This recipe was a… complete freestyle. But it was good enough that I want it saved here on the blog! I went in with a concept, obviously. I’ve seen a few renditions of chicken gnocchi soup on the internet. But soup is one of those things where you can use whatever vegetables you have and whatever spices you want. It’s far too flexible! I tried my best to write it out as a recipe that wasn’t just “throw these things in a pot!”
I based the framework of this recipe off of just… general soup recipes. And then I took some inspiration from the ingredients and spices in this orzo dish. Really though, once all your ingredients are cooked through, you can just add your broth and let your soup simmer for however long you need. It hardly even matters what order you add your ingredients.
I also made my favorite pistachio pesto to go on top, which felt fitting for a gnocchi soup! It’s like a pasta dish but… a soup. Very eloquent way to describe this, I know. It’s like chicken noodle soup, but the noodles are gnocchi. This is all very obvious, and yet… I’ve not had a gnocchi soup before! So I will keep reiterating it.
You could probably mix the pesto into the soup, but I wanted to make it more of a star of the show, and you can appreciate it more as a topping.
When I was browsing other chicken gnocchi soup recipes on the internet to make sure I was getting the right idea, I stumbled across one that delved into the “history of gnocchi.” It’s amazing what people will do for a word count! Some people write seven paragraphs detailing the history of a pasta. Other people write about those people and say they’re nuts!
Of course, this soup is delicious with a baguette or plain. No bad way to eat it, really! It’s one of those soups that can be a full meal if you need or want it to be.
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PinIngredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves diced garlic
- thyme, paprika, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning (about 1 tsp each, but… measure with your heart)
- 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
- 16 oz gnocchi
- 10 oz frozen spinach
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
- pesto, for serving
Instructions
- In a large pan on medium heat, heat the olive oil and add the garlic. Let it fry until the garlic is fragrant, and then add in the diced onion. Cook until the onion softens up a bit.
- Scoot the onion to the sides of the pan and add the ground chicken. Break it up a bit and season everything with the thyme, paprika, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Cook until the meat is cooked through.
- Add in the spinach, broken up a bit, and then add broth until everything is covered, and allow to simmer. After 10 minutes, add in the gnocchi and cook for 4-5 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and parmesan.
- Serve, and top with pesto if desired.