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Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup made creamy with a roux-thickened broth and tender, floating mini gnocchi. Spinach and shredded chicken finish it off for a hearty Italian-American bowl.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian-American
Calories: 620
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cooked chicken
  • 1.5 cups cooked chicken, shredded
Mini potato gnocchi
  • 16 oz mini potato gnocchi
Fresh spinach
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
Carrots
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
Celery
  • 2 celery, diced
Onion
  • 0.5 onion, diced
Garlic
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
Chicken broth
  • 4 cups chicken broth
Heavy cream
  • 2 cups heavy cream
Whole milk
  • 1 cup whole milk
Unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
All-purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Dried thyme
  • 0.5 tsp dried thyme
Dried rosemary
  • 0.5 tsp dried rosemary
Salt and pepper
  • 1 salt and pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Sauté the vegetables
  1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, then sauté the onion, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes until softened.
  2. Add the garlic, thyme, and rosemary and cook for 30 seconds, then whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
Build the creamy broth
  1. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, then simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
  2. Stir in the heavy cream and whole milk, then add the shredded chicken and mini potato gnocchi.
  3. Simmer for 5-7 minutes until the gnocchi float and the soup looks creamy and cohesive.
Finish and season
  1. Add the spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring until the spinach is wilted and bright green.
  2. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

Notes

For the smoothest texture, whisk flour into the hot butter thoroughly before adding broth, and keep the soup at a gentle simmer once the dairy is in. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Freezing isn’t recommended because gnocchi and cream can change texture when thawed; for a lighter option, use half-and-half in place of the heavy cream (texture may be slightly less rich).