The Creamy Italian-Inspired Soup You’ll Make on Repeat This Winter

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

An Olive Garden employee once revealed to PopSugar that "all of Olive Garden's signature soups... are made by hand and from scratch every morning using fresh, whole ingredients." No wonder they're delicious!

Of all of Olive Garden's classic soups, Chicken & Gnocchi, "a creamy soup made with roasted chicken, traditional Italian dumplings, and spinach" ranks as a favorite for OG fans. Here's a copycat recipe you can make at home for a fraction of the cost and in under 30 minutes.

4 Smart Shortcuts for Making Copycat Olive Garden Chicken & Gnocchi Soup

Chicken: Olive Garden adds roast chicken to the soup. You can take their lead and pick up a roast chicken from the grocery store—that's what I did to develop the recipe. Here are other quick and easy ways to cook the chicken: Instant Pot chicken, boiled chicken breast, and simple roast chicken.

Carrots: If you've got the knife skills to cut carrots into 1/8x1/8x2-inch matchsticks, go for it! Otherwise, check the produce section of your grocery store for packaged matchstick carrots.

Chicken Broth: Yes, homemade chicken broth tastes better. If you don't have any on hand, store-bought is more than fine. I prefer low sodium so that I can adjust the salt to my taste.

Gnocchi: Store-bought gnocchi is firmer than homemade, so it's ideal for soups. You can use shelf-stable, refrigerated (I prefer this), or frozen gnocchi. Simply take note of the cook time on the packaging to make sure it cooks through in the soup.

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

Our Favorite Creamy Soups

• Cheeseburger Soup
• Creamy Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Spinach
• Easy Potato Soup With Bacon
• Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup

Cook the vegetables:

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and carrots, and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are tender and the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

Make the soup base:

Add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, and stir constantly until melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until pale golden brown and bubbly, about 1 minute.

Stir in chicken broth, half-and-half, chicken, sugar, and salt. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

Stir in gnocchi and spinach:

Add the gnocchi, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes.

Stir in spinach, Italian seasoning, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often, until the spinach is wilted. Serve warm.

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Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood

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