This chicken gnocchi soup is a copycat of Olive Garden’s. It’s so quick and simple to make, that you can have a restaurant-quality soup any day of the week.

If you’re a fan of the Olive Garden, you’ve likely fallen for the creamy chicken gnocchi soup. After spending so much time trying to imitate the recipe at home, we can fairly say that we like our version better. The best part about whipping it up yourself is that you can fine-tune the flavors to fit your tastebuds. If you like it spicy, add a bit more cracked pepper. If you have different veggies you’re trying to get rid of, throw them in the soup instead.
Got more gnocchi? Try this easy 6 ingredient baked gnocchi recipe– it’s creamy, cheesy and so good!

Make Your Own Homemade Gnocchi
If you want to be an all-star, make the gnocchi from scratch. Find everything you need to know about how to whip them up using our guide on easy potato gnocchi. Making gnocchi is a bit time-consuming, but it is worth it. When you do set aside the time to take the plunge, make sure you prepare several batches so you can freeze gnocchi and have them on hand for later to toss with your favorite sauce.
Store-Bought Gnocchi: If you are a bit strapped for time or not in the mood to get your hands dirty, go to the grocery store and purchase premade gnocchi. Trader Joe’s has excellent gnocchi to use when you are in a pinch.

How to Make Chicken Gnocchi Soup from Scratch
It’s best to whip up this chicken gnocchi soup in a dutch oven – it’s our favorite pot for making soup because it distributes heat evenly and can hold 2 or 3 batches.
- Prepare the Chicken: Season the chicken breasts and cook them in a pan until golden brown. Cube the chicken up and set it aside. If you want a fattier, richer soup, opt for skinless chicken thighs instead.
- Sauté the Veggies: In a large skillet warmed to medium heat, sauté the pressed garlic cloves with the diced onion, celery, and carrots until softened in some melted butter or olive oil. Whisk in the flour.
- Add in the Liquid Ingredients: Stir in the half-and-half and cooked chicken. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add your chicken broth and bring the soup to a simmer again.
- Add in the Gnocchi: Add in the gnocchi and cook them according to the package instructions.
- Stir in the Spinach: Stir in the spinach and remove the soup from heat. Season it to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve the soup piping hot with a nice piece of no-knead bread.
Hot Tip: Garnish the soup with freshly grated parmesan cheese or fresh herbs like thyme, oregano, or basil.




3 Tips For The Best Chicken Gnocchi Soup
These tips will help you make a chicken gnocchi soup that’s even better than Olive Garden’s.
- Chop the veggies into equal-sized pieces. Dice your veggies into equal-sized pieces to promote even cooking.
- Supercharge the cooking process with store-bought gnocchi. Use store-bought gnocchi if you’re on a time crunch.
- Opt for fresh baby spinach over frozen spinach. Fresh spinach is ideal for this soup. The frozen stuff will water down the soup if you don’t let it completely thaw and squeeze out all of the excess moisture.
What to Serve Chicken Gnocchi Soup With
Chicken Gnocchi Soup is rich and filling on its own. But, if you want to round it out for a full meal, pair it with one of the following Momsdish favorites:
- Caesar Salad Recipe (Homemade Dressing): What goes better with pasta than a classic caesar salad?
- Classic Garden Cucumber Tomato Salad: The perfect combination of crunch and vinegar to cut through all the fatty richness of the cream in the gnocchi soup.
- Easy Focaccia Bread: Make no-fuss focaccia bread in a pinch and sop up all that delicious broth.
- The Perfect 5-Minute Asparagus: It only takes three ingredients to make the perfect asparagus.
- Cheesy Zucchini Breadsticks: These carbohydrates-free breadsticks are packed full of flavor and contain zero flour.
Storing Chicken Gnocchi Soup
If you have leftovers, it is best to plan to eat them within 5 days. Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge to keep it fresh and from absorbing any lingering smells in your refrigerator.

