Chicken
$1.26per plate
Prep
15 min
Chicken · Chicken Soup
Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This is the creamy, comforting chicken gnocchi soup you order out, made from scratch in one pot for about a dollar eighty a bowl. Tender potato gnocchi, bite-size chicken, and a classic mix of onion, celery, carrots, and spinach simmer in a lightly thickened cream broth that stays spoonable, not stew-thick. It has the same cozy, Olive Garden-style flavor without a jar or a restaurant bill. It is a true soup, with a much higher broth ratio than our creamy chicken gnocchi skillet dinner, and unlike our Marry Me chicken soup it skips the sun-dried tomatoes for a cleaner, classic bowl. It joins the rest of our cheap chicken recipes, price up front. Find it alongside our other soup recipes, all priced per serving.
$1.80per plate
Estimated recipe total
$10.78 · serves 6
Cook
30 min
Total
45 min
Serves
6
Recipe from Budget Plates · https://www.budgetplates.com/chicken-gnocchi-soup
Equipment
- Large pot
Variations
- Stir in a handful of corn or extra carrots for more vegetables.
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon for brightness against the cream.
- Top with extra grated Parmesan and cracked pepper before serving.
1 How to make it
1
Soften the vegetables
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onion, celery, and carrots for 6 to 7 minutes until softened. Add the garlic for the last 30 seconds so it turns fragrant without burning. This mix of onion, celery, and carrot is the classic soup base that gives the broth its depth.
2
Make a light roux
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir for a minute or two to cook off the raw taste. The roux is what thickens the soup into a creamy, spoonable broth later without needing a heavy amount of cream.
3
Add the broth
Pour in the chicken broth a little at a time, stirring as you go to keep it smooth and lump-free, then bring it up to a gentle simmer. Adding the liquid gradually to the roux is what keeps the broth silky instead of lumpy.
4
Poach the chicken gently
Add the bite-size chicken to the simmering broth and cook gently for 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through to 165 F on an instant-read thermometer. A soft simmer, not a rolling boil, is what keeps the chicken tender and juicy; boiling it hard is what makes the pieces tough and dry.
5
Add the gnocchi near the end
Stir in the gnocchi and cook just 3 to 4 minutes, until they float and are tender. Gnocchi cook fast and keep drinking up broth, so adding them near the end is what stops them from turning swollen, gummy, and mushy.
6
Stir in cream and Parmesan off the boil
Lower the heat and stir in the cream and Parmesan. Keep the soup below a boil from here on; boiling after the dairy goes in is what makes it curdle or turn grainy. Warm it through gently until creamy and smooth.
7
Wilt the spinach and adjust
Stir in the spinach and let it wilt for a minute or two. The gnocchi and roux thicken the pot as it sits, so loosen it with a splash more broth to keep it a spoonable soup rather than a stew. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, then serve.
2 Cheaper ingredient swaps
- Rotisserie or leftover cooked chicken. Stir in about 2 cups of shredded cooked or rotisserie chicken at the end instead of poaching raw chicken. It is faster and a great way to use up leftovers.
- Chicken thighs for breast. Boneless skinless thighs are usually cheaper and stay especially tender in soup. Cut them into bite-size pieces and poach the same way.
- Milk or half-and-half for the heavy cream. For a lighter, cheaper soup, use half-and-half, or whole milk with an extra spoonful of flour in the roux. Keep it below a boil so it does not curdle.
- Kale for spinach. Chopped kale works in place of spinach; add it with the gnocchi since it takes a couple of minutes longer to soften.
3 Budget tips
- One pound of chicken, a package of gnocchi, and a few cheap vegetables make a big pot that feeds six.
- A butter-and-flour roux thickens the soup for pennies, so you need only one cup of cream for the whole pot.
- Broth is the cheapest way to stretch soup; add another cup or two to feed more people from the same pot.
- Rotisserie or leftover chicken makes this faster and uses up odds and ends instead of buying more meat.
- See more recipes priced per serving in the Budget Plates Index.
4 Storage, freezing & reheating
Fridge
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The gnocchi keep soaking up broth, so the soup thickens in the fridge and needs loosening when you reheat.
Freezer
This soup is best fresh. Cream can separate and the spinach and gnocchi turn soft and mushy once frozen and thawed. If you want to freeze ahead, freeze the broth, chicken, and vegetables before adding the gnocchi, cream, and spinach, then add those fresh when you reheat.
Reheating
Reheat gently over low heat, stirring in a splash of broth or milk to loosen it back to a spoonable soup, since the gnocchi thicken it as it sits. Do not let it boil, which can curdle the cream.
5 Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
400
Protein
25g
Fat
18g
Carbs
34g
Estimates per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not a substitute for medical advice.
6 Frequently asked questions
Is this the Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup?
It is the same creamy, comforting style, with gnocchi, chicken, spinach, and carrots in a cream broth, made from scratch as a cheap homemade version. You get that cozy restaurant flavor for around a dollar eighty a bowl instead of a restaurant price.
How do I keep the gnocchi from getting gummy or mushy?
Add the gnocchi in the last 3 to 4 minutes of cooking, just until they float and turn tender. They cook fast and keep absorbing broth, so cooking them too long or too early is what makes them swell up and go mushy.
How do I keep the cream from curdling?
Stir the cream and Parmesan in over low heat and keep the soup below a boil once the dairy is in. A hard boil is what makes a cream soup curdle or turn grainy. Loosen it with broth rather than cranking the heat.
How is $1.80 a plate figured?
About $10.78 for the whole pot, six servings, so roughly $1.80 each. The chicken, gnocchi, and cream are the biggest costs. Bread or a salad to serve are figured separately.
Helpful Tools for This Recipe
As an Amazon Associate, Budget Plates may earn from qualifying purchases.
- 12-inch nonstick skillet. A wide nonstick skillet browns ground meat, fries rice, and builds a one-pan sauce with less oil and easier cleanup. Best for everyday stovetop dinners like skillet meals, fried rice, pasta sauces, and patties.
- Cast iron skillet. Cast iron holds heat for a deep sear and moves from stovetop to oven, and it lasts for decades with basic care. Best for searing chops and chicken, and recipes that start on the stove and finish in the oven.
- Chef's knife. One sharp chef's knife handles almost all the chopping, from onions to chicken, and replaces a drawer of gadgets. Best for all-purpose prep in essentially every recipe on the site.
- Cutting board. A large, stable cutting board makes prep faster and safer, which matters when you cook most nights. Best for everyday chopping of onion, garlic, and vegetables across nearly every recipe.
Feeding a crowd tonight? This one is also part of our Easy Family Dinner Recipes collection.
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