Discover how to make a delicious and comforting homemade chicken and gnocchi soup with this easy recipe. This creamy soup features tender chicken, pillowy gnocchi, and fresh vegetables. It’s perfect for a cozy meal or even a special occasion. Learn the simple steps to create this hearty, flavorful soup at home.
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Reasons To Love This Recipe
- Comforting and Cozy Flavor: The combination of tender chicken, pillowy gnocchi, and a rich, flavorful broth creates a wonderfully comforting and satisfying soup.
- Easy to Make: Despite the impressive flavors, this chicken and gnocchi soup comes together in under an hour and uses simple, accessible ingredients with minimal prep.
- Versatile: The recipe is flexible, allowing you to customize the vegetables, herbs, and even the type of chicken used to suit your preferences. For example, you can add mushrooms, spinach, or other veggies to boost the nutrition.
- Delicious Leftovers: This soup becomes even more flavorful as the ingredients meld together, making the leftovers just as tasty, if not better, than the first serving.
Ingredients – Here’s What You’ll Need
- The Chicken: I opted for cubed chicken breasts cooked in unsalted butter in this recipe.
- The Veggies: For the veggies, I used the classic mirepoix of onions, celery, and carrots. I also added fresh garlic for flavor and baby spinach for color, nutrition, and texture.
- The Liquids: I used low-sodium chicken broth, enhanced with Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base, thickened with all-purpose flour. I also added half and half for richness and creaminess.
- The Seasonings: The seasonings were simple—dried thyme and black pepper. The Better than Boullion is quite salty, so no extra salt was needed.
- The Gnocchi: I used regular-size store-bought potato Gnocchi. Mini Gnocchi would also work well in this recipe.
- Parmesan Cheese: As an optional ingredient, I sprinkled freshly grated Parmesan cheese on the soup when served.
Making the Chicken and Gnocchi Soup – Step-by-Step
- I started by cooking the cubed chicken in melted butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat until all of the pink was gone.
- Next, I added the onions, celery, and carrots to the chicken. I stirred everything together and let the veggies cook for about 10 minutes until they softened.
- After 10 minutes, I added the garlic, and cooked the mixture until the garlic was fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Next, I added the flour, thyme, and pepper. I stirred everything together and let it cook for several minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste.
- I added the chicken broth and Better than Boullion. I cooked the mixture, stirring constantly over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.
Then, I covered the Dutch oven, lowered the heat to medium-low, and simmered the soup until the veggies were tender. This took about 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, I removed the lid and added the Gnocchi. I cooked the soup for three to four minutes.
- Then, I added the baby spinach and cooked the mixture until the spinach wilted. This took two to three minutes.
- Finally, I added the half and half. I stirred the soup and let cook for several more minutes until everything was heated through.
I served the Chicken and Gnocchi soup with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese on top, a simple green salad on the side and homemade breadsticks.
Overall, this Homemade Chicken and Gnocchi Soup recipe is a winner. The soup is comforting, customizable, and downright delicious. It’s sure to become a new family favorite. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken and gnocchi soup freezes very well. Allow the soup to cool completely, then transfer it to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag. It will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. When ready to serve, thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Leftover chicken and gnocchi soup will keep well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The gnocchi may absorb some of the broth over time, so you may need to thin it out with a bit of extra broth when reheating.
You can omit the gnocchi in this recipe for a delicious creamy chicken soup.
Chicken and gnocchi soup is an excellent make-ahead option. You can prepare a big batch and enjoy the delicious, comforting soup throughout the week or freeze it for a later date. The flavors hold up very well to reheating.
Other Italian Recipes
Wondering what to pair this delicious soup with? Here are some ideas!
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Recipe
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Homemade Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (2 cups) (See Tip 1)
- ¾ cup chopped celery (3 to 4 stalks)
- ¾ cup peeled and shredded carrots (2 medium to large carrots)
- 1 cup chopped onions (1 medium onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup (1.25 ounces) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups (32 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth (See Tip 2)
- 1 Tablespoon Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base (See Tip 3)
- 16 ounce package potato gnocchi (See Tip 4)
- 6 ounce package baby spinach, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups (16 ounces) half and half
- ¼ cup (1 ounce) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Instructions
- Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Add the celery, carrots, and onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic; cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour, thyme and pepper; stir to combine. Cook for several minutes to remove the raw flour taste.
- Add the chicken broth, Better than Bouillon. Cook, stirring constantly over medium heat, until thickened and bubbly. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until the celery and carrots are totally softened, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the cover. Add the gnocchi; cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the gnocchi starts to float to the top of the soup.
- Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the half and half and cook until warmed through.
- If necessary, correct the seasonings. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
- Yield: 6 servings.
Video
Tips/Notes
- You can substitute 2 cups of diced or shredded rotisserie chicken in this recipe for the chicken breasts.
- I prefer to use low-sodium chicken broth in this soup, but you can use regular chicken broth if desired.
- Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base can be found in the soup section of your grocery store. It really adds a depth of chicken flavor to the soup. However, it is quite salty, so you probably don’t need to add any additional salt to the soup. Wait until the end and taste the soup to correct the seasonings.
- Gnocchi (pronounced “nyoh-kee”) is a type of Italian pasta consisting of small, soft dumplings made from potato, flour, and egg. I used the gnocchi that was available in the same section of my grocery store as dried pasta like spaghetti, penne, and lasagna noodles. You can use either regular-size gnocchi or mini gnocchi in this recipe.
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