FAQ
What is gnocchi made of?
Traditional gnocchi is made with a combination of potatoes, all-purpose flour, eggs, and salt. The dough is then rolled and shaped into logs, sliced down into bite-sized pieces, and boiled until tender and chewy.
Is gnocchi considered a potato dish or pasta?
Gnocchi is somewhere between a potato dumpling and pasta. The addition of the riced potatoes into the flour-based dough makes for a wonderfully dense and chewy texture.
When are gnocchi done cooking?
Gnocchi is fully-cooked and ready to eat when they float to the top of the boiling liquid or broth that you’re cooking them in. If you cook it too much longer, it will begin to break down and lose that signature al dente texture.
Why did the gnocchi in your chicken gnocchi soup turn out mushy?
The gnocchi in your chicken gnocchi soup likely turned out mushy if you overcooked it. Once the gnocchi floats to the top of the pot, it’s ready.
Can you freeze chicken gnocchi soup?
Sadly, freezing chicken gnocchi soup isn’t a great idea. The dairy breaks down when you freeze it and upon reheating the texture turns funky. It’s best to eat the soup within a week and store it in the refrigerator.
More Tasty Soup Recipes You’ll Love
- Gnocchi Zuppa Toscana Soup – Creamy gnocchi soup with Italian sausage
- Creamy Spinach Tortellini Soup – Cheese-stuffed pasta in a creamy broth
- Italian Sausage Kale Soup Recipe – Sausage and white bean soup
- Minestrone Soup – Veggie soup with a tomato-based broth
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp garlic parsley salt
- oil for cooking chicken
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 3 garlic cloves pressed
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 qt half and half
- 24 oz chicken broth
- 16 oz gnocchi
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1/2 tbsp parsley chopped
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Season the chicken on both sides with garlic parsley salt. Preheat the skillet over medium-high heat and cook the chicken until it's golden brown. Poke the chicken with a knife to see if it's cooked through. Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes and dice it into 1-inch cubes.
- Dice, chop, and prepare the veggies for the soup.
- Melt the butter with oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the diced onion, celery, carrots, and pressed garlic. Cook the veggies, stirring them occasionally until they soften. Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture for about 1 minute.
- Pour in the half-and-half and cooked chicken and bring the soup to a simmer. Add in the chicken broth and bring it to a simmer again.
- Add the gnocchi and simmer it until gnocchi float to the top and are fully cooked. Add in the spinach and remove the soup from the heat.
- Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Delicious recipe! Perfect recipe for fall weather! Made it twice already and had my sister in law make it as well.
Hi Oxana - I totally agree! It's one of those comforts that I always return to during the cold weather season. I'm so glad you and your sis have it on repeat too. Thanks for brightening my day!
Hi Natasha, if I use already cooked chicken like the kind you buy from Costco how many cups of chicken will I need for this recipe ?
Hey Valentina, I would say about 1.5 cups of chicken.
Should I defrost my gnocchi if I bought mine frozen?
Hey Ruslana, you can add them frozen. Enjoy!
It was delicious!
Happy to hear this!
Made this soup twice now and it’s soo good! I use the packaged dried gnocchi from Walmart instead of fresh.
Hi Inna, thank you so much for sharing your feedback! I really appreciate you coming back to let me know.
Can I use frozen Gnocchi from Trader Joes?
Yes, you can. Their gnocchi are amazing.
I'm planning on making this soup this week so I did some prepping and did the gnochis from your recipe and froze them. When I'm making the soup should I cook them first and then throw them into soup or should I throw them in the order you have on here frozen.
Thanks
You can do either way, just cook for a bit longer if you use gnocchi. Tell me how you like the soup.
Made the soup and it turned out delicious. Thank u for the recipe!!!
That always makes me so happy when you guys enjoy the recipe.
DELICIOUS!!!!! Thanks,I love your cooking 🙂
Oh!! You are so nice. Thanks
DELICIOUS!!!!! Thanks, love your cooking 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. This is one of the few soups my kids like, and my 7 year old actually requests it!
That's is so awesome, it's hard to get kids to eat soups! Thanks for sharing your feedback.
I love that you use chicken breast in this soup I think they use some other part at olive garden, loved this soup except that part, will make this at home for sure. Thank you! I'm about to make golden key cake have been eyeing it for a while lol
Homemade version is always better, you get to use the good ingredients. And speaking of cake, it's my favorite cake of all. You reminding me of it just made me hungry!
Hi, what kind of gnocchi do you use? Because I bought potato gnocchi, that's the only one I found in the store.
Yes they are potato gnocchi. Here is the recipe I used http://momsdish.com/r349
i agree! tastes better than olive garden by far......and way less expensive. this ones a keeper!
Hey! Yes the cost is always such a huge bonus but also you get to control ingredients! 🙂
I just wanted to thank you so much for posting this awesome soup!! It turned out so so so good. Couldn't help but leave a comment. I've bragged to all my friends about your amazing website. You ROCK.
Hey Jenn, please leave comments 🙂 I love reading them.
That is so cool of you to share with your friend about the site 😉 ppl like you make me want to post more recipes.
My hubby would agree with you on this soup. Oh, he can eat a whole pot of it.
Ha, he has good taste! But that's because all you're postings are amazing. My macaroons turn out great thanks to your steps. I'll tag you on Instagram to show you one I made. Can't wait to try the rest of you're amazing creations--not only for busy moms but busy nursing students 🙂
Oh yeah, nursing students is a hard job 🙂 blessings with that!
If I wanted to add mushrooms to this, what should I do?
Saute mushrooms prior to adding them tot he soup. Add together with gnocchi. I haven't tried this, so I am not sure how it would turn out.
How much parsley do you use?
About 1/2 tablespoon of chopped parsley.
Thanks for such a quick reply! Made it last night and it was absolutely delicious!!! Thanks for yet another great recipe!
I love getting comments, now working on replying back really quick 🙂 so glad you loved the soup, my hubby would agree with you 🙂
This looks delicious.Homemade always tastes better.I get the same compliment for zuppa toscana.That it taste better then at restaurant.
I think its because it is so fresh and we use better ingredients at home 🙂
Looks so yummy and creamy! Great meal, especially on a cold day. 🙂
Yes, our weather in WA is chilly now so its a perfect way to warm up.