Olive garden copycat chicken gnocchi soup is comfort in a bowl. Made with everyday ingredients this creamy delicious soup can be easily made on the stove top at home in 30 minutes using leftover chicken. A cozy delectable meal that’s perfect for winter days.
Jump to:
Olive garden copycat chicken gnocchi soup
We all (most) love copycat recipes. We get to cook our favorite food at home and enjoy it without having to go to the restaurant. Eating out can most times be expensive, recreating the same recipe at home is budget-friendly and you get to make just as much as you want. Making fresh chicken gnocchi soup takes the guessing game away as to what went into the recipe. Using real, simple, fresh ingredients makes it more healthy than food from restaurants.
One of my favorite pasta is gnocchi be it pesto gnocchi or pan fried gnocchi. The pillowy pasta dunked in a rich, creamy luscious steaming bowl of soup is the ultimate comfort food. The flavors of this soup are well-balanced and would be loved by all.
To make it easy and quick, use leftover rotisserie-style chicken. Veggies, seasoning, gnocchi, and chicken dunked in a creamy soup. Freshly grated parmesan cheese and crispy bacon bits add wonderful final touch to the soup.
Ingredients needed
Here’s what you’ll need
- 16oz gnocchi pasta (dry)
- 2 cups cooked chicken (leftover rotisserie style chicken works best)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- ¾ cup carrot, shredded
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 2 cups cream (or half and half)
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme (dried or fresh)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup baby spinach
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and broken small
How to make creamy chicken gnocchi soup
Start by cooking chopped bacon until it’s brown and crispy on both sides. Remove bacon onto a kitchen paper-lined plate, to drain off the grease.
You can use fat from the bacon to saute onions. Or leave bacon fat and use olive oil and butter.
Add olive oil and butter to a large pot. Sauté diced onion, diced celery, and shredded carrot until softened.
Stir in minced garlic for about a minute.
Stir all-purpose flour, and cook on a medium flame for about 2 minutes, until flour begins to turn a golden color.
Add chicken stock, and cream (or half and a half) in slow streams to prevent the roux from splitting. Stir well and allow it to heat on medium flame.
Add gnocchi pasta, and stir it well. Read packet instructions to see the cooking time for pasta. Don’t wait for the gnocchi to fully cook before proceeding to the next step.
Immediately add cooked chicken diced into small cubes. Leftover cooked chicken like rotisserie chicken works best.
Stir in mustard powder, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.
Add baby spinach and red pepper flakes to the soup.
Turn off the flame. Spinach will cook in the heat of the soup. Wait until the spinach is wilted.
Chicken gnocchi soup is ready.
Serve hot immediately with bacon bits sprinkled on top. Enjoy!
Cook’s tip for best chicken gnocchi soup
- This soup will thicken as it cools. If the soup turns thick, add a splash of chicken stock while reheating.
- Gnocchi pasta cooks right in the soup and it cooks pretty fast. Check packet instructions for cooking time. Don’t wait for the gnocchi to fully cook before proceeding to the next step. Overcooked gnocchi is kind of sticky and mushy which isn’t very nice.
- No leftover cooked chicken? Use chicken breast and cook it directly in the stock while making the soup. Note: cook chicken breast on low heat so it won’t turn hard. Once the chicken is cooked remove it from the stock, rest it for a few minutes, and chop it into smaller pieces. Add it back to the soup.
- Mustard powder and red pepper flakes enhance the flavors of chicken gnocchi soup. Don’t skip.
- Baby spinach adds freshness to the soup along with a touch of color and texture. Spinach can be substituted with kale.
FAQS
Gnocchi is pasta made of potato, flour, and eggs. You can make gnocchi pasta at home or use store-bought variety to speed up the process.
You can find gnocchi (dried) in the pasta aisle of the super market, in the dry pasta aisle. Â Fresh gnocchi can be found in the freezer section.
