Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup for the First Cool Night

We had our first genuinely cool night this week. I walked out to grab a package around eight and the air had that thin, clean edge to it, the one that shows up in Kansas City in mid September and basically announces that summer is packing its bags. I stood on the porch barefoot like an idiot for a full minute just enjoying it, then came inside and immediately wanted soup.

Not a project soup. Not a simmer all afternoon soup. I wanted the kind that is on the table in about half an hour and makes the whole house smell like a restaurant. This creamy chicken gnocchi soup is that soup, and it has been on repeat here ever since my kid asked for seconds without being bribed, which in my house counts as a five star review.

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Why you will love this one

It tastes like the version you order out, the one that comes with unlimited breadsticks, except you made it in one pot while wearing the sweatpants with the hole in them. The gnocchi are the whole trick. Those little potato dumplings go soft and pillowy in the broth and thicken everything up as they cook, so you get a soup that feels luxurious without a single fussy step.

It also uses rotisserie chicken, which I will defend to anyone. Two dollars more than raw chicken breast and it saves you twenty minutes and a cutting board. On a Tuesday, that math is not close.

What you need

Nothing weird here. If you keep a bag of gnocchi in the pantry, you are always about thirty five minutes from this.

• 2 tablespoons salted butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, shredded or finely diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups half and half, or heavy cream if you are feeling it
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 cups cooked shredded chicken, rotisserie is perfect
• 16 ounces shelf stable potato gnocchi
• 3 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
• Kosher salt, black pepper, and grated parmesan for serving

The only gear that actually matters is a heavy pot. I use a 6 quart enameled Dutch oven for everything from this to chili, and a deep soup ladle so I am not doing the tilt and pray thing with a coffee mug.

How to make it, step by step

1. Melt the butter with the olive oil in your pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery with a pinch of salt and let them cook 6 to 8 minutes until soft.
2. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds, then sprinkle the flour over everything and stir constantly for a minute. This toasts it so the soup does not taste pasty.
3. Add the broth slowly, whisking as you go, then pour in the half and half along with the thyme, onion powder, and nutmeg. Bring it to a gentle simmer and let it go 5 minutes to thicken a little.
4. Add the shredded chicken and the gnocchi. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes until the gnocchi float and turn pillowy. Do not wander off during this part, gnocchi goes from perfect to mush fast.
5. Stir in the spinach and cook about a minute, just until it wilts. Season with salt and pepper, and be braver with the salt than you think you need to be.
6. Ladle into bowls, hit it with parmesan, serve immediately with something crusty for dunking.

Tips, swaps, and make ahead notes

That quarter teaspoon of nutmeg sounds fussy and optional. It is not. It is the thing that makes people say wait, what is in this. Do not skip it.

If you want it thicker, mash four or five gnocchi against the side of the pot while it simmers and let the starch do the work. If you want it lighter, swap half the half and half for extra broth, though I will be honest, I never do.

Swaps that work: kale instead of spinach, just give it three or four extra minutes. Turkey instead of chicken, which makes this a genuinely great use for Thanksgiving leftovers. A big pinch of red pepper flakes if your people like heat.

On make ahead: you can build the soup base through step 3 up to two days early and refrigerate it, then reheat and add the chicken, gnocchi, and spinach right before serving. That is the version I would do for company. Straight up leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge, but fair warning, the gnocchi drinks the broth overnight and you will want to loosen it with a splash of broth when you reheat. Reheat gently on the stove, not on high, or the cream will break. I would not freeze this one.

Quick recipe details

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes
• Total time: about 35 minutes
• Servings: 6 generous bowls
• Storage: 3 days covered in the fridge. Reheat low and slow with a splash of broth. Freezing is not recommended, the cream and the gnocchi both suffer.

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup

A cozy, creamy chicken gnocchi soup that comes together in about 35 minutes with rotisserie chicken and shelf stable gnocchi. Tastes like the restaurant version, made in one pot on a school night.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings: 6 bowls

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsp salted butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 carrots, shredded or finely diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups half and half or heavy cream
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg optional but worth it
• 3 cups cooked shredded chicken rotisserie chicken works great
• 16 oz shelf stable potato gnocchi
• 3 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
• Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
• Grated parmesan, for serving

Method

 

1. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery with a pinch of salt and cook 6 to 8 minutes, until everything softens and smells like the start of something good.
2. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir constantly for about a minute so it toasts instead of tasting pasty.
3. Pour in the chicken broth a little at a time, whisking as you go to keep it smooth. Add the half and half, thyme, onion powder, and nutmeg. Bring it up to a gentle simmer and let it bubble 5 minutes to thicken slightly.
4. Add the shredded chicken and the gnocchi. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the gnocchi floats and turns pillowy. Do not walk away here, gnocchi cooks fast.
5. Stir in the spinach and cook just until it wilts, about 1 minute. Taste and season generously with salt and pepper.
6. Ladle into bowls, shower with parmesan, and serve right away with bread for dunking.

Notes

Use shelf stable gnocchi from the pasta aisle, not frozen, so it cooks in the soup in about 5 minutes. Rotisserie chicken is the shortcut that makes this a 35 minute dinner. If you want it thicker, mash a few of the gnocchi against the side of the pot as it simmers.

Tools for This Recipe

• Spring Chef XL Box Grater: Shreds the carrots in about a minute and handles the parmesan for serving too.
• OXO Good Grips 11 Inch Balloon Whisk: Makes it easy to whisk the broth into the flour slowly so the soup stays silky with no lumps.

The takeaway

The first cool week of fall always makes me want to overhaul my whole life. New planner, new routine, sourdough starter, the works. Then reality shows up and what I actually need is one good pot of something warm that nobody complains about. This is that pot. It is forgiving, it is fast, and it makes a regular Tuesday feel a little bit tended to.

If you make it, tell me what you tweaked. I genuinely want to know, especially if you found a swap better than mine. Drop it in the comments.

So glad you are here.

xo, Pam