Easy Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
on Oct 21, 2019, Updated Jan 02, 2025
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This delicious crockpot chicken gnocchi soup has it all – it’s creamy and comforting, it’s on the lighter side, and you need just 20 minutes to prepare it. Whether you know and love Olive Garden’s creamy chicken and gnocchi soup or not, you’ve got to try this easy copycat version!
Prefer to make the soup in your pressure cooker? I’ve got you covered there too!
Table of Contents
Why you’re going to love it
Looks good, right? So let’s just dive right in (with a big spoon) and find out why this dreamy, creamy easy chicken and gnocchi soup might just be your new favourite crockpot chicken soup recipe…
- A pretty good Olive Garden copycat! I can’t promise it will be EXACTLY the same, but it’s close. If you haven’t tried it, make it anyway and find out what all the Olive Garden soup fuss is all about.
- A lightened up creamy soup. Thanks to the evaporated milk you use (rather than cream).
- Just 7 main ingredients. So easy.
- Only 20 minutes hands-on time. So why not chop up your vegetables the night before and then throw them in the pot with chicken and stock/broth in the morning for an effort free and delicious dinner?
- A balanced but satisfying meal. It’s packed with vegetables: carrots, celery, onion, spinach. It’s got protein (hello delicious shredded chicken). And let’s not forget those cute little potato dumplings!
What’s gnocchi, anyway?
Made from mashed potato, flour, egg and sometimes cheese, gnocchi is like a kind of Italian dumpling. In fact, in Italian, gnocchi means ‘lumps’. Usually it’s boiled, but you can also bake it or pan-fry it. If you love gnocchi, try this 30-minute sheet pan gnocchi and sausage recipe, this baked gnocchi with broccoli, or this pan fried gnocchi with cherry tomatoes as well as this gnocchi soup!
What ingredients you need
I really wanted to keep the ingredients down to a minimum so that it’s a really easy win of a meal. But I wanted to make sure that it still has plenty of flavor.
Here are the 7 main ingredients:
- 4 kinds of vegetables: carrots, onions, celery and spinach. You can use frozen spinach if you prefer. Just defrost the spinach, then squeeze out any excess water before stirring into the soup.
- garlic and Italian herbs (for some good but simple flavour)
- chicken breasts (chicken thighs work, too)
- chicken broth / stock (Try to stick to really good quality)
- evaporated milk (so it’s creamy but lightened-up!) Cream works, too, if you prefer.
- cornstarch mixed with a bit of water for thickening the soup
- gnocchi (of course!) – I prefer to use a good quality store-bought gnocchi for this recipe, as it holds up better in the hot soup.
Top Tip
As there are only a few ingredients, I try to use the best quality ingredients I can find. I particularly like to buy good quality chicken and stock/broth (if I have some homemade, all the better!).
How to make chicken gnocchi soup in your crockpot
Photo 1: Chop the vegetables (carrots, celery, onion, garlic – everything apart from the spinach) and get all the other ingredients ready to go. So measure out the stock/broth, wash the spinach, get the herbs out of the pantry…
Throw the chopped vegetables, garlic, chicken and stock/broth into the slow cooker. Cook for about 6 hours on low.
Photo 2: After the cooking time is up, grab two forks and shred the chicken in the pot.
Photo 3: Now it’s time for the lightened-up creamy magic to happen! About half an hour before you want to eat, stir in a can of evaporated milk, some corn flour/cornstarch mixed with water (for thickening!) and the gnocchi. Replace the lid of the crockpot, turn it to high and let it bubble away for a few more minutes to cook the gnocchi and let the cornstarch do its thing.
Photo 4: Stir in a bag of spinach and let it wilt into the soup.
Photos 5 and 6: Season to taste and serve!
More things to know (recipe FAQ)
After much testing of this recipe over the years, I finally decided that 3 tablespoons of cornflour gives you the perfect thickness.
If you’d prefer your soup to be more like a hearty chowder or casserole, just add a tablespoon or two more of cornflour.
If you’d prefer a much thinner soup, simply reduce the cornflour to just 2 tablespoons.
The soup is lovely heated up the next day, but I sometimes find some of the liquid is soaked up by the gnocchi in the fridge. Simply add a bit of water to thin it out again to your liking.
Mostly, we just eat it as it is (it’s a wonderful one pot meal!), but if you want to serve some toasted bread with it go ahead! This 2-minute toasted bread with olive oil and salt is my favourite. If you have an air fryer, go with air fryer garlic bread. If you have a little more time, try this delicious no-knead Greek bread.
