Creamy Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup

This Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup recipe is dreamy comfort food made slow cooker simple for busy days and nights. It’s packed with tender veggies and flavorful chicken, dotted with pillowy gnocchi, and wrapped up in a velvety soup that may have you scraping the bowl.

The best part of this soup is the smooth, creamy base. Or maybe it’s the bites when a soft, pillowy gnocchi lands on your spoon. No, wait, I think it’s actually the tender, perfectly-seasoned, slow-cooked pieces of chicken.

Thank goodness we don’t really have to decide. The true best part is that all this comes together in one tasty package.

Whether or not you’re a fan of Olive Garden, which offers chicken gnocchi soup as a very popular menu item, you can be excited to add it to your dinner rotation. For the busy home cooks among us, it’s one of those glorious meals beautifully suited to the slow cooker. You literally get simmered-all-day flavor with minimal effort.

If you love comforting soups, Instant Pot creamy wild rice, carrot red pepper, or healthy tortellini chicken noodle varieties are all guaranteed to please!

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

Here’s a quick overview of your key ingredients. As always, find the full printable recipe with measurements below.

• Chicken. Begin with approximately 1.5 pounds of raw, boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts. Thighs take slightly longer to cook but tend to stay more tender and are usually more affordable. We find this amount gives you chicken in most bites but not too much to make it into a stew — I would feel confident using anywhere between 1 and 2 pounds.
• Veggies. You will need whole carrots, celery, about half of a yellow or white onion, and baby spinach to mix in at the end. Substitute baby kale or chard for spinach if you like.
• Potato Gnocchi. Use miniature or full-sized gnocchi, both of which are typically sold near other dried boxed pasta. I have not tested this soup with cauliflower or other types of gnocchi, and suspect the consistency would change dramatically because of the very different starch content.
• Aromatics and Seasonings. Fresh garlic, fresh Italian parsley, plenty of Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. The parsley can be flat-leaf or curly. I like to add a pinch of red pepper flakes. One literal pinch across the whole pot of soup, for us, is a little pizzazz but not enough to turn the kids away.
• Optional but recommended: Better Than Bouillon. This simple paste is really helpful to keep in the fridge as a shortcut to make broth in a hurry or, in this case, mix into soups in a small amount. It’s very concentrated and adds a lot of extra flavor to the soup but also a good amount of salt; if you’re not using Better than Bouillon, be generous with extra salt to compensate.
• For the cream broth: chicken broth or stock, half and half or cream, and cornstarch to make a slurry. I prefer low-sodium broth. If using cream, it can be heavy or light. Cornstarch is a great staple for thickening soups and sauces and typically sold in a small box or jar in the baking aisle.

Ideas for Extras

Optional additions for seasoning or serving include crisped and crumbled bacon, pancetta, or prosciutto; a squeeze of lemon juice; more red pepper flakes; fresh slivered basil or other Italian herbs; or grated Parmesan to sprinkle on top. Yum!

Choosing Good Store-Bought Gnocchi

When it comes to off-the-shelf gnocchi, sadly I have found that not all are created equal. Dense, dry gnocchi give their lighter, airy cousins a bad name. So, if I’m trying to pick and choose splurge items at the grocery store, I will opt for a higher-quality gnocchi if possible.

If you find DeLallo gnocchi, go for it – they’ve never let me down. I’ve also had good results from the 365 brand at Whole Foods, which is pretty reasonably priced, and Di Martino.

Whatever the brand, you’re looking for the dried, shelf-stable gnocchi typically sold near other boxed pastas. They cook perfectly right in the slow cooker with the soup. In fact, the starch they release while cooking helps to naturally thicken the cream. No need to boil water and cook separately.

How To Make Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup

You won’t believe something so delicious can be so simple to make!

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Again, find the full printable recipe with measurements below.

Start the Chicken and Veggies. First, add the raw chicken, vegetables, aromatics, seasoning, and broth to the bowl of a large slow cooker. We love our trusty 7-quart model, which doesn’t have many bells and whistles but is a reliable and affordable workhorse.

Stir and Cook. Give everything a gentle stir, then cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. It is possible to overcook chicken in the slow cooker, so try to watch the cooking time and don’t leave it indefinitely. Chicken thighs take longer than chicken breasts and are more forgiving if cooked on the long side, so if you’re leaving this to simmer all day, thighs are the better choice.

