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Chicken Gnocchi Soup has a thick and creamy broth, loaded with potato gnocchi, chicken, carrots, celery, and fresh spinach. This delicious, restaurant style Chicken Gnocchi soup is easy to make at home and comes together in under 30 minutes!!
Olive Garden, is one of my family’s favorite restaurant and we tried Chicken Gnocchi soup there. My kids just loved it.
This is one of the most filling soups I have ever tried. Not only it tastes delicious but also fills you up.
Loved how creamy and rich the soup tasted with those tiny potato gnocchi, it just melted in the mouth. I just knew I had to try this recipe at home.
After couple of trials, I finally nailed the perfect Chicken Gnocchi soup recipe. It’s been a few years now, I have been making this soup at home and my family absolutely loves this homemade Chicken Gnocchi soup.
My son always says “Mom, this is the BEST Chicken Gnocchi soup!!” My son, who is a foodie and a big food critic in my family. Without his approval no recipe can make onto our menu. LOL!!!
WHAT IS GNOCCHI
Gnocchi is a classic Italian pasta, dumplings made out of potato and flour. These gnocchi or dumplings can be served in a variety of ways.
Baked gnocchi with some creamy cheese sauce, serve it with some classic Italian tomato pasta sauce, or you can even saute these dumplings with some vegetables.
Gnocchi tastes great in soups as well. However, you serve these dumplings, it tastes just awesome.
WHAT IS CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP
Chicken Gnocchi soup is a thick and creamy broth soup loaded with veggies, chicken and the star ingredient potato gnocchi.
Flavored with some herbs, spices, handful of fresh spinach. This soup is cooked in a rich white sauce.
Chicken Gnocchi soup is served with some bread-sticks and salad. Thus making it a hearty, delicious, one-pot meal.
INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP
ONION – I prefer yellow onion, as it has mild flavor as compared to red onion.
GARLIC – adds a ton of flavor to the soup. Fresh garlic or garlic powder, both work fine.
CELERY – adds a nice texture to the soup.
CARROTS – carrots add an extra flavor to this soup, you can chop the carrots or shred it.
CHICKEN – I am using boneless, skinless chicken breast for this recipe. However, bone-in chicken may also be substituted instead of chicken breast.
If using bone-in chicken, make sure you have enough chicken meat to add to the soup after you shred the chicken.
I sometimes even use the leftover rotisserie to make this soup and it tastes delicious.
GNOCCHI – Gnocchi can be fresh, frozen or dry. Fresh gnocchi can be found in the refrigerated section.
You can find frozen gnocchi in the freezer section and dry gnocchi can be found in the pasta isle with all the other dry pastas.
I prefer fresh or dry gnocchi. However, you can use the frozen gnocchi as well. For cooking the gnocchi follow the package direction for best results.
HERBS – herbs that go well with the creamy flavors of this soup and some of my family favorites include thyme, Italian seasoning, oregano, parsley, basil.
I use one or combination of herbs to add more depth and flavor to this soup. You can use any herb of your choice.
BROTH – low sodium broth adds an additional layer of flavor. Low sodium broth helps control the sodium intake.
You can also use a bouillon, mix it with water as per package instructions and use it.
DAIRY – heavy cream, half and half or just milk, works absolutely great. The richness in the soup depends upon the fat content used.
CHEESE – I add a very small amount of Parmesan cheese at the end for that extra flavor
FLOUR – mainly to thicken the soup. You can make it gluten-free by adding cornstarch slurry. Using equal parts of cornstarch and water, make a slurry.
Add this slurry at the end, bring soup to a gentle boil or until it thickens to a desired consistency.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP
This amazing Chicken Gnocchi soup can be made in a fraction of a time in your Instant Pot. You can make the same recipe on stove top as well.
INSTANT POT CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP
- Turn on the saute mode (high), when it displays “HOT”, add oil and butter.
- Add garlic, onion, carrots, celery. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add flour, saute for 2-3 minutes or until raw smell of flour is no more.
- Add chicken broth, deglaze the bottom of the pot. Mix well.
- Add chicken breasts. Close the Instant Pot lid, pressure value on sealing.
- Turn the Manual / Pressure Cook (high) for 15 minutes. Note: Depending upon the size of the chicken breast – small to large, adjust the cooking time from 10 – 15 minutes. For small size, cook for 10 minutes, for large, thick size, cook for 15 minutes.
- After the Instant Pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally, around 10 minutes.
- Open the Instant Pot, remove the chicken and using a fork shred the chicken.
- Turn ON saute mode (high), add gnocchi and cook till Gnocchi floats on the top. It took me around 3-4 minutes. Note: Please use the recommended cooking time for gnocchi on the package.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Add cream, spinach, basil, cook for couple of mins or until spinach is wilted down.
- Adjust seasoning- salt and pepper as per taste. Chicken Gnocchi Soup is ready to served. Enjoy!!
STOVE TOP CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP
In a dutch oven or a soup pot, follow the same recipe as discussed.
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked.
Remove the chicken from the soup, shred it and put it back to the soup.
