Pillowy potato gnocchi take the place of noodles in this chicken soup, and they soak up the broth like little dumplings. Kale rides along too, so one pot covers dinner and your greens on a cold night.
Gnocchi need only 3 to 5 minutes at a boil, so they go in after the chicken and broth have simmered for 20. Added any earlier, they keep cooking in the hot broth and go soft and gummy before the bowls are filled.
🔪 Ingredients for chicken gnocchi soup with kale
- Cooked chicken: rotisserie chicken, leftover roast chicken or poached breasts or thighs all work. You need about 2 cups, chopped.
- Potato gnocchi: one 16-ounce package. Shelf-stable or refrigerated gnocchi both cook straight in the soup.
- Low-sodium chicken broth: low sodium lets you salt the soup to taste.
- Kale: one bunch. Strip the leaves off the tough stems before chopping.
- Onion, celery and green bell pepper
- Garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes and dried rosemary
- Olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper
- Parmesan cheese
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven or soup pot
- Ladle
📝 How to make chicken gnocchi soup with kale
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and green pepper and cook until soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes and rosemary and cook 1 minute, until the garlic smells toasty and the tomato paste darkens slightly.
- Pour in the broth and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the chopped chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 20 minutes.
- Stir in the gnocchi and return to a boil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the gnocchi float and are tender.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the kale until it wilts and turns bright green.
- Ladle into bowls and top with Parmesan.
💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- Dark meat stays juicier through a 20 minute simmer than breast meat does. If you’re cooking chicken just for this soup, use thighs.
- Planning leftovers? Cook the gnocchi separately and add them to each bowl. Gnocchi stored in broth overnight turn soft.
- Save the Parmesan rind and drop it into the pot during the simmer for a deeper, savory broth. Fish it out before serving.
🔄 Substitutions
- Kale: for spinach, stirred in at the very end; it wilts in seconds.
- Gnocchi: for small pasta like ditalini or orzo, cooked to the time on the package before the kale goes in. The soup turns brothier and less hearty.
- Green bell pepper: for red bell pepper, which is sweeter.
- Cooked chicken: for cooked turkey, good use of holiday leftovers.
🍽️ What to serve with chicken gnocchi soup with kale
- A warm baguette for dunking.
- A crisp green salad with a sharp vinaigrette to cut the richness.
- A grilled cheese sandwich, cut into strips, for a full soup and sandwich night.
More soup for the cold months: steak and potato soup and French onion soup with roasted bone marrow.
Soup season is just getting started. Join the Girl Carnivore email list and the next pot lands in your inbox.
🧊 Leftovers and storage
- Refrigerate covered up to 4 days. The gnocchi soften as they sit.
- Freeze the soup without gnocchi up to 3 months; add fresh gnocchi when you reheat.
- Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat until steaming.
Chicken, Gnocchi and Kale Soup
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1/2 green pepper diced
- 3 garlic cloves 3 or 4 to taste, minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- salt and pepper
- 2 cups chicken cooked and chopped
- 16 oz potato gnocchi 1 package
- 1 bunch kale stems removed and chopped
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
Build the base
- In a large Dutch oven, sauté the onion, celery and green pepper in the olive oil until soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes and rosemary. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the broth and season with salt and pepper.
Simmer the chicken
- Add the chopped chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Cook the gnocchi and finish
- Stir in the gnocchi and return to a boil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the gnocchi float and are tender.
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the kale until it wilts.
- Ladle into bowls and serve with fresh Parmesan cheese on top.
Save this Recipe
Would You Like to Send This Recipe to Yourself?
Nutrition
Bookmark this recipe now!
Quick summary
Onion, celery and green pepper softened in olive oil, then garlic, tomato paste, red pepper flakes and dried rosemary, chicken broth and cooked chicken simmered 20 minutes. A 16-ounce package of potato gnocchi cooks in the boiling soup for 3 to 5 minutes, kale wilts in last, and Parmesan goes on top. Serves 6 in about 40 minutes.
❓ FAQs
No. Shelf-stable or refrigerated gnocchi go straight into the boiling soup and cook in 3 to 5 minutes, until they float and turn tender.
Freeze it without the gnocchi. Gnocchi frozen in broth turn soft and grainy, so add fresh gnocchi when you reheat the soup.
Any cooked chicken works. Rotisserie chicken is the shortcut, and thighs stay juicier than breasts through the simmer.
