Copycat Olive Garden Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe

Is it just us, or is the chicken and gnocchi soup at Olive Garden everyone's favorite option to pair with salad and breadsticks? Creamy and comforting, this classic is like a delightful fusion of cream of chicken soup and classic chicken noodle — and it's incredibly simple to replicate at home. Chicken broth flavored with Italian spices and seasonings, soft potato gnocchi, and fresh carrot and spinach make this cozy dish a must for chilly days. Enhance the experience with a side of homemade garlic bread to make it a complete meal!

You can whip up this delectable soup by Alexander Roberts in under 30 minutes, and using a rotisserie chicken can save you even more time — allowing you to perhaps recreate other Olive Garden menu items for a complete soup and salad moment. This dish is perfect for date nights at home, family dinners, or even busy weeknights. Better yet, if you somehow end up with leftovers, they can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and reheated in the microwave when you're ready to enjoy this repeat-worthy soup again.

This copycat recipe is pretty cheap to make, so you'll definitely get more bang for your buck than you would going to Olive Garden. Our total receipt for ingredients came in at under $30 (excluding pantry ingredients like olive oil, spices, and salt) for 6 servings, or just $5 a serving! You'll need 1 ½ cups of cooked chicken breast (or any other cut you prefer), fresh spinach, parsley, a carrot, and a little celery, as well as chicken broth and half-and-half to make things soupy. From the pantry, you'll need olive oil, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, all-purpose flour, and garlic powder.

For the gnocchi, we're using shelf-stable potato gnocchi from the pasta aisle of the grocery store for ease. Refer to the package's instructions for cooking to double check, but most of these products cook in less than 5 minutes. If you're trying to flex your pasta making skills, we're all for using homemade gnocchi in this soup, perhaps even the kind with sweet potato or ricotta.

Add olive oil to a large pot and place over medium-high heat.

Add onion, celery, and salt, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add flour and stir until the ingredients are coated.

Stir in the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and cook for 10 minutes.

Add parsley, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.

Add gnocchi and continue to boil for 4-5 minutes, until the soup is thickened and the gnocchi are floating.

Stir in the spinach, chicken, carrot, and half-and-half. Let simmer for 2 more minutes.

Serve hot.

Gnocchi is a type of pasta similar to a chewy, soft dumpling — except it has no filling. It can be made with regular potatoes or sweet potatoes, and there are versions of gnocchi that require no potato at all, kneaded with ricotta cheese and a little flour instead. They can be made from scratch by hand, and while they are one of the easier pasta shapes to experiment with, they can still be a very time-consuming project. For this copycat chicken and gnocchi soup recipe, we decided to utilize store-bought, vacuum-sealed gnocchi instead.

At your local grocer, the gnocchi should be located in the pasta aisle along with olive oil and similar ingredients. There's a chance your store will have freshly made gnocchi, which would most likely be in the refrigerated section of the store. No matter which variety you use, they typically all have a very quick cook time and come out with similar results. Be sure to consult the package for best cooking times, just in case.

Perhaps you're recreating your own version of this iconic soup for dietary reasons. Fear not: This recipe is easily adaptable and can be made dairy-free and gluten-free as well. Dairy-free is a much easier swap, considering half-and-half is the only dairy item on the ingredients list. Try swapping in an equal amount of coconut milk or your favorite neutral-tasting non-dairy creamer. If you'd rather omit the creamy part of the recipe completely, just use chicken broth in place of the half-and-half; the flour will still thicken up the soup.

Gluten-free can be a bit trickier, especially when it comes to specialty items like gnocchi. Your best bet would be finding this option pre-made in the grocery store, where flourless gnocchi made with potatoes, cauliflower, and other ingredients are increasingly common. Other than that, just omit the flour in the recipe, and you'll be good to go.