Chicken Gnocchi soup is so comforting and tasty. Tender fresh vegetables, juicy chicken, soft and delicate gnocchi, flavorful broth, fresh herbs, and a squeeze of lemon all make up this wonderful soup.
You can made this soup the best it can be with homemade chicken stock and homemade gnocchi. If you like this recipe, you will love my classic chicken noodle soup too.
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In the south, weather is so unpredictable day to day, getting sick this time of year is simply inevitable. I make soups just as often in the early spring days as I do in the fall and winter.
It’s time to stock up on chicken broth in the freezer because I’ll be making a lot of soups. My go to soups are always the classics: chicken noodle, chicken and rice, minestrone, vegetable soup, and of course, chicken gnocchi soup.
Why We Love It
- Chicken gnocchi soup has a great combination of flavors and comfort. You start with the base of onion, carrots, and celery. I also throw in some leeks to variate onion flavor and add a little something extra.
- As far as the chicken, you can cook chicken thigh meat or chicken breast meat right in the broth with vegetables. Chicken will take on a lot of soup flavors this way.
- If you’re in a time crunch, you can always use rotisserie chicken.
- Enhance the soup with homemade chicken stock, fresh herbs, and a squeeze of lemon juice. There is something about fresh herbs and lemon juice that turns plain ole’ soup into something magical. I have many friends who still thank me for this tip.
- This soup is easy to make GLUTEN FREE simply by using gluten free gnocchi.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken – you can use boneless skinless chicken thigh meat or boneless skinless chicken breasts. Chicken thigh meat is more flavorful and juicy but does have a slightly higher fat content. Chicken breast meat is leaner, but not as juicy or flavorful.
Veggies – you will need the classic base vegetables for the soup: carrots, onion, and celery. I also like to add some leeks for their aromatic, slightly sweet flavor.
Garlic – Fresh garlic will yield MUCH better flavor than pre-minced.
Chicken Broth – chicken stock is best for deeper, richer flavor, but if you need to, you can substitute vegetable broth if needed. When using store-bought broths and stock, try to get “low sodium” or “no salt added” kind. Try to also get bone broth if available, it will have a richer flavor.
Gnocchi – you can use homemade gnocchi or store-bought gnocchi. If using store-bought, I highly recommend that you get them from the refrigerated section!
Herbs – use an aromatic combination of fresh thyme and fresh rosemary. If you don’t have access to fresh herbs, it’s completely okay to use dried herbs. Just remember that dried herbs do tend to me more potent, so use half the amount listed in the recipe.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
Make Ahead Tips:
All components of this soup, you can make homemade ahead of time and save for later. Homemade always tastes so much better so if you’d like to take that route, make your own chicken stock and gnocchi.
I often make a batch of gnocchi and freeze it in portion bags to use through the week. It takes away so much dinner worry and ready in only a few minutes. The same goes for chicken stock. I keep homemade chicken stock in the freezer because unfortunately, it doesn’t last more than a day or two in the fridge.
You can save the chicken meat from cooking homemade chicken stock and freeze it separately, in a freezer friendly bag or container. Use this chicken to make soups later.
When you have all these components on hand, this soup will only take about 40 minutes to make.
How To Make Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Sauté vegetables first (1) in a preheated Dutch oven with a little oil. When the vegetables are soft, smash, mince, and add garlic (2). Stir and cook it until garlic is fragrant and then add chicken stock (3).
Bring it to simmer and add chicken meat (4). Lower the heat to medium-low, cover loosely with a lid and cook until chicken is tender.
Take chicken out when it’s ready (5) and shred using two forks. Stir in the seasoning and herbs to the soup (6) and add back the shredded chicken (7).
Raise the heat back to medium, bring to simmer and add gnocchi (8). Cook gnocchi in soup until it floats to the top. Give it another minute and take off heat. Mix in fresh squeezed lemon juice and serve right away.
How To Make This Soup Homemade
Making homemade chicken stock:
To make your own stock, you will want to use bone-in meat, vegetables like onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. For aromatics, use herbs like bay leaves, parsley, and thyme. Don’t forget whole peppercorns and salt to season the broth.
Sear the meat in a pot until browned and then throw in vegetables, herbs, and seasoning. Bring to boil and then, cook everything over low heat for about 4 hours. You can also use a slow cooker for 6-8 hours, or an Instant Pot. (For Instant Pot, cook it for 45 minutes. Check instructions in my chicken stock recipe.)
Strain the broth through a fine strainer. Pick through the chicken to save the meat but vegetables won’t have any nutritional value left, you can discard them.
Let the stock cool and you can portion it into freezer bags and freeze if you’re not planning on using it right away.
Gnocchi:
I have great instructions on how to make gnocchi that you don’t want to miss. There are a lot of tips that I include and thorough instructions. Check it out if you want to make your own.
Much like the stock, you can make it ahead and freeze for later. When ready, simply grab a bag of homemade gnocchi from the freezer and add it to the soup. Don’t thaw it, cook from frozen.
