Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup, Inspired by Olive Garden
Inspired by, not official: celery, shredded carrot, onion and garlic softened in butter, thickened with flour and chicken broth, then store-bought potato gnocchi, cooked chicken, baby spinach, heavy cream and thyme, in one pot in 40 minutes.
Inspired by Olive Garden. Not an official Olive Garden recipe, and nothing here claims to be the restaurant's own. Olive Garden opened its first restaurant in Orlando, Florida, on December 13, 1982, as part of General Mills, and has been owned by Darden Restaurants since 1995; Wikipedia says unlimited soup and breadsticks joined its famous unlimited salad at some point, under the slogan "When you're here, you're family". Its creamy chicken and gnocchi soup is a copycat favorite: Taste of Home and The Kitchn both publish versions.
It is also a clear picture of what an American chain did to chicken soup: the broth is thickened with a butter and flour roux and a cup of heavy cream, and the dumplings are store-bought potato gnocchi. Taste of Home's version, by Risa Lichtman of Portland, Oregon, was tested by its test kitchen and is made in one pot in under half an hour of cooking.
Why it works the kitchen science
A roux, then broth
Cooking the flour in butter with the vegetables before whisking in the broth gives a smooth, lump-free soup thick enough to coat the gnocchi.
Gnocchi cooked in the soup
Shelf-stable gnocchi go straight in without precooking, and the starch they release thickens the soup a little more.
Step by step
- Step 1
Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Step 2
Stir in the flour until no dry flour remains, about 1 minute.
- Step 3
Gradually whisk in the broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Step 4
Add the gnocchi and chicken and cook at a simmer until the gnocchi are tender and the chicken is heated through, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Step 5
Turn the heat to medium-low and stir in the spinach, cream, thyme, salt and pepper. Heat, stirring, until the spinach wilts and the soup reads 165°F, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve topped with chives.
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup, Inspired by Olive Garden
Serves 8 · about 2 quarts · 40 min total
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 package (16 oz) shelf-stable potato gnocchi
- 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- Sliced chives, for garnish
Method
- Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Stir in the flour until no dry flour remains, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in the broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the gnocchi and chicken and cook at a simmer until the gnocchi are tender and the chicken is heated through, 4 to 6 minutes.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and stir in the spinach, cream, thyme, salt and pepper. Heat, stirring, until the spinach wilts and the soup reads 165°F, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve topped with chives.
Adapted from Risa Lichtman and Lindsay D. Mattison, "Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Copycat Olive Garden Recipe)", Taste of Home (tested by the Taste of Home Test Kitchen; updated September 3, 2024), 8 servings (2 quarts). We follow it as written: 1/4 cup butter over medium heat; celery, shredded carrots, onion and garlic 4 to 6 minutes; 1/2 cup flour and 5 cups broth brought to a boil and simmered uncovered 4 to 5 minutes; a 16-oz package of potato gnocchi and 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast 4 to 6 minutes; spinach, cream, thyme, salt and pepper over medium-low heat; chives to garnish. The 165°F check is ours. Inspired by, not official. Taste of Home. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (2)
Tips
- Frozen gnocchi may need a few extra minutes, Taste of Home says.
- To make it ahead, make the base without the gnocchi and add them when you reheat; they swell and get soft if they sit in the soup.
- Leftovers keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator but thicken; Taste of Home doesn't recommend freezing this dairy-based soup.
- Leftover chicken from the Classic American Chicken Noodle Soup or the Pho Ga works for the cooked chicken.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- This is Olive Garden's recipe. Documented as false: Taste of Home calls it a copycat; Olive Garden has not published one that we read.
- Olive Garden's food comes from Tuscany. Disputed: the chain advertised a culinary institute in Tuscany; Wikipedia says news outlets reported in 2011 that there is no institute or school, though the company does send staff to Tuscany each year.
- Use frozen spinach. Folklore: Taste of Home says frozen spinach turns mushy and recommends fresh.
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