Copycat Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This is a creamy chicken soup with little dumpling-like gnocchi.
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 8
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 45 minutes mins
First:
- 2 Tbsp butter
- ½ medium white onion (diced)
- 2 stalks celery (diced)
- 2 medium carrots (diced)
- 1 Tbsp garlic (minced)
Second:
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 lb chicken breasts (cooked & diced)
- 1 tsp poultry seasoning (more or less to taste)
- 1 tsp thyme (more or less to taste)
- 1 tsp sage (more or less to taste)
- 1 medium bay leaf
- 2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
- 1 tsp black pepper (more or less to taste)
Just before serving:
- 4 cups potato gnocchi (see below for recipe)
- 2 cups half & half (or milk or cream - more or less to taste)
- ¼ cup corn starch (may need more)
Pre-prep:
Cook and dice the chicken breasts.
Dice the onion, celery, and carrots and mince the garlic
The Soup:
In a soup pan, saute the butter, onion, celery, carrots, and garlic until the vegetables begin to get soft.
Once the vegetables are sauted, add the broth, diced chicken, and rest of the seasonings.
Bring to a gentle boil and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes. This soup is best if it can simmer for a couple hours.
About 10 minutes before serving:
In a cup, stir together about 1/4 cup of milk and 1/4 cup of cornstarch. Stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.
Bring the soup up to a steady boil and, while stirring, slowly pour the milk/cornstarch mixture into the soup.
Add the gnocchi and as much extra milk (or cream) as you wish.
Allow to simmer for a few more minutes (until the gnocchi is cooked through) before serving.
Make Ahead: This is a great make-ahead recipe. You can easily make this in the crock-pot (4-6 hours) or on the stovetop (30 minutes).
This recipe is extremely versatile. Feel free to add any vegetables or seasonings that you wish!