Easy Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
on Oct 21, 2019, Updated Oct 25, 2021
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This delicious crockpot chicken gnocchi soup has it all – it’s creamy and comforting, it’s low calorie, 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
- So what’s gnocchi and how do you make it?
- What ingredients you need
- How to make it in the slow cooker or electric pressure cooker
- More things to know (recipe FAQ)
- How to make your soup taste better than Olive Garden’s!
- More easy slow cooked meals
- More easy comfort food
- Easy Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat) Recipe
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 (or pressure cooker!) chicken soup recipe…
- If you’ve ever had a similar soup at Olive Garden, this recipe will teach you to make your own version. 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.
- Thanks to the evaporated milk you use (rather than cream), this is a LIGHTENED UP creamy soup.
- There are just 7 main ingredients in this soup. You see – so easy.
- You make it in your slow cooker with 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?
- Had a craving for this Olive Garden chicken soup at work? No worries – just make the recipe in your Instant Pot / electric pressure cooker when you get home instead.
- This is a very balanced but substantial meal. It’s packed with nutritious vegetables: carrots, celery, onion, spinach. It’s got protein (hello delicious shredded chicken). And let’s not forget those cute little potato dumplings aka gnocchi carbs!
So what’s gnocchi and how do you make it?
As gnocchi is usually right next to the fresh pasta at the supermarket, you might be wondering… erm, is gnocchi a type of pasta? Or is it a sort of potato?
As traditional gnocchi is made from mashed potato, flour, egg and sometimes cheese, it’s actually more like a kind of dumpling.
In fact, in Italian, gnocchi means ‘lumps’. I’m sure this sounds more appetizing in Italian though than it does in English!
Most people boil gnocchi but my favourite way to eat it is to bake it, like in this 30-minute gnocchi with sausage, peppers and tomatoes recipe. Or try pan frying potato gnocchi – they end up almost like crispy little roast potatoes like in this amazing pan fried gnocchi with cherry tomatoes recipe.
For this gnocchi soup recipe, I either buy a good quality ready made gnocchi from the supermarket, or I make my own. It’s actually pretty easy to make gnocchi. I usually use the ricotta gnocchi recipe in this post which is super quick because I don’t use any potatoes – just ricotta cheese, flour, egg, and parmesan cheese!
Whether you buy gnocchi or make it, you know it’s ready when it floats to the top of the 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 flavour.
So… these are the main ingredients in my soup, plus oil for sauteing and salt and pepper for seasoning, of course:
- 4 kinds of vegetables: carrots, onions, celery and spinach
- garlic and Italian herbs (for some good but simple flavour)
- chicken breasts (the best quality I can find)
- chicken broth / stock (again, I try to stick to really good quality)
- evaporated milk (so it’s creamy but lightened-up!)
- cornstarch mixed with a bit of water for thickening the soup
- gnocchi (of course!) – either homemade or store bought. To be honest I usually buy my gnocchi ready made, but I look for a good quality brand.
Pro 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 organic vegetables, and use good quality stock/broth (if I have some homemade, all the better!).
How to make it in the slow cooker or electric pressure cooker
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 or instant pot. Slow cooker: cook for about 6 hours on low. Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker: 10 minutes on high, 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).
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. If you’re using your pressure cooker just use the saute function here.
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 a little more time, try this delicious no-knead Greek bread.
Yes, no problem! Cook for the same amount of time if using your crockpot. If using your pressure cooker / Instant Pot, you can reduce the cook time to 8 minutes if using thighs.
Yes! The cook time won’t change if you’re using your slow cooker.
Here’s a handy guide for using frozen chicken when cooking the soup in your pressure cooker / Instant Pot:
For frozen chicken breasts: cook for 14 minutes on high pressure and release pressure for 5 minutes (I use the ‘auto quick’ setting on my electric pressure cooker).
For frozen chicken thighs: cook for 10 minutes on high pressure and then release pressure for 5 minutes.
If you happen to have a whole load of cooked chicken to use in the soup instead, I’d suggest adding it in at the end with the evaporated milk. This will give it enough time to reheat properly without overcooking and becoming tough.
Yes again. Just defrost the spinach, then squeeze out any excess water before stirring into the soup.
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. Organic if you can find or afford them.
- fresh and/or organic supermarket chicken stock / broth or homemade stock. How do you make homemade chicken stock? Sometimes, instead of throwing away a roast chicken carcass, I place it in my electric pressure cooker with: half an onion, some (unpeeled) garlic cloves, a carrot, a bay leaf, salt and pepper and some fresh or dried herbs. Then I pour water over (until everything is just covered) and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes. I then let it cool, strain and freeze for the next time I want to make this chicken soup (or these amazing Greek potatoes)! [No worries if you don’t have a pressure cooker. just simmer for 4 hours on the stove top or cook it on low for at least 8 hours in your slow cooker.]
More easy slow cooked meals
- slow cooker Korean chicken
- perfect Thai chicken and butternut squash curry (stove top, slow cooker or pressure cooker!)
- easy slow cooked Greek lamb with lemon garlic potatoes (oven or slow cooker!)
- Thai pumpkin and red lentil soup (vegetarian and delicious!)
More easy comfort food
- Fan of chicken pot pie? Try this lightened up version AKA creamy chicken and leek pie, or how about a samosa pie? (Like samosas? You’ll love samosa pie!)
- 30 minute Greek macaroni cheese (another lightened-up recipe using evaporated milk)
- Fan of the Mediterranean diet? Or just like chicken casseroles? You have to try this Mediterranean stove top chicken casserole (make it on the stove top or in your slow cooker or pressure cooker)
- Creamy lemon chicken orzo soup (a bit like this gnocchi soup, but it’s a stove top recipe ready in just 30 minutes!)
- Swedish meatballs!
- Or check out all of Scrummy Lane’s easy meal ideas!
Last but not least: Need a quick and easy dessert to serve after this meal? Here are 11 really easy dessert recipes (6 ingredients or less).
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!