Chicken Gnocchi Soup

5 from 1 vote

This creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup is a hearty and delicious Olive Garden copycat recipe that you can easily make at home!

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword chicken and gnocchi soup, chicken gnocchi soup, olive garden chicken gnocchi soup

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Servings - 8 people

Calories 502kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate. Leave one tablespoon of bacon grease in the pot; drain off the rest.
Add the onion, celery, and carrot to the pot. Cook, stirring regularly, until the onion is translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme and basil; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute. Stir in the butter until it melts. Sprinkle flour over all, and continue cooking and stirring for 1 more minute.
Gradually add 4 cups of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low so that the soup is at a simmer. Stir in the chicken and gnocchi and continue simmering for about 5-10 more minutes, or until the gnocchi is tender. Stir in the half-and-half, spinach and Parmesan. Continue cooking and stirring over low heat just until the spinach wilts and the soup is warmed through. Thin with additional broth, if necessary. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with reserved bacon and additional fresh herbs, if desired.

When adding the broth to the pot, deglaze the pan by scraping up the browned bits from the bottom. This adds so much flavor to the soup!
Start with 4 cups of broth and add more towards the end, as necessary, to thin the soup to reach your desired consistency. You might prefer a thicker soup with only 4 cups of broth, or you might like to thin the soup with up to 6 total cups.
Use mini gnocchi if you can find it. It's the perfect size for soup! The mini gnocchi will likely cook faster than the larger gnocchi, so it might only need about 3-5 minutes in the broth.
Allow the half-and-half to come to room temperature before stirring it into the soup.
Once you add the half-and-half, do not let the soup boil. If you boil the cream, the soup may curdle.
Use a wedge of fresh Parmesan cheese that you grate at home, rather than a jar of pre-grated Parmesan. The freshly-grated cheese has better flavor and will melt smoother into the soup.