No, I wouldn’t recommend it. A slow cooker might not bring the chicken to a safe temperature quickly enough. Instead, thaw the chicken completely before cooking this soup. I find the easiest way is to let it thaw overnight in your refrigerator (if you can remember to get it out of the freezer!).
Yes! Cook for 10 minutes on high pressure, then let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes (on my pressure cooker I use the ‘auto quick release’ setting which takes about 5 minutes).
Although the recipe states to cook on low for 6 hours, your gnocchi soup will be fine left cooking all day. Out at work for 8, 9 or even 11 hours? No worries!
Once you’ve added the cornflour, gnocchi and spinach and the soup has bubbled and thickened, it’s also fine to leave the soup on the ‘keep warm’ setting for a while until you’re ready to eat.
Absolutely. Reheat either in a saucepan or in the microwave at 50% power (so the chicken doesn’t get tough!). See how it looks when it’s reheated, but feel free to add a drizzle of milk or water if it’s looking too thick.
You can freeze for up to 3 months. Simply let defrost, then reheat as above.
How to make your soup taste better than Olive Garden’s!
I say this with my tongue in my cheek. But I truly don’t think you need a ton of fancy ingredients to get a meal that tastes just as good.
In my very humble opinion, all you need to do is use the VERY BEST QUALITY ingredients you can find and/or afford.
In other words:
- local fresh and in-season vegetables.
- fresh supermarket chicken stock / broth or homemade stock. How do you make homemade chicken stock? Sometimes, instead of throwing away a roast chicken carcass, I just simmer for 4 hours on the stove top or cook it on low for at least 8 hours in my slow cooker with: half an onion, some (unpeeled) garlic cloves, a carrot, a bay leaf, water (until everything is just covered), salt and pepper and some fresh or dried herbs. I then let it cool, strain and freeze for the next time I want to make this chicken soup (or these amazing Greek potatoes)!
More comforting chicken dinners
Easy Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken breasts, skinless boneless (3 medium to large)
- 1 onion, large, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 4 sticks celery, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed or chopped
- 4.5 cups chicken stock, (US=chicken broth)
- 1 tablespoon mixed Italian herbs, e.g. basil, thyme, oregano (or Italian seasoning)
- 14 ounces evaporated milk, (1 can)
- 3 tablespoons corn flour, dissolved in a little water (US=cornstarch)
- 16 ounces gnocchi
- 7 ounces spinach, (baby spinach)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place the chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, stock and herbs in the crockpot and cook on low for six hours minimum (or high for four). If you prefer to use an electric pressure cooker/Instant Pot, cook for 10 minutes on high pressure (70kpa), then quick pressure release (either instant or auto quick which takes 5-10 minutes in my pressure cooker).
- At the end of the cooking time, shred the chicken in the pot with two forks.
- Stir in the evaporated milk, cornstarch/water, and gnocchi (no need to cook it first). Bubble on 'high' until the soup has thickened a little and the gnocchi is cooked (a few minutes). If cooking in a pressure cooker, use the saute function instead.
- Wilt the spinach into the pot, grind in plenty of salt and pepper to taste, then serve.
How much is one serving size?
Hi Lauren! There are about 8 servings, but it does depend a bit on how thick you want the soup to be. I’m afraid I don’t know exactly how big each serving size is, but with some crusty bread it’s enough for a main meal size for everyone. Hope you enjoy it!
When it ask you to add the water and the gnocchi what water is it talking about, how much, is it the water on the packaging 9f the gnocchi
Hi Katie! I think you might be referring to the water that you mix in with the cornstarch? If so, you just add a little bit of water to your cornstarch so that you can pour it into the soup without it being all lumpy. Let me know if this isn’t what you meant! Good luck!
what would be the best type of chicken to use (or cut) for this recipe?
Hi Brianna! I use skinless boneless chicken breasts!
Hello, this looks amazing. I have the ingredients to make this except the store was out of fresh spinach. Will frozen spinach be okay to use instead?
Hi Amber! Yes, absolutely fine. Just defrost the spinach and squeeze out a bit of the excess water, then add at the same time as you would add the fresh spinach. Good luck!
Thank you that is what I did. It’s in the crockpot now. Just waiting for hubby to get home. It smells delicious.
So happy to hear it turned out well, Amber. Thank you so much for letting me know!
After making this incredibly delicious soup, it’s one of my favorite Olive Garden copycat recipes! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe gem.
You’re welcome, Denay. Thank you so much for your glowing review!
