Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup

There are 2 things I order when I visit Olive Garden. 

Okay, three things I trade-off ordering. 

The first, is the Zuppa Toscana soup. Ridiculous. 

Second, my mother-in-law got me addicted to their Lasagna Fritta. Fried slices of lasagna in a pool of alfredo sauce. Double ridiculous. 

Lastly, we usually do the endless soup-or-salad $6.99 deal they have until 4pm, so after my bowl of Zuppa, I always order a bowl of their Chicken Gnocchi Soup - even if I don't touch it, and take it home in a box for later. It's DIVINE, and has layer after layer of creamy flavor. 

I've tried a couple recipes that claim they taste like the real thing, but this one is by far the best. I used my very own batch of homemade chicken stock from the leftover rotisserie chicken bones. And the rotisserie chicken was used right in the soup, as well - so it was a double win. If you're not using rotisserie chicken, leftover chicken thighs will be alright, too. But man, that rotisserie brings that signature flavor right to the forefront, and will fill each spoonful with that heavenly bliss you find right there at the restaurant table. Plus, it's easier than you think to make it in the first place. This is definitely a soup we'll be rotating through over and over this Fall & Winter season. 

xo, 

blondie

Need more soup ideas? Check out my brand new savory section of the blog - from at least 20-30 different ones, you're bound to want to try a couple this week. 

Copycat Olive Garden's Chicken Gnocchi Soup
makes 8 servings

ingredients:
4 T butter (1/2 stick)
1 T EVOO
1 C diced yellow onion
1/2 C finely diced celery
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 quart half-and-half
28 oz chicken stock (I used my first batch of homemade!)
kosher salt
1/2 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried parsley flakes
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 C grated carrots
1 C chopped spinach leaves
1 C cooked rotisserie chicken
16 oz ready-to-use gnocchi

instructions:
1. In a large soup pot, melt butter into oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the onion becomes translucent.
2. Whisk in the flour and cook for about a minute, then slowly whisk in the half-and-half. Simmer until thickened.
3. Whisk in chicken stock, simmer again. Stir in salt, thyme, parsley, nutmeg, carrots spinach, chicken and gnocchi. Bring to a boil, then lower heat down to a simmer. Taste and add salt if needed.

recipe inspired by: olive garden's chicken gnocchi
recipe adapted from: copykat