Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup Copycat-Style
Creamy broth, tender dumplings and a handful of spinach
The short version
Make creamy chicken gnocchi soup with cooked chicken, spinach and potato dumplings. Original, untested home formulation with estimated timings. Not the restaurant’s recipe, a tested replica or an endorsement. Image is illustrative.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- 6 servings
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1 medium carrot, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 cups safely cooked roasted chicken, shredded
- 16 oz packaged potato gnocchi
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- 01
Start with safely cooked chicken. Use recently cooked chicken or refrigerated leftovers still within their safe storage window. If cooking chicken specifically for this soup, cook it to 165°F (74°C) internally before shredding; raw chicken is not interchangeable with the cooked chicken in this method.
- 02
Soften the vegetables. Warm oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Cook onion, celery and carrot about 6–8 minutes until softened, without deeply browning them. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
- 03
Build the broth. Stir in flour and cook about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in broth so flour does not clump. Add thyme and cooked chicken; bring to a gentle simmer and stir occasionally for about 8–10 minutes.
- 04
Cook the dumplings. Add gnocchi and cook according to their package until tender. Package requirements take priority over a universal floating rule. Stir gently and add a little extra broth if needed; dumpling brands thicken soup differently.
- 05
Finish creamy, then check the temperature. Stir in cream and spinach over gentle heat until the spinach wilts and the soup is hot throughout. When using leftover chicken, verify the chicken pieces and soup reach 165°F (74°C). Taste for salt and pepper. Avoid a rolling boil after adding cream.
- 06
Store without resetting the chicken’s clock. Refrigerate in shallow containers within two hours, or one hour above 90°F (32°C), at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 3–4 days, or sooner if the cooked chicken’s original safe storage window ends first. Reheat throughout to 165°F (74°C), stirring and checking with a thermometer.
Larry’s rule: Gnocchi keep soaking up broth. Loosen leftovers with broth, but do not use extra liquid as a substitute for the reheating temperature.
Quoting or citing this recipe? Credit “Uncle Larry Adventures” andlink to this page.