Creamy Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Creamy Italian chicken gnocchi soup is a comforting, cozy soup that is on the table in under 30 minutes. It’s every bit as good as the Olive Garden version, right in your own home.

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My kids love to be in the kitchen with me.

And their favorite things to make are obviously cookies, brownies, and soup.

Yes, soup.

Now I normally make soup in the Instant Pot and put it on the kitchen table so they can all gather round and add ingredients in.

This chicken gnocchi soup is not an Instant Pot soup.

Nope, it’s a quick stove top soup.

Did that stop them?

Nope. They pulled up chairs and helped just the same.

And the result?

Absolutely delicious creamy comfort food perfect for serving on cold snowy days with a loaf of homemade bread.

It’s every bit as yummy as Olive Garden’s chicken gnocchi soup, but soup-er (see what I did there?) easy and less expensive than heading out.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

To make Italian chicken gnocchi soup, you’ll need:

• Chicken Breast – We used a rotisserie chicken breast chopped into small pieces or about a cup and a half. You can use raw chicken breast instead but you will need to cut it and brown it first to make sure it cooks through. You could also use other left over chicken if you have some on hand.
• Gnocchi – Use the dried gnocchi that you can find in the pasta section. Avoid the
• Chicken Broth – You can use either regular or low sodium.
• Veggies – We often use a mirepoix mix, which is equal parts carrots, celery, and onion diced into small pieces. We use about 2.5 cups or 20 ounces of it.
• Garlic – You can use either fresh garlic, which is what we normally do, or dried garlic.
• Olive Oil – This is used to help keep the chicken and veggies from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Spices – We use a combination of Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.
• Heavy Cream – To make the soup creamy and thick, we use heavy cream. Don’t substitute lighter dairy or you won’t get the silky, thick texture.
• Parmesan Cheese – We use regular grated parmesan cheese.
• Kale – You can use either kale or spinach to add some greenery to the gnocchi soup.

You won’t need any large equipment for this, but you will want to get out your:

• cutting board
• knife
• large pot
• garlic press

How to Make Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup

1. Prep the veggies and chicken.

Dice the carrots, onions, and celery, or you can skip this step if you use pre-cut veggies, normally found in the refridgerated veggies aisle.

Dice or crush your garlic.

Shred cooked chicken or cut uncooked chicken into small pieces.

2. Soften the veggies and add in the broth.

Heat the olive oil in the pot over medium heat.

When the oil is hot, add the veggies, bay leaf, and garlic to the pot and season the veggies with salt.

Cook them for about 5 minutes or until they start to soften, stirring often.

If you are using raw chicken, add that now and cook another 10 minutes or until the small pieces are cooked through.

If you are using rotisserie chicken or other cooked breast meat, you can skip the extra cooking time and just add in the cooked chicken.

Stir in the remaining spices and herbs and mix together.

Pour in the chicken broth and bring the soup up to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

Simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. Add the gnocchi.

Once the soup has reached a simmer, stir in the gnocchi and kale.

Keep simmering the soup just until the gnocchi floats.

As soon as the gnocchi floats, turn the heat down to low.

Stir in the heavy cream and Parmesan cheese.

Turn off heat and serve the soup hot from the pot.

Serving

Italian chicken gnocchi soup pairs well with homemade bread, garlic bread, or even top it with croutons.

For an easy lunch, you could serve it with a Caesar salad or a caprese sandwich with pesto.

Storing

Italian chicken gnocchi soup is best served fresh.

Over time, the gnocchi will start to dissolve into the soup, causing them to get smaller and smaller.

That said, it does make for an easy next day lunch or a good warm left overs dinner later in the week.

To store, pour the soup into an air tight container and put in your fridge for up to about 5 days.

I don’t recommend freezing this soup because of the cream and the gnocchi.

Tips and Tricks

• There are at least two short cuts for this soup including using pre-cut veggies and cooked chicken breast. Yes, you can cut and cook your own, but if you really want to save time, get the precut veggies and rotisserie chicken.
• This is a relatively quick soup. Just let it cook until it floats.
• Heavy cream works best, but other dairy products can also work well. The trade off is a thinner gnocchi soup.
• For some added flavor, you can add in your favorite white wine or sherry.
• If you want, you could use chicken or regular Italian sausage instead of chicken breasts.

Other Soup Recipes

Looking for other soup recipes? Try these:

• Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
• Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
• Creamy Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Soup
• Instant Pot Curried Butternut Squash Soup
• Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Rice

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