recipe wasn’t easy as they all walk on egg shells with this loud girl. But I got the info that it was inspired by olive Garden’s soup.
I do not like cream based foods and I have had a sensitively to it long as I remember. I just don’t do it. With that said , the soup I had at their house . It was def not a cream base. It may have been well mask and flavored with a good broth to cream ratio like .5 : 1.5 broth but STILL I noticed no cream and I always can taste the slightest amt ..Well anyway the soup has these little dumpling noodle things I had not seen prior to this, plain as pasta nothing else inside of them but tasted good and Ioved the texture, chicken breast pulled off style , had spinach and thin sliced carrots. Those are the ones I know but I’m fairly confident it had potatoes (diced/cut very small squares ) and slivers of celery. I’m not as confident on those two.
The broth like base was thin (some may say bland ) like chicken soup broth. I went to the Olive Garden to get some of theirs. The thing I noticed right away was the color of the soup. It looks thicker broth/base with the same ingredients. I did taste with an open mind but NOO it was not the same.. After a little searching I found yours looks closest. I would prefer not messing with ingredients on my own. I would like your opinion since you know what you’re doing and familiar with the soup. Sorry so long. I just wanted to be clear. Ps. Love your website
Mine came out amazing and wasn’t too creamy. I like to eat healthier so I used chic pea flour instead of regular flour…also I used 1%milk but you can use cashew milk if cows milk irritates you. Here is my comment from above.
I wish I had the spinach but the stores are closed because of hurricane Irma. ????…so I actually made it a totally different way. I feel like the chicken broth would taste better fresh so I cooked the onion, celery, garlic and carrot in the pan with olive oil and a chicken thigh and browned it. Then poured in the water and let that simmer for about 20 mins. Seasoned that with thyme, salt, pepper and basil. In a separate pot, I made a rou with chic pea flour and butter and pored in milk Slowly because I had no half and half. Seasoned with salt and pepper and added parmigian cheese and made a creamy like sauce. I removed the chicken and let it sit then added the cream sauce to the pot of chicken broth. I then added the gnocchi and let that simmer a few minutes and then added the chicken. Was pretty good for my first time making it. CANt wait tonhave the spinach next time and half and half.
When I make it, I will be making it with Lactose free vitamin D milk. Probably the closest to half and half I will be able to make it. Both my daughter and I are lactose intolerant. Might try some of that milk if the normal stuff bothers you.
I forgot to buy the spinach, do you think the soup will be fine without?
I think so.
How many servings does this make?
My husband loves the chicken and gnocchi soup from Olive Garden. He had been bugging me to try to make it at home. After reviewing several copycat recipes online, I decided on yours based on the pic (it looked the best and most like the restaurant) and on all of the good comments. I am so happy that I did…the soup was DELICIOUS!!! Very rich, creamy, and flavorful. I followed your recipe almost exactly except substituted a few dried herbs/seasonings instead of fresh. I used a 10 oz can of premium chunk chicken breast but will make it with two cans next time as you mentioned in your comments. My husband was very satisfied with the soup as well and stated, “it tastes BETTER than Olive Garden’s.” He is very picky and hard to please so I am glad this was a hit. I definitely will be making this again and cannot wait. Thank you for this wonderful copycat recipe. Looking forward to trying others as well.
I am glad you liked the recipe!
I actually make this once a month, I never add thyme and I only use homemade gnocchi as the packaged ones have a slight preservative taste In my picky opinion. Anyhow, it’s wonderful, enjoy!
Cooking your recipe for dinner tonight! Excited to try it! Would this soup be good to freeze and have later?
I freeze mine all the time 🙂 I prefer to use foods saver bags because it separates a litter when thawed, so you can squish and mix everything back together when it’s in the bags 🙂 it would be fine either way, just mix it back up before you reheat.
This is FANTASTIC!! Even my picky son and biggest critic loved it and that is saying a lot!! He now asks for it. I’ve shared it with others and they feel the same way. I’ve made it 3 times, first w left over rotisserie chicken and it seemed to take over the flavor of the soup. Next time I use cooked chicken breast and it was a bit dry in the soup. 3rd time I used can chicken breast and it was perfect. It tastes just like Olive Garden. Thank you!!!
I am glad you enjoy the recipe!
Stephanie! What can I say but YUMMY!!!! This is my favorite soup at Olive Garden. My husband said “Don’t let it go to your head, but this soup was out of this world!”. So easy and very filling. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great Recipe! Now I’m feeling Fat & Sassy????
I’m glad I watched the video first. It shows the gnocchi being boiled first before putting it in the soup. Someone commented theirs was slightly raw. That’s probably why. Also the instructions don’t say put the spinach last but the video shows that.
Funny you mention the video. I had issues with the gnocchi being a little raw too. I had to keep boiling the soup forever it seemed to get them to cook thoroughly. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to boil them separate before adding them in. It actually helped thicken the soup and made it creamier so that was a plus. I just watched the video after leaving a comment for Stephanie and saw she did boil them first. Then I read your comment haha.
I just made this per recipe, with 1 can of chicken stock, even put in nutmeg- it’s a winner! You hit the nail on the head with this one, Stephanie.
I have tried this a couple of times. The last time I made it I used chicken thighs and legs instead of the breast and it was more flavorful. Also, I used half of the half and half and added a cup of sour cream with chives to thicken. It was yummy!
Chicken with bones … always more flavorful ???????? Good idea
instead of half and half can I use heavy whipping cream to make it a bit thicker?
You can, I have, but I generally make a rous to make it thicker, it’s a lot cheaper, and not as fattening. Or you could use a potato that has been pulverized in the blender with the half and half 🙂 I’ve done it a lot of ways…I make this soup a lot for my family. I even make homemade gnocchi for it. It’s delicious!
I plan to make this soup for a soup club. Will it be okay to make it on the stove, then put it on low in a crockpot the following day to warm it up?
That shouldn’t be a problem. I would warm it a bit before putting it in the crock though, just to make sure it gets up to temp in time 🙂
This was AMAZING!! My family loved it. Definitely will be making this again! Thank you!!
When do you put the chicken in – in this recipe?
I just had a bowl of the real Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi soup last week, but I apparently didn’t get my fill, so I tried out this recipe tonight. My husband and 2.5 yr old daughter loved it, so it’s definitely going in the recipe box! I think it tastes so similar to the restaurant version, too. Thanks!
I can’t believe anyone would have negative comments about this recipe! This has become a staple in my house. The first time I made it I had misread the recipe, but it came out so good that I just continue to make it that way. I use just a pint of half and half, and 4 cups of chicken broth.( Actually I use chicken base and water instead of broth ). I don’t like thyme so I leave that out. And didn’t have parsley the first time I made it, so I also leave that out too. I highly recommend using the rotisserie chicken. Not only is it super easy, the flavor it adds to the soup is amazing. The chicken base has plenty of sodium, so I never add salt. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’ve made it dozens of times.
Hi Stephanie! You did a great job with the recipe, my boyfriend loves it! He personally doesn’t like the thyme taste so we probably won’t throw that in later, but everything else was great. We didn’t cook the gnocchi before putting it into the soup (it was prepackaged) so it was still a bit raw.. our fault though! A couple of these comments are a little harsh and I think they just didn’t cook it correctly. Thanks again for this recipe! SO good! 🙂
Thank you! I don’t know why some people find thyme so offensive.
I can comment on that. I have a nose like a bloodhound, and so many herbs quickly overwhelm me. Add to that, my Mom was a very good PA Dutch cook, and I grew up without encountering too much more than onion garlic and black pepper. I use herbs in cooking now, but with extreme caution! hehe