The 2 Seasonings You Need For Copycat Olive Garden Gnocchi Soup

One of the most difficult aspects of copycatting a recipe from your favorite restaurant is figuring out exactly what ingredients you need. If there's a proprietary spice blend, exotic ingredient, or difficult technique to master, you may just be better off making a reservation than trying to reproduce your favorite dish. Fortunately for those of us who adore the creamy, comforting warmth of Olive Garden's hearty soup, our DIY version of Olive Garden's creamy chicken gnocchi soup is simple, and the seasonings you need are probably already in your pantry or spice rack.

What are the mysterious seasonings that will make your copycat Olive Garden soup taste just like the original? None other than Italian seasoning and garlic powder. One of the reasons we're such a fan of this satisfying soup is that it's so simple to make, requiring ordinary ingredients like cooked chicken (a store-bought rotisserie chicken is perfectly fine), a few fresh veggies like spinach, parsley, carrot, and celery, and a few items from the pantry, like flour, olive oil, salt, pepper — and, of course, the two most essential for its unique flavor: Italian seasoning and garlic powder.

Garlic powder is pretty self-explanatory: It's just dried, ground garlic cloves. Italian seasoning, on the other hand, isn't quite as simple. It's always a combination of herbs, though the exact composition can vary a bit from brand to brand. In general, Italian seasoning usually contains oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. Some brands also include sage and savory for additional complexity, and it's not uncommon to also find black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder among the ingredients.

While you can certainly create your own house blend of herbs and spices for a custom Italian seasoning, the store-bought blends are perfectly serviceable — and they have more uses than you might imagine. In addition to flavoring your Olive Garden gnocchi soup, versatile Italian seasoning can find its way into pizza sauce, lasagna, pasta salad, and garlic bread. Even the most basic tomato soup benefits from a sprinkle of Italian seasoning. Not only does our copycat Olive Garden gnocchi soup grace your table with a satisfying, simple meal, but it also requires ingredients with plenty of other uses in the kitchen.