Rest of the recipe is same as Instant Pot.
LIGHTER VERSION OF CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP
Chicken Gnocchi soup is a rich and creamy soup. The richness in the soup comes from the cream used to make this soup.
However, you can also make this soup less creamy or even without any cream.
Use half and half or whole milk, instead of cream.
Use evaporated milk instead of cream. Evaporated milk gives a nice creamy texture to the soup without any added cream. Thus, making it quit lighter and healthier at the same time.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP GLUTEN FREE
To make Chicken Gnocchi Soup gluten-free, don’t add the flour, instead use a cornstarch slurry.
To make a cornstarch slurry take equal quantity of cornstarch and water. Mix and gradually add the slurry to the soup until thickened to a desired consistency.
Use gluten-free gnocchi available in supermarkets.
Here are some more recipes from blog. Enjoy!!
Top 10 Recipes of 2019 – collection of top 10 recipes of 2019
Broccoli Cheddar Soup – thick, creamy soup made with broccoli, cheddar cheese
Cream of Mushroom Soup – cream, comforting, earthy flavors in a bowl of soup
Chicken and Cabbage Soup – healthy, low-carb, chicken and cabbage soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup – spicy, hearty soup inspired by Mexican cuisine
Tomato Carrot Beetroot Soup – smooth, velvety textured, different version of tomato soup
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Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour For gluten-free version, see the recipe notes.
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 lbs potato Gnocchi For gluten-free, use gluten-free gnocchi
- 1-1/4 cup heavy cream / half and half For lighter version, see the recipe notes.
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 8-10 leaves fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Instructions for Instant Pot Cooking:
- Turn on the saute mode (high), when it displays "HOT", add oil and butter.
- Add garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for 2-3 mins.
- Add flour, saute for few minutes till raw smell of flour is no more. This will take 2-3 mins.Note: For gluten-free version, see the recipe notes.
- Add Chicken stock, deglaze the bottom of the pot. Mix well.
- Add chicken breasts. Close the Instant Pot lid, pressure value on sealing.
- Turn the Manual / Pressure Cook (high) for 15 mins.Note: See the recipe notes for cooking time.
- After the Instant Pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally, around 10 mins.
- Open the Instant Pot, remove the chicken and using a fork shred the chicken.
- Turn ON saute mode (high), add gnocchi and cook till Gnocchi floats on the top. It took me around 3-4 mins.Note: Please use the recommended cooking time for gnocchi on the package.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the pot.
- Add cream, spinach, cook for couple of mins or until spinach is wilted down. Adjust seasoning - salt and pepper as per taste. Chicken Gnocchi Soup is ready to serve.Note: For lighter version, see the recipe notes.
Notes
- Depending upon the size of the chicken breast – small to large, adjust the cooking time from 10 – 15 minutes. For small size, cook for 10 minutes, for large, thick size, cook for 15 minutes.
- The soup thickens as it cools down. Adjust the consistency by adding more broth or milk as required.
- How to make LIGHTER VERSION OF CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP -please refer to the post earlier.
- HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP GLUTEN FREE - please refer to the post earlier.
- INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP - please refer to the post earlier for details.
- Instructions for Stove Top Chicken Gnocchi Soup - please refer to the post earlier.
This was amazing!! I had to do some substituting as i made this on a whim with what I had. I didn’t have carrots so used parsnips. They completely disintegrated and I missed the carrots, those are a must next time. It may be because I used frozen chicken breast and that caused the IP to take longer to come to pressure. The other substitute was kale for the spinach as that’s what I had on hand and no regrets, I love kale and it added a nice texture. I used some poultry seasoning and bullion for seasoning. I used frozen gnocchi but they were just okay, I will try dry or fresh next time. The broth was so creamy and delicious. Overall, great recipe!! Thank you!!
Hi Bethany, I am so glad that you liked my recipe. We love carrots in this soup, carrots add a nice flavor and color to this soup. Kale tastes great too. I think frozen gnocchi kind of loses it texture. I normally use dry or fresh gnocchi works well. Thank you for trying my recipe and for your feedback!
Loved it. I kept getting the burn notice at the beginning. I would thicken the broth at the end instead of at the beginning like the recipe suggested to avoid this next time.
Hi Kelly, It is important to deglaze the pot before pressure cooking to avoid burnt bottom. Alternatively, you could thicken the soup after it is pressure cooked, by using cornstarch slurry, works just fine. I am so glad you liked my recipe. Thank you for trying my recipe and for your feedback!
How many servings does this make?
This recipe yields 6-8 servings. Thanks!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was so delicious!! Instead of getting chicken broth, I made my own with chicken bouillon paste and water. I can’t wait to make this again and it will definitely be made once winter comes back around!!
Awesome! I am so glad you liked my recipe. Thanks for sharing your feedback!
I made this tonight. My only question is, unless I missed it in the directions, when do you add the basil? I threw it in with the spinach. Otherwise, it was delicious. Thanks for this recipe. ❤️❤️❤️
Perfect! I add basil at the end, just before serving. I am so glad you liked my recipe 🙂 Thank you for sharing your feedback!