You have me craving this soup now :-). I love how close this is to Olive Garden’s soup.
So glad you like it, Sandi. Thank you so much for leaving your review!
This is one of our favourite dinners. I’ve made it so many times now. Sometimes I make it a bit thinner than the recipe suggests, but it’s delicious every time!
Thanks so much for bothering to leave your feedback, Louisa. This is one of our favourites too. I must make it again soon!
Just made it and it is just like Olive Garden. I put lots of Italian seasoning…so much so as it began to cook n smell I was a little fearful. After its all done though it is awesome!
Great to hear, Elaine! Next time I’ll add more Italian seasoning to mine too! 🙂
For some reason I can’t seem to thicken the soup, it ends up having a bit of a powdery taste in some bites any tips!
Hmmm… try putting the crock pot on high and leaving off the lid after you add the cornflour – I think that might work to reduce/thicken the soup
This may seem like a stupid question but is the chicken cooked or uncooked when you put it in at the beginning?
Hi LeeAnn – no question is too stupid to ask! Pop the chicken in uncooked! It will slow cook and be really easy to shred into the soup when you’re ready to eat. Hope you enjoy it – I love this soup!
Would it be a big deal if I don’t have any basil?
Not at all, Megan – go for it!
I made this recipe last night. It was so delicious it came out so good. There are just two recommendations I suggest when making this: flavor the chicken with garlic salt before putting it in crock pot and use next time we are gonna try the larger sized gnocchi that is what the OG uses and the mini’s didn’t plump up and my children really love the bigger gnocchi. Thank you for this amazing recipe for something new at home 👍🏻🤗🍽
Hi, Judy. You’ve just made my day! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I love your recommendations too. I’ve never seen any giant sized gnocchi here in the UK, but it sounds wonderful! 🙂
Can I prepare this before work around 730am and eat at 530? Would it be to thick if I added everything in the crockpot on love for 8 hrs?
Hi Holly! Yes, absolutely! Just make sure you add the last few ingredients (spinach, gnocchi etc.) when you get home. Enjoy!
What size crockpot?
Hi Josh! I don’t know exactly what size my crockpot is, but it’s on the smaller side, so as long as yours isn’t TINY you should be fine. Good luck!
Can I leave this on all day? 10 hours?
Hi, Kate. Sure! Just make sure you still leave all the last ‘bits’ until you’re home e.g. adding the gnocchi.
Sorry if I missed it somewhere, how many people does this soup serve? It sounds delicious and I’m excited to make it!
Hi! So sorry, that is indeed missed out of the recipe. It serves 8 (maybe more if you choose to make the soup on the thinner side). Enjoy!
I have this in the crockpot right now! Once I add the spinach and gnocchi, how long can I let it sit in the crockpot until we eat it? Can I keep it on low (or warm) for another hour or so until everyone is home to eat? Can’t wait to taste it! This soup is the only thing I order from Olive Garden so I hope it’s similar!!
Hello Kendra! I suspect this response might be coming a bit too late for your meal today, but hopefully it still turned out great and you weren’t disappointed! I can’t guarantee the soup is EXACTLY like what you’ve had at Olive Garden, but I reckon it’s a pretty tasty and not-too-far-off copycat! For next time, it’s absolutely OK to keep it on low or keep warm for another hour. No problem at all! 🙂
Can this soup be frozen?
Hi Wendy – yes, absolutely! I’d stick to maximum 3 months as it’s got chicken in it, but apart from that I don’t see why it won’t taste just as good after freezing! 🙂
I am making this soup for a football get together this weekend and can’t wait to try it! Do you leave the crockpot turned on when you add the gnocchi and spinach, if so for how long? Or do you turn it off and just leave it covered for a period of time to allow the gnocchi to cook?
Hi Marie, so happy to hear you’re going to give this a go! You can definitely leave the crockpot on when you add the gnocchi and spinach. You just do all those final little bits (shred chicken, add cornflour and gnocchi, add spinach and garlic) pretty much at the last minute, and then serve when you’re ready. Don’t worry about it getting spoiled – it’s on low heat remember, so it’ll be fine!
I’ve never had gnocchi’s before. I bought them just to try and go with a sauce…..turns out they’re for soup lol I didn’t know that. So perfect on Thursday I was going to make soup anyway so this is perfect. I can’t wait to try this. Now that the weather is turning into fall.
Hello Natalie. I really hope you enjoy this recipe – it’s the most popular recipe on the blog! You certainly CAN eat gnocchi with a sauce, though – I often eat it just like pasta! 🙂