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 husband ate all my carrots! Substituted with snow peas…still delicious! Also, used both whole milk and half and half. Thank you for a great recipe!
this made me laugh
How do you cook the chicken like they do???
You simply grill it with a little salt and pepper.
This was really good and so close to the real OG soup. I was wondering, mine was very thick – could I use more chicken broth to correct that?
You can absolutely add little more chicken broth.
I had the soup at Olive Garden and loved it and HAD to make it at home. Happen to find the gnocchi at Target of all places. It was enough for my whole family and even brought extra for lunch and shared with a coworker. She complimented me on it for a few days. I went back to Olive Garden to compare and I loved mine more. Of course, I had to tell the waitress. Anyway, THANKS!! I LOVED the receipe. I’m making it again this weekend! 🙂
Planning on making this tonight. In case something doesn’t go right, a couple of questions: One: what’s a roux? It sounds like sauce that I’m making with the sauteed butter and veggies–that’s what I intend to do. Second, it also sounds like I’m making all of this in a skillet which sounds weird. Anyway, here’s hoping it works.
Didn’t turn out so good; I blame it on being my first attempt. I’d have to say the amount of celery needs to be halved and get rid of the thyme entirely, maybe add basil instead.
Jeff, I don’t know what happened. Let me offer a suggestion or two, chop the celery smaller, or if you don’t like it, leave some of it out. There is no basil in their soup, so maybe you would like to cut the amount of thyme back?
I completely agree! The thyme left a weird aftertaste that I had to add a bunch more chicken broth and some garlic powder to counteract. But after that, it was fantastic!
How funny! I thought the thyme was perfect. Actually I added a bit more of both the thyme and the parsley and a little salt and pepper and mine was perfect!
It’s true! I hated the aftertaste of the thyme, but after adding the garlic powder and broth it tasted great! Oh… and I made mine with light cream instead of the half & half and it was awesome!!!
I don’t think you have to use a skillet. I would recommend using a stock pot (probably 5 or 7 quart).
loved this recipe! absolutely delicious! Thank you so much 🙂
I made this the other night; makes quite a bit. We loved it. I made it with lactose free milk instead of half & half as I am intolerant. still came out good just not as creamy. Also added cayenne pepper for some extra spice. I will definately make it again!
This soup did not taste anything like Olive Gardens. It was very bland. I couldn’t even eat it. I followed the recipe to a T. VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!
I don’t know why your soup didn’t taste like the Olive Garden. I am so sorry you couldn’t eat it even though you followed the recipe to the T. This isn’t a spicy soup, I wouldn’t call this bland. Maybe if you could share with us what you did, we could help you diagnose what happened.
I think it may have to do with the preparation of the chicken. If you used leftover rotisserie chicken, which has been seasoned, you would not need additional salt. Same goes for using any other leftover chicken that has already been cooked and seasoned. I cooked my chicken in the microwave, without any seasoning, and found the soup did need salt. When I cook this again (it was amazing, by the way), I will add salt to taste.
Brillant explanation! Thank you for explaining that so clearly.
Teri,
I noticed it is very bland as well when you don’t had salt. They didn’t include salt in the recipe and I added about 2 tsp or so. This made a huge difference!
I’ve been looking for a Gnocchi soup recipe and when I saw this one from Olive Garden I was thrilled as I’ve had it there. I’m especially pleased at the different comments from people who have made it; and their feed back. I am going to make it tonight. wish me luck!
I hope your soup turned out well!
I’m glad I did make it; it was a great way to see if we would like gnocchi. My sister-in-law also wanted the recipe she liked it so much. I did use lactose free milk in mine and added a pinch of cayenne pepper. came out great!
Excellent recipe, used diced potato instead of the gnocci since I could not find it at the grocery store. I also added extra spinach, carrots, celery, and chicken to make it heartier.
look in the frozen pasta section. 🙂 Should be there…
Try Target beleive it or now. I have used the frozen stuff before and was very disappointed. The one at Target comes in a vacuum sealed package so you should just find it on the shelf. It’s a but pricey but oh so good! It really makes the soup!
I love going to Target. I did love the diced potato’s though. Made it a meal instead of just a starter soup. I will try looking for the gnocci at Target. Thanks Regina
You can make your own gnocchi, that is what I did. It turned out really good! I plan to use gnocchi for my chicken and dumpling recipe too, since they make wonderful dumplings and are healthier than what I have been using. Here is the website for the recipe: http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/lauras-potato-gnocchi.aspx
The soup at olive garden was much thinner so i added almost twice as much chicken broth and a lot of salt and it turned out much better than the first time i made it.
Sometimes I have found the soup varies in thickness, but I loved the way you handled that by adding more broth.
Excellent recipe. Easy to follow and delicious. I ended up not having gnocchi, and used cheese tortellini, it made the soup a bit thicker, but still came out very good. Thank you!
That sounds yummy! I might have to try that once just for fun.
I agree, it is most likely old garlic. I never use garlic from the produce department anymore. I use the jar stuff and have never had a problem and come to find out, Bobby Flay uses it at his restaurants all the time! Who knew?
I am posting a link tomorrow on my own blog to your delicious recipe. I made it last night. My post was more about homemade alternatives in general than this specific recipe, but I wanted to give you credit and say thanks!
Wonderful! I look forward to your post!
Thanks! here is a link: http://happyhippiehomemaker.blogspot.com/2011/03/copycat-recipes-rural-cheap-hippie.html
I love this soup, both at Olive Garden and at home. Since my husband doesn’t care for the gnocchi, I have also made it with small bow ties. It would work as well with any small pasta. Please keep them coming and Thank You. Martha
Excellent Recipe especially when made with home made gnocchi and breadsticks from scratch! I would recommend buying gnocchi though if you are in a pinch for time.
For those of you watching calories and fat I make this using Smart Balance spread instead of butter, lowfat Almond Milk instead of half and half, low sodium/low fat chicken broth and whole wheat gnocchi. It always comes out fantastic.
Thanks for those alternative suggestions!
Thanks Nicole for your heart healthy alternative!
and for those who keep kosher (or vegetarian)…use cream of celery soup and no chicken! Fabulous too!
That’s a great suggestion. I appreciate it!
Great Recipe…thanks for taking the time to draw this one up!
Would love to have the recipe to make Ragazzi’s Sausage and Potato Soup as well as Carabba’s Sausage and Lentil Soup. Made the Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup…this recipe ROCKED!!!
Thank you for your other suggestions!
Is there a way to do this in a crock pot?
You know this soup really doesn’t take long to prepare. You are using precooked chicken, so I don’t think you need to cook it for very long. If you are going to put this into a crock pot, I definitely wouldn’t add the spinach ahead of time.
I made this tonight on the stove but I am serving it tomorrow. I want to put it in the crock pot on warm since people will be in and out all day and eating at different times. I didn’t add the spinach yet. I’m going to add it tomorrow. Do you think it will be okay in the crock tomorrow on warm?
I think you stand a chance of the gnocchi turning into mush if you do leave this in a crock pot all day long.