How To Make This Soup Quick and Easy
Use rotisserie chicken – rotisserie chicken is a great way to make fast and easy soup and it’s already so flavorful. Choose lemon pepper chicken if available, it will go great in this soup. If you don’t have access to rotisserie chicken, you can use cooked and shredded chicken that you may have made ahead.
Pre-made chicken stock – wonderful thing about homemade chicken stock is that you can make it ahead and freeze it. If you don’t have any homemade, it’s easy to grab low sodium chicken stock at the store.
Ready Gnocchi – much like chicken stock, you can make a big batch of homemade gnocchi and freeze it uncooked, in portions. Any time you want to make a fast and easy dinner, simply pull out a bag of frozen gnocchi and add it to soup. If there is no homemade gnocchi in your freezer, simply grab a package of prepared ones in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use either homemade gnocchi or store-bought gnocchi. If using store-bought, I highly recommend that you get them from the refrigerated section.
You can also use frozen gnocchi if you have any. No need to thaw frozen gnocchi, simple add it to the soup and cook until cooked through
Store the leftover chicken and gnocchi soup right in the Dutch oven you cooked it in or in an airtight container, in the refrigerator. Make sure to COOL the soup to room temperature first and cover the pot with the lid if using the same pot.
Stored properly, this soup should be good for about 3-4 days.
You can reheat the individual portions in the microwave. If you need to reheat a lot at the same time, do it on stovetop in the Dutch oven over medium heat until warmed through.
Yes, store-bought gnocchi will be able to hold its shape while being store with soup for a couple of days. It will be softer though, but still be completely good to eat.
Note that store-bought gnocchi will hold its integrity a little better than homemade. Homemade gnocchi are also fine to store in leftover soup but will be a little softer.
More Comforting Soup Recipes
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Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 leeks
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 celery ribs
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1.5 lbs chicken thigh meat can also use chicken breast meat
- 8 cups homemade chicken stock can also use store-bought
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary
- salt
- pepper
- 16 oz gnocchi* homemade or store-bought from refrigerated section
- 1/2 lemon – juice only
Instructions
- Dice onion, leek, carrots, and celery. (Use only the white parts of the leek, discard the green stalks.)
- In a large Dutch oven, add oil and preheat over medium heat.
- Add onion, leeks, carrots, and celery to the pot and saute until vegetables are softened.
- Smash and mince the garlic and add it to the pot. Stir and cook until garlic is fragrant.
- Pour in the stock and bring to simmer.
- Add chicken meat and lower the heat to medium-low, cover loosely with a lid, and let the soup cook until chicken is tender.
- Take chicken out into a separate bowl and shred it using 2 forks.
- Stir in red pepper flakes, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Taste to make sure there is enough salt. Add shredded chicken back to the pot.
- Raise the heat again to medium and bring everything to a gentle simmer.
- Add gnocchi and cook until gnocchi is done and float to the top. (Gnocchi is usually ready in about 5 minutes but if using frozen gnocchi, it might take a couple extra minutes.)
- Stir in fresh squeezed lemon juice and serve right away.
Video
Notes
Stored properly, this soup should be good for about 3-4 days. Reheating: You can reheat the individual portions in the microwave. If you need to reheat a lot at the same time, do it on stovetop in the Dutch oven over medium heat until warmed through. Freezing: This soup will freeze very well but without gnocchi. Freeze soup in an air-tight freezer container and don’t fill the container all the way so there is room for soup to expand as it freezes. You can also freeze it in zip-lock freezer bags. Cook gnocchi in thawed soup while reheating.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in February 2020.
Aniko says
I’m not sure, if my rating shows on my previous comment.
Aniko says
I wanted to make chicken and gnocchi soup, but not the creamy one. This was perfect, very tasty. My 3 year old granddaughter loved it too. Thank you for the delicious recipe! Definitely a keeper 😊
LyubaB says
Thank you so much for your kind words! It’s wonderful to know that it was a hit with both of you. Your feedback means a lot, and I’m glad the recipe is a keeper for you! 😊
Kelly says
This soup was so comforting and bright with the lemon and herbs. I used boneless chicken breasts and cooked the gnocchi separately because I was using chic pea gnocchi for the first time. Besides that I followed the recipe to a T. It was delicious!
Sharon J says
Really enjoyed this. Used store bought gnocchi, home made broth & fewer pepper flakes because of a little one for lunch.
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked it, Sharon!
Victoria says
This soup was so good and really easy to make!
LyubaB says
Thanks, Victoria! Glad you liked it!
Darlynn Venne says
I have made this 2 times with my preferences.. For others….I do not see where the amount of oil is definitized. thank you for clarifying and a great soup recipe.
Tricia says
This was delicious! The first time I made it with homemade broth and rotisserie chicken, and the second time with store bought broth and rotisserie chicken. Would highly reccomend.
LyubaB says
I am so glad you liked it! 🙂