A good soup recipe that not only fills you up, but leaves you fully satisfied, is strangely difficult to come by. However, by combining the unlikely combination of chicken, spinach, and gnocchi, you can make something not only super nourishing but incredibly tasty as well.
If you have a little extra time why not learn How to Make Crock Pot Bone Broth to use in your soup? Also, don’t forget to serve your soup with some Classic Homemade Garlic Bread!
Chicken Gnocchi Soup
The best soups are those that make you feel all warm inside, both from the heat of the soup and the wintery, comforting ingredients used to make it.
This recipe is among the very best soups because it not only provides an incredible amount of hearty richness into every single bite, but it also manages to have all of the food groups in one bowl, making this soup the perfect thing to serve on a cold winter’s night.
Is It Worth Making Your Own Gnocchi For This Soup?
If you are the kind of person who likes to make everything yourself and feels tempted to make your own gnocchi for this recipe, you might want to take a second to think about it first.
Gnocchi is one of those things that is rarely worth making from scratch at home. It is messy, time-consuming, and surprisingly difficult to get a good final product.
Even if you have somehow managed to perfect your gnocchi-making skills, you are much better to save your energy for when serving gnocchi on its own rather than in a soup.
There are several ways that you can make this soup recipe your own without the disappointing venture that is making your own gnocchi.
Your time and effort would be much better spent roasting a whole chicken and preparing homemade chicken broth to use in your soup. You will also have a lot of leftover chicken that you can use to make other recipes!
Gnocchi is easy to find in grocery stores and is usually well priced and really is one of those times when store-bought is both better and easier.
Do You Really Have To Use Cubed Chicken Breasts?
This soup recipe calls for cooked chicken, ideally chopped into small cubes, but keep in mind that this is your recipe and you can use any type of chicken that you like.
Some people don’t like the ready-cooked chicken cubes that you can buy in stores, as they often have a processed texture to them. If this is you don’t let the thought of eating chicken cubes put you off making chicken gnocchi soup. You can instead use shredded chicken, which has a much more natural chicken texture.
You can normally find cooked chicken breasts in the salad and sandwich meats section of grocery stores. Cooked chicken breasts work great in this recipe and allow you to shred them to your ideal size rather than being limited by ready-cut cubes.
Alternatively, you could plan your meals so that you cook a roast chicken the day before making gnocchi soup. You can then use any leftover chicken that you have in your soup!
Can You Use Frozen Vegetables?
Frozen vegetables are extremely handy as you can buy them in advance and store them for months in the freezer ready for when you need them. As a benefit, frozen vegetables will often come precut, saving you a ton of time when cooking.
So could you use frozen veggies in your chicken gnocchi soup to save time and allow you to shop in advance?
For some of the vegetables in his recipe you can definitely use frozen, you will just want to make sure that they are fully defrosted before you start cooking.
Frozen diced onion, celery, and carrots are sometimes even sold together as mix. You may find it a little harder to find frozen garlic, but as it is an ingredient that can last for weeks after purchasing it and so it never hurts to throw a few extra bulbs into your next big shop so that you have it on hand.
The one veg that you want to avoid buying frozen is spinach. There is nothing wrong with frozen spinach, though; in fact, it is perfect in smoothie recipes and other times when its texture does not matter.
However, in this particular soup, frozen spinach will cause a watery unpleasant texture. When frozen spinach absorbs a lot of water causing it to take on a mushy texture when it defrosts that is nothing like the delicious, crunchy, vibrant leaves that you get with the fresh stuff.
Looking for more delicious Soup recipes? Try these out:
• Creamy Potato & Hamburger Soup
• Cheesy Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Happy Cooking
Love,
Karlynn
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Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup onion (diced)
- 3 stalks celery (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 carrots (sliced thin)
- 3 Cups cooked chicken (use cubed chicken breast)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ½ teaspoon ground thyme
- 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- One 16 ounce package mini potato gnocchi
- One 6 ounce bag baby spinach leaves (roughly chopped)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 cups half-and-half cream
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- Pinch of cayenne (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat add the oil and add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cubed chicken, ground thyme and the chicken broth, bring it to a simmer.
- Add the gnocchi into the soup and cook it until they begin to float, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- In a measuring cup add the cold water and the cornstarch and whisk until mixed. Add this to the soup and stir quickly until combined.
- Add in the cream and stir gently until combined. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and the spinach in and stir.
- Cook until the soup thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne if you want heat.
- Serve hot with some fresh cracked pepper on top and a sliced baguette on the side.
Carol says
Can you give directions to make in crockpot
Elaine says
You can make the soup as directed and it is very good. I tried making it with shrimp instead and it was fantastic. The chicken and shrimp gnocchi were both great. Will definitely be marking again,
Karlynn Johnston says
LOVE the idea of adding shrimp!
Lynda says
Can you use whipping cream instead of half and half.
Karlynn Johnston says
yes!