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This slow cooker Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup is rich, creamy, and loaded with tender chicken, veggies, pillowy gnocchi, and fresh spinach. It’s an easy, hands-off comfort food recipe your family will request again and again!
👩🍳 This soup is the ultimate cozy dinner—rich, creamy, and loaded with flavor. Whether you’re craving an Olive Garden copycat or simply need a hearty meal that warms you up from the inside out, this recipe is a keeper!
My 2 Best Tips For Making Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Adjust Thickness: This soup is wonderfully creamy, but everyone has a personal preference for how thick they like their broth. If you want a heartier, stew-like consistency, whisk an extra tablespoon of cornstarch with cold cream or broth before adding it to the slow cooker. If you prefer a lighter, brothier version, simply add another cup of chicken stock or cream to loosen it up.
Add Gnocchi at the End: Gnocchi cook quickly and can get too soft if left in the crockpot too long. Stir them in during the last 30 minutes for that perfect pillowy bite.
🩷 Melissa
There’s nothing better than cozying up with a warm bowl of soup on a chilly night, and this Italian chicken gnocchi soup hits all the right notes.
Creamy, hearty, and packed with tender chicken, pillowy gnocchi, spinach, and parmesan cheese—it’s comfort food at its finest.
Even better, it’s a slow cooker recipe, so your crock pot does most of the work while you go about your day.
If you love Olive Garden’s chicken gnocchi soup, this homemade version is even better—and you can make it anytime you want!
Slow Cooker Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 pounds chicken breast, boneless skinless
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 to 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 medium to large onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 cups small gnocchi, about 500 g, (Dried, refrigerated, or fresh homemade gnocchi.)
- 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly 3 ounces, chopped
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add the chicken breasts, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and chicken stock to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on Low for 6–7 hours or High for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Remove the chicken, shred it with two forks, and return it to the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream and cornstarch until smooth. Stir the mixture into the slow cooker.
- Add the gnocchi and cook for an additional 30 minutes on High, until the gnocchi are tender and the soup has thickened.
- Stir in the spinach and Parmesan cheese just before serving. Adjust seasoning with extra salt and pepper, if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and serve warm.
Notes
- For a lighter version, use half-and-half instead of heavy cream.
- If you prefer a thicker soup, add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with cold cream or broth. If you like more of the soupy broth, add an additional cup of cream if you’d like.
- If you don’t want shredded chicken, you can cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks before putting them into the slow cooker and then don’t remove it and shred it later.
- You can add some red pepper flakes at the end to add a little spice if you’d like.
- This soup is really great with spicy sausage used instead of the chicken!
- Add some extra veggies – mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, or zucchini all taste delicious.
- If you want to get a head start on this dish, make the soup base ahead and store it in the fridge. Wait to add the gnocchi, cream, and spinach until reheating so they don’t get mushy.
- Once cooked, store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Gnocchi may soften, but the flavor is still wonderful!
Nutrition
How To Make Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Step 1: Add the chicken breasts, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, and chicken stock to the slow cooker.
Step 2: Cover and cook on Low for 6–7 hours or High for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove chicken, shred it, and return it to pot.
Step 3: Whisk together the heavy cream and cornstarch until smooth. Stir the mixture into the slow cooker. Add the gnocchi and cook for an additional 30 minutes on High, until the gnocchi are tender and the soup has thickened.
Step 4: Stir in the spinach and Parmesan cheese just before serving. Adjust seasoning with extra salt and pepper, if needed. Ladle into bowls and serve warm.
Recipe FAQs
Shelf-stable potato gnocchi from the pasta aisle works great, but refrigerated or homemade gnocchi are even better if you have them!
Absolutely. Just skip the slow cooking step, use shredded rotisserie chicken, and heat everything together with the broth and veggies.
Yes! This is a cozy, slow cooker version of the famous Olive Garden copycat soup, with creamy broth, tender chicken, gnocchi, spinach, and Parmesan.
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