Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This copycat Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup is extra delicious, easy to make, and super hearty. The most perfect and comforting soup to make anytime of the year and also comes together easily in ONE POT. For an ultimate cozy meal kind of vibe; feel free to pair this soup with breadsticks, a thick slice of a crusty baguette, and/or a salad. YUM!

Would you believe me if I told you that this here recipe was the very first recipe on my site? Well, you butter believe it, boo! Yes, I originally posted this recipe back in February 2016. And yikes: the photos, the written recipe, and a few other things needed a major update! But alas, here we are peeps. This recipe simply DESERVES a little #tlc and all, ya know.
Guys, this chicken gnocchi soup is by far one of my most favorite soup recipes ever. Like, ever ever. Olive Garden, the famous Italian restaurant chain, is known for this here delicious appetizer. I find myself ordering their chicken gnocchi soup almost every single time that I’m there. This soup is so hearty, filling, and freaking delicious, y’all!
Ingredients For This Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe:
- shredded chicken: prepare your own or use a store-bought rotisserie chicken for ease + simplicity.
- gnocchi: shelf-stable dried potato gnocchi.
- mirepoix: classic flavorful vegetable mixture of carrots, onion, and celery.
- garlic: four cloves, finely minced, please!
- butter and olive oil: the combination of both to sauté the mirepoix.
- flour: just a bit to act as a roux to help thicken soup.
- chicken broth: low-sodium, and also adds more chicken flavor and depth!
- half and half: combined with the broth, and helps make up the overall creamy soup texture.
- fresh baby spinach: if you’re not a fan of the stems, no biggie, go ahead and remove them if you like.
- fresh basil: this fantastic herb adds such a distinct flavor to the soup.
- parmesan cheese: plentyyy of it to add as a topping on this delicious chicken gnocchi soup!
How To Make This Recipe:
Just like my creamy chicken parmesan gnocchi and my roasted butternut squash soup recipes…making this here recipe is also a breeze! And of course, I’m leaving the full + complete recipe for you in the written recipe card below.
First things first; in a large dutch oven or stock pot, melt butter and olive oil over medium low heat. Add in carrots, onion, celery, and sauté until vegetables get tender, about 10-15 minutes. Additionally, season mirepoix mixture with salt + pepper, to taste. Then add in minced garlic and stir together until garlic is fragrant. Next, add in flour and mix together until all flour dissolves. At this stage, add in chicken broth, stirring after each cup is added. You should see the flour dissipate. Lastly, add in half and half and continue stirring until everything is fully combined.
Add the shredded chicken into pot, stir together, and let mixture cook for 15 minutes over medium low heat. Then toss in the uncooked gnocchi directly into pot, stir again, and let cook up for another 10 minutes. Finally, add in spinach and basil and stir to combine. Cover pot with lid and take off heat. The spinach and basil will wilt and continue cooking as the soup sits. Ladle chicken gnocchi soup into bowls, top with parmesan cheese to your hearts content, and enjoy.
Slurpity, slurp!!!
Similarly, this soup can be served in a multitude of ways, ya know. For example, you could make this chicken gnocchi soup simply as an appetizer and call it a day. Alternatively, you could also make a complete meal out of it and serve alongside some golden buttery breadsticks, a crusty baguette loaf, and/or a delicious salad. You know I’ve gotta give you some options, ha! It’s just truly a great comforting + cozy recipe for just about any occasion or time of the year!
Remember to leave a ⭐️star rating⭐️and tag me on the ‘gram if you make any of my recipes! I always love to see it when you do!
Until next time…love and butter,
Q.
PrintCopycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Appetizers & Snacks
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Description
This copycat Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup is extra delicious, easy to make, and super hearty. The most perfect and comforting soup to make anytime of the year and easily made in ONE POT. For an ultimate cozy meal, pair this soup with breadsticks, a thick slice of a crusty baguette, and/or a salad. YUM!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1/2 cup white onion, finely chopped
- salt/pepper, to taste
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups (32-ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups half and half
- 3 cups cooked + shredded white meat chicken
- 1 lb potato gnocchi
- 4 1/2 cups (5-ounces) fresh baby spinach
- 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- Optional: parmesan cheese, for topping
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven or stock pot, melt butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add in carrots, celery, onion, and sauté together until vegetables get tender, about 10-15 minutes. Season mixture with salt/pepper, to taste. Then add in garlic and stir together until garlic is fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in flour and mix together until flour begins to dissolve. Pour in chicken broth, while stirring continuously, then add in half and half. Lastly, add in shredded chicken, stir together to combine, and let mixture cook for 15 minutes.
- Add uncooked gnocchi into pot, mix together, and let cook for another 10 minutes. Then add in spinach and basil and stir to combine. Cover soup pot with a lid and take off heat.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese, if desired. Enjoy!
Keywords: appetizer, gnocchi, soup
18 Comments on “Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup”
I was looking for a copy cat Olive Garden recipe, and I’ve found it! This is so yummy, it’s my second time making it this week!
★★★★★
Love this recipe for a quick lunch or a cozy night in! The flavor was spot on, and the recipe was so easy to follow!
★★★★★
Yayyy, Aubrey, I’m so glad you loved this soup 🙂
Absolutely delicious and really versatile – I also added some mushrooms as they needed to be used up and served with garlic bread for a cozy Friday night dinner. For readers in the UK where you can’t get half and half, I used reduced fat single cream instead which worked fine.
★★★★★
Hi Becky, so happy you enjoyed this soup even with those modifications! 🙂
I made this recipe but changed up the gnocchi for chesse tortellini. Delicious! Served it was pull apart Parmesan breadsticks.
★★★★★
Just delicious!! Can it be frozen?
★★★★★
Hi Marianne- yes, you can freeze the soup and defrost in the fridge 🙂
Yum! Definitely a winner! My husband went back for seconds.
★★★★★
Is the soup ok to make ahead, say Sunday for Monday night dinner?
Hi Katie- yes, you can make this soup up to 1 day ahead 🙂
Can you use fresh gnocchi?
Hi Lisa- I haven’t tested this recipe using fresh gnocchi but if you do, let me know how it works! 🙂
Was delicious. It’s a keeper
★★★★★
This recipe is absolutely, Amazing!!! So good!
Just made this for dinner and omg soooo good! Followed the recipe as is and added some mushrooms, yummy! Thank you so much 🙂
★★★★★
It was delicious! Will make again.
★★★★★
Delicious! Will definitely make again.
★★★★★