My version of “Olive Garden” Chicken Gnocchi Soup -This soup has bits of chicken with gnocchi, spinach, and other veggies in a rich broth. It is perfect paired with simple drop biscuits with a hint of garlic.
A while back a friend of mine asked me to come up with a recipe for Olive Garden’s Chicken Gnocchi soup. Well, I have to confess, I have only been to an Olive Garden maybe twice in my whole life and the last time was several years ago. And…I have never had their chicken gnocchi soup. It’s kind of hard to make a recipe for something you have never tried, so I went online and read some descriptions of their soup. This is what I came up with. I don’t know how it compares to their soup – though I can tell you that my soup does not come out of a bag and just get heated up in a pot.
This soup has bits of chicken with gnocchi, spinach, and other veggies in a rich broth. It is perfect paired with simple drop biscuits with a hint of garlic.
How to Make (Better than) Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
To begin, dice 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into 1/2 inch pieces. Salt and pepper them with a half teaspoon each.
In a Dutch oven, heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon of butter.
Toss in the chicken and cook until it is opaque and lightly golden in spots.
While the chicken is cooking, dice a 3 inch onion, 2 carrots, and 2 stalks of celery and mince 4 cloves of garlic.
Scoop the chicken out and set it aside in a dish.
To the pot, add 3 more tablespoons of butter and the veggies you have prepared. Cook the veggies over medium heat until the onions and garlic are tender.
Add in a quarter cup of flour. Stir it in and cook for 1 minute.
Add in a quart of chicken broth and1 1/2 c half & half.
Add in an additional half teaspoon of salt & pepper. Over medium heat, bring the soup to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally.
When the soup has come to a gentle boil, add a pound of gnocchi.
Add in a tablespoon each of parsley and basil, a half teaspoon of thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.
Along with those, add in 10 ounces of frozen spinach that has been thawed, rinsed, and drained.
And finally add the chicken back into the pot. Let everything simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the gnocchi are cooked through. That gives you just enough time to whip up some simple drop biscuits to go with it.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, a tablespoon of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a teaspoon of garlic powder. Stir those together and add in a half cup of melted butter and a cup of milk. Stir until just combined.
Scoop the dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet using a muffin scoop or tablespoons. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are lightly golden in spots.
Serve the soup with a little sprinkling of shredded parmesan cheese.
Enjoy!
Pair this soup with my Easy Garlic Biscuits.
“Olive Garden” Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless diced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 Tb extra virgin olive oil
- 4 Tb butter, divided
- 1 teaspoon pepper, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 onion, 3 inch diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 c flour
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 1 1/2 c half & half
- 1 lb packaged gnocchi
- 1 Tb basil
- 1 Tb parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, rinsed, & drained
Fort Serving
- grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- To begin, salt and pepper the diced with a half teaspoon each. Heat the olive oil and a tablespoon of the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add in the chicken and cook until opaque and lightly golden in some spots.
- Scoop the chicken out to a dish and set aside for now.
- Add in the remaining butter along with the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the onion and garlic are tender.
- Stir in the flour and cook for one minute.
- Add in the chicken broth and half & half along with the remaining half teaspoon each of salt & pepper. Stir together and bring to a gentle boil.
- Add in all of the remaining ingredients and finally add the chicken back into the pot. Let everything simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until the gnocchi are cooked through.
- Serve topped with grated parmesan.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
If nutritional values are provided for this recipe, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands of ingredients you use. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste or for serving. If nutritional values are very important to you, I suggest using your favorite nutritional calculating tool with the brands you use.
Sounds so good. Thank you Constance and have a Wonderful Sunday!
I was not prepared for how good this recipe was going to be. I doubled everything, for starters, and it’s a good thing I did, because it was a big hit. The only things I did differently were replace the half and half with milk and add 2 chicken bullion cubes.
For the rolls, I used garlic salt (instead of salt + garic powder) and added grated parmesan cheese to the dough — I highly recommend this! Definitely take in that wonderful aroma, afterwards.
Thank you for the amazing recipe! I think it’s one of our new favorites.
I’m so happy you liked them! Those rolls are so flexible, you can do all sorts of lovely variations of them! :)
I shared this on our facebook wall today and you are quite the hit :-) https://www.facebook.com/hiphomeschoolmoms/posts/10152204989507936?stream_ref=10 I’ve never had this… so I’m looking forward to making it next week. Have I mentioned how thankful I am that you are on our team? :-) Have a great weekend!
This looks delicious! I’m pinning because I’d love to try it sometime.
Looks Amazing!!!
Oh this soup looks fantastic. I have enjoyed this at Olive Garden and thank you so much for sharing the recipe to make at home! I can’t wait to make this since my entire family orders it and loves it so much. Wonderful step by step photos too! xo Roz
Roz, since you gave had their soup, you will have to let me know how the recipe compares.
That sounds fab!!! thanks.