Rotisserie-style leftover chicken works best. Boneless chicken breasts are best for this recipe. Feel free to use any cooked leftover boneless chicken.
If you don’t have leftover pre-cooked chicken, you can cook whole chicken breast in the stock or cook chicken breast seasoned with salt pepper, garlic powder, and touch of paprika in a pan until seared and golden on both sides. Remove cooked chicken onto a cutting board, and let it rest for a few minutes. Cut into smaller pieces.
You can store leftover soup covered in airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. Reheat on the medium flame when you want to serve.
I wouldn’t recommend freezing this soup as it contains dairy (cream), and the diary doesn’t reheat well when frozen.
Don’t forget to Subscribe to CurryTrail Recipes below to get our newest recipes delivered straight to your inbox.
LOVE THIS RECIPE? KEEP IN TOUCH AND DON’T MISS OUT ON ANY OF CURRYTRAIL RECIPES! FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK.
HAVE YOU TRIED ONE OF MY RECIPES? I’D LOVE TO SEE WHAT YOU’VE MADE! TAKE A PICTURE AND USE THE HASHTAG #CURRYTRAIL ON INSTAGRAM SO I CAN SEE! I’LL DO A HAPPY DANCE IF YOU TRY MY RECIPE AND SHARE IT WITH US!
📋Chicken Gnocchi Soup with Bacon
Ingredients
- 16 oz gnocchi pasta dry
- 2 cups cooked chicken leftover rotisserie-style chicken works best
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- ¾ cup carrot shredded
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 cups cream or half and a half
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon thyme dried or fresh
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup baby spinach
- ½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 4 slices bacon cooked and broken small
Instructions
- Start by cooking bacon until it’s brown and crispy on both sides. Remove bacon onto a kitchen paper-lined plate, to drain off the grease.
- You can use the fat from the bacon to sauté onions. Or leave bacon fat and use olive oil and butter.
- Add olive oil and butter to a large pot. Sauté diced onion, diced celery, and shredded carrot until softened.
- Stir in minced garlic for about a minute.
- Stir all-purpose flour and cook on a medium flame for about 2 minutes, until flour begins to turn a golden color.
- Add chicken stock, and cream (or half and a half) in slow streams to prevent the roux from splitting. Stir well and allow it to heat on medium flame.
- Add gnocchi pasta, and stir it well. Read packet instructions to see the cooking time for pasta. Don’t wait too long until gnocchi is cooked, it will continue to cook in the stock, so proceed with the next step.
- Immediately add cooked chicken diced into small cubes. Leftover cooked chicken like rotisserie chicken works best.
- Stir in mustard powder, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Add baby spinach and red pepper flakes to the soup.
- Turn off the flame. Spinach will cook in the heat of the soup. Wait until the spinach is cooked and wilted.
- Chicken gnocchi soup is ready.
- Serve hot immediately with bacon bits sprinkled on top. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- This soup will thicken as it cools. If the soup is too thick, add a splash of chicken stock while reheating.
- Gnocchi pasta cooks right in the soup and it cooks pretty fast. Check packet instructions for cooking time. Don’t wait for the gnocchi to fully cook before proceeding to the next step. Overcooked gnocchi is kind of sticky and mushy which isn’t very nice.
- If you don’t have leftover cooked chicken, you can use chicken breast and cook it directly in the stock while making the soup. Note: cook chicken breast in slow heat so it won’t turn hard. Once the chicken is cooked remove from the stock, rest it for a few minutes, and chop it into smaller pieces. Add it back to the soup.
- Mustard powder and red pepper flakes enhance the flavors of the soup. Don’t skip.
- Baby spinach adds freshness to the soup along with a touch of color and texture. Spinach can be substituted with kale.
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
Thank you for stopping by.
Jyothi Rajesh is the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail. She lives in Bangalore, India and is the mom of two beautiful kids. Her passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. She’s been blogging since 2007 and many of her recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
Leave A Reply!