Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup is an Italian twist on chicken soup that’s ready in 30 minutes. Made with store-bought potato gnocchi, baby kale, a splash of cream, and shredded rotisserie chicken for ease. It’s sure to be a meal prep recipe your family will love all week long.
Chicken soup is one of our family’s go-to comfort foods in the colder months. My kids’ happen to love the gnocchi soup from Olive Garden, so this is my homemade version of their Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup.
It’s simple to make with easy to find ingredients. I use store-bought gnocchi and rotisserie chicken to keep the prep time to 15 minutes, making dinner so much simpler on a weeknight. If you love a recipe using gnocchi, be sure to also try my Ricotta and Spinach Gnocchi, and Sheet pan Gnocchi.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- Twist on the classic chicken soup. This is a new way to make chicken soup that we guarantee your family will love.
- Restaurant-quality right at home. Similar to the Olive Garden gnocchi soup, but so much better and easy to make in 30 minutes.
- Customize it to your liking. Add your favorite greens, veggies, herbs, and even swap the protein.
Jenn’s Tip: You can use frozen, shelf-stable, or fresh gnocchi for this recipe. Just be sure to not overcook them in the soup or they will get mushy.
Ingredients
- Olive oil: Cooking fat for the recipe.
- Butter: Adds richness and compliments the olive oil as the second fat for cooking.
- Shallot: Gives sweet onion flavor.
- Carrots and celery: Two base vegetables for a great chicken soup.
- Lemon: We use the lemon zest to make it bright and vibrant in flavor.
- Garlic cloves: Infuses the broth with all of our favorite garlic taste.
- Fresh thyme: Adds nice herbal, warm notes.
- Chicken broth: Key to that rich and cozy flavor. Make sure you use a good quality brand.
- Store-bought potato gnocchi: You can use shelf-stable, fresh, or frozen here.
- Baby kale: The greens that we love to stir into the soup for more vegetable flavor. You could also use baby spinach or Swiss chard.
- Heavy cream: Stirred in at the end for rich flavor and creamy texture.
- Shredded rotisserie chicken: Store-bought protein to help make the prep time quick for this soup. You could also use leftover chicken or bake chicken breasts on your own first.
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese: To garnish, adds a hint of saltiness and cheesy notes at the end.
How to Make Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Mince the shallot and dice the carrots and celery into small, even pieces so they soften but still hold texture. Add them to the pot and sauté until softened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper while they cook.
- Stir in the lemon zest, garlic, and thyme sprigs and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the gnocchi and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until they float and are tender.
- Stir in the baby kale and cook 2 to 3 more minutes, until just wilted and vibrant.
- Reduce the heat to low, stir in the heavy cream, and add the shredded chicken. Warm gently 1 to 2 minutes without boiling.
- Remove the thyme sprigs. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if desired.
- Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
Expert Tips
- Add the heavy cream at the end of cooking. This will prevent the heavy cream from curdling. You don’t want to boil after the cream is added either, just bring to a gentle simmer to warm through.
- Use a high quality chicken broth or stock. It makes a huge difference if you choose a high quality broth. You can also easily make your own. But a great shortcut trick is to use a box of store-bought stock and boil it with a package of chicken wings for 1 to 2 hours prior to assembling the soup. This makes the flavor extra rich.
- Swap the protein. If you don’t want to use chicken, Italian sausage is also delicious. Or if you want a vegetarian version, try adding chickpeas or cannellini beans instead.
- Don’t overcook the gnocchi. Once the gnocchi float to the top, turn the heat off so they stay tender. If they sit in hot broth too long, they’ll start to break down and get mushy.
- Baby kale works beautifully. It wilts quickly, has a delicate texture, and doesn’t require removing ribs like regular kale. You can substitute spinach, Swiss chard, or escarole if you prefer.
Storage
Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop for a few minutes until warmed through.
This soup can freeze well too, we do have to caution that sometimes the gnocchi lose their texture after they thaw. If you want to freeze the leftovers, just be sure to cool to room temperature before freezing for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating according to the instructions above.
More Comforting Italian Recipes
Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup is an Italian twist on chicken soup that's ready in 30 minutes. Made with tender potato gnocchi, baby kale, a touch of cream, and shredded rotisserie chicken for ease. It's sure to be a meal prep soup your family will love all week long.
Equipment
- large pot or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 Lemon, zested
- 2 small garlic cloves or 1 large, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 16 ounces store-bought potato gnocchi
- 2 cups baby kale roughly chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Mince the shallot and dice the carrots and celery into small, even pieces so they soften but still hold texture. Add them to the pot and sauté until softened, about 5 to 6 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper while they cook.
- Stir in the lemon zest, garlic, and thyme sprigs and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Add the gnocchi and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until they float and are tender.
- Stir in the baby kale and cook 2 to 3 more minutes, until just wilted and vibrant.
- Reduce the heat to low, stir in the heavy cream, and add the shredded chicken. Warm gently 1 to 2 minutes without boiling.
- Remove the thyme sprigs. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if desired.
- Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.
Notes
Storage:
Store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop for a few minutes until warmed through.
This soup can freeze well too, we do have to caution that sometimes the gnocchi lose their texture after they thaw. If you want to freeze the leftovers, just be sure to cool to room temperature before freezing for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating according to the instructions above.
Tips:
- Add the heavy cream at the end of cooking. This will prevent the heavy cream from curdling. You don’t want to boil after the cream is added either, just bring to a gentle simmer to warm through.
- Use a high quality chicken broth or stock. It makes a huge difference if you choose a high quality broth. You can also easily make your own. But a great shortcut trick is to use a box of store-bought stock and boil it with a package of chicken wings for 1 to 2 hours prior to assembling the soup. This makes the flavor extra rich.
- Swap the protein. If you don’t want to use chicken, Italian sausage is also delicious. Or if you want a vegetarian version, try adding chickpeas or cannellini beans instead.
- Don’t overcook the gnocchi. Once the gnocchi float to the top, turn the heat off so they stay tender. If they sit in hot broth too long, they’ll start to break down and get mushy.
- Baby kale works beautifully. It wilts quickly, has a delicate texture, and doesn’t require removing ribs like regular kale. You can substitute spinach, Swiss chard, or escarole if you prefer.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 733kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 43gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 20gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 205mgSodium: 2280mgPotassium: 311mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 7236IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 125mgIron: 5mg
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