Description
This Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup is a comforting and creamy dish featuring tender chicken breasts, delicate potato gnocchi, fresh spinach, and a flavorful mix of vegetables and herbs, all simmered to perfection in a slow cooker. It's an easy, hands-off recipe perfect for cozy dinners.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1-1.5 lb.)
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1/2 cup carrots, shredded
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 (16 oz.) package potato gnocchi
- 3 oz. fresh baby spinach, tightly packed (about 3 cups)
Instructions
- Prepare ingredients: Place chicken breasts in a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the diced onion, minced garlic, diced celery, and shredded carrots on top.
- Season: Sprinkle dried basil, Italian seasoning, ground nutmeg, bay leaf, salt, and pepper over the ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Add broth: Pour 5 cups of chicken broth evenly over the chicken and vegetables.
- Cook chicken: Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours, allowing the chicken and vegetables to cook thoroughly and flavors to meld.
- Shred chicken: Remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaf. Chop or shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and return it to the slow cooker.
- Add cream and gnocchi: Pour in 1 cup of heavy cream and stir in the potato gnocchi. Cook on high for 45 minutes until the gnocchi is tender and the soup thickens slightly.
- Incorporate spinach: Add fresh baby spinach, cover the slow cooker, and let it sit in residual heat for a few minutes until the spinach wilts into the soup.
- Finalize and serve: Taste and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as needed. Serve the soup hot and enjoy your comforting meal.
Notes
- This recipe is a creamy copycat of the popular Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup, loaded with tender chicken and pillowy gnocchi.
- For thicker soup, you can add a small amount of flour or cornstarch slurry when adding the cream and gnocchi.
- Fresh spinach adds color and nutrition but can be substituted with kale or Swiss chard.
- If you prefer a lower-fat version, substitute heavy cream with half-and-half or evaporated milk and reduce cooking time when adding the cream to prevent curdling.
- Be sure not to overcook the gnocchi to maintain its soft texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 274 kcal
- Sugar: 2.1 g
- Sodium: 1134 mg
- Fat: 8.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.9 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 0.9 g
- Protein: 23.6 g
- Cholesterol: 82 mg