Shred the Chicken. It will be very tender and easy to pull apart with two forks. I try to do this inside the slow cooker, for ease, but if it’s easier, you can remove the chicken to a cutting board, pull apart, then scrape it back into the broth. If you prefer the shape of diced chicken, you can cut it into small squares on the cutting board, instead.

Add Cream, Gnocchi, and Spinach. Whisk cornstarch into the cream or half and half, then stir this slurry straight into the soup, followed by the uncooked gnocchi and baby spinach.

Let Thicken. Put the lid back on the slow cooker and be sure it is still on and turned to the high cook setting. Cook for another 30-45 minutes.

Season to taste!!

After this second cook time, it will be important to use your own judgment to ensure the soup is the way you want it in two respects.

• Consistency: If you want it to be thicker still, you can add extra cornstarch slurry, this time equal parts cornstarch dissolved into cool water or additional cream or half and half. Once stirred in, extra slurry should start to thicken up the soup in roughly 5 minutes. If the soup becomes too thick, add water or broth a small amount at a time.
• Seasoning: If the soup does not have enough flavor for you at this point, it’s imperative that you season to taste. See the recipe card for explicit details, but in short, if you did not use Better than Bouillon, I would expect to add more salt. You also may consider adding black or red pepper, lemon juice, or herbs to taste.

Garnish and Serve. If you’re really feeling it, fry up a few slices of bacon to crumble into or on top of the bowls. So much flavor. Parmesan, fresh herbs, red pepper flakes — these all make fun bonus finishing touches, too, but we find the soup plenty flavorful without them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this in the Instant Pot?

Yes! For one option, you can use the Instant Pot on its slow cook function following the same cooking times and directions written here (be sure it is on the “more” function if you want to mimic a slow cooker’s “high” setting).

Or, to speed things up, cook the chicken, vegetables, and seasonings together on the Instant Pot’s “high pressure” setting (try 15 minutes cook time for thighs and 12 minutes cook time for breasts), then allow for a 5 minute natural pressure release. Vent remaining pressure, then stir in the cream-cornstarch mixture, gnocchi, and baby spinach and cook on the “slow cook – more” function for another 30-45 minutes before seasoning to taste.

Can you start with frozen chicken in a slow cooker?

This is a gray area. Many recipes suggest it, and the Crock-Pot brand itself has claimed it is perfectly safe, though it will certainly require a longer cooking time. The USDA, however, has noted that because frozen chicken spends a relatively long time in the “danger zone” — the temperature range in which dangerous bacteria can grow — it is risky to cook in a slow cooker without thawing first. Bottom line? Thaw it out first if you can.

How to quickly thaw chicken?

Fortunately, there are lots of methods to thaw chicken, some which work very quickly! The easiest, of course, is to simply place chicken in the refrigerator overnight. After 18-24 hours, it will be evenly thawed throughout and ready to cook. In a hurry? The Kitchn has tested several methods for rapid thawing, and found the best way is to submerge frozen chicken, still in its packaging, in a bowl of cold water. Change out the water every 30 minutes so it stays very cold. The chicken should thaw in about one hour.

Need it even faster? The microwave defrost function is there for you, but watch closely and turn frequently to minimize uneven thawing or premature cooking on the edges.

Serving Suggestions

Crockpot chicken gnocchi soup is hearty feel-good fare. It goes great with:

• Garlic knots, Dutch oven bread, or one-hour breadsticks
• A simple arugula salad or spinach salad, or any greens with a fresh homemade Italian dressing.
• Quick and easy oven-roasted broccolini, carrots, or green beans – roasted or with pesto.

Storage & Reheating

This soup keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days. It will look thick as you first transfer it from storage containers to bowls, but will thin back out to the original consistency once warmed in the microwave or on the stovetop. I do not recommend freezing leftovers.

More Slow Cooker Favorites

• Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
• Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
• Slow Cooker White Bean, Pearl Couscous, and Parmesan Soup
• Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Tacos
• 3-Ingredient Slow Cooker BBQ Meatballs (the easiest dinner or party appetizer)

If you try this Creamy Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.

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This post was originally published on February 19, 2020. It has been updated with a different technique for adding creaminess to the soup, as well as more specific instructions for seasoning and adjusting the consistency to taste. See recipe notes if you would like a copy of the prior version!