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A close bowl of chicken gnocchi soup, potato gnocchi and spinach with a sliced carrot coin in the creamy broth.
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Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup

You are about to make the soup you always order out, six bowls of it, in one pot. Seared chicken, pillow-y potato gnocchi, and a broth thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. This is the kind of soup that'll make you want to lick the bowl clean.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Resting Time10 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main Course, Soups & Stew Recipes
Cuisine: Italian-American
Servings: 6 (about 1 1/2 cups per bowl)
Calories: 490kcal
Author: Kita Roberts

Ingredients

For the Chicken

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 3/4 inch dice
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Soup

  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 2 carrots peeled and diced
  • 2 celery stalks diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 pound potato gnocchi

To Finish

  • 1 cup fresh baby spinach chopped
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated off the block
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped

Instructions

Brown the Chicken, Pull It Early

  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high until it shimmers. Season the diced chicken with the salt and pepper, add it in a single layer, and cook 3 to 4 minutes total, turning once, until the outsides are golden and the centers still looks barely pink. Move it to a plate. It is not cooked through yet.
    Diced chicken seared golden on the outside in the black braiser, browned for color before it comes out of the pan.

Soften the Vegetables

  • Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the same pot. Cook over medium 5 to 6 minutes, stirring, until the onion turns translucent and the celery loses its squeak.
    Diced onion, carrot and celery added to the same pan after the chicken comes out, still raw and ready to soften.

Bloom the Aromatics

  • Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, thyme, and smoked paprika. Cook about 45 seconds, until the garlic smells sweet instead of sharp.
    A mound of dried Italian herbs and spices over the diced onion, carrot and celery softening in the black pan.

Make the Roux

  • Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for a full minute, until it coats everything and smells toasted rather than raw.
    Flour sprinkled in a mound over the softened onion, carrot and celery, the roux step that thickens the soup.

Add the Broth

  • Pour the chicken broth in a thin stream while whisking. Keep whisking until the liquid runs smooth with no flour clinging to the sides of the pot.

Return the Chicken

  • Add the chicken and every drop of juice on the plate. Bring to a gentle simmer, bubbles at the edge only, about 5 minutes.
    Potato gnocchi dropped into the simmering broth, floating among the chicken and vegetables.

Add the Cream, Then Gnocchi

  • Stir in the heavy cream, then add the gnocchi. Cook 4 to 5 minutes at a bare simmer, until the gnocchi float and bite through soft with no chalky center. Do not let it boil. Chicken should reach 165F.
    Heavy cream poured into the center of the pot of broth and potato gnocchi, turning the soup creamy.

Wilt the Spinach

  • Add the spinach and stir about 1 minute, until it collapses and goes deep green.
    Fresh baby spinach piled on top of the creamy chicken gnocchi soup, ready to wilt into the pot.

Finish Off the Heat

  • Pull the pot off the burner. Stir in the parmesan and parsley until the cheese disappears into the broth instead of stringing behind the spoon.

Rest and Serve

  • The gnocchi keeps shedding starch as it sits, and the broth goes from loose to spoon coating in that window.
    A wooden spoon lifting potato gnocchi and wilted spinach out of the creamy broth of the finished chicken gnocchi soup.

Notes

  • Fridge up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat low on the stove with a splash of broth. The microwave breaks the cream before the middle is warm.
  • Do not freeze it finished. Freeze the base before the cream and gnocchi go in.
  • Make ahead: build through step 6, cool, refrigerate up to 2 days, then add cream, gnocchi, spinach, and cheese when you reheat.
  • Rotisserie chicken: skip step 1, start the vegetables in a tablespoon of butter, stir 3 cups shredded meat in with the cream.
    Grate the parmesan off the block. Bagged shreds go gritty in hot cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 490kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 968mg | Potassium: 678mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 4706IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 183mg | Iron: 4mg