Creamy chicken gnocchi soup
50 min · 32 g protein · 366 cals / serving
The restaurant favourite made at home: soft potato gnocchi and chunks of chicken in a creamy, herby broth with carrots, celery and spinach. Evaporated milk thickened with a little cornstarch gives it that velvety body, and cauliflower simmered in alongside the gnocchi makes the pot go further.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast, in 2–3 cm (1-inch) pieces
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cans (12 oz each) fat-free evaporated milk
- 4 cups chicken broth, low-sodium
- 1 package (16 oz) potato gnocchi gnocchi, shelf-stable or fresh
- 3 1/2 cups florets frozen cauliflower, frozen or fresh, in small florets
- 4 packed cups baby spinach
To serve
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- a small handful fresh parsley, chopped
Steps
- Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and the salt and cook, turning, for 5–6 minutes, until browned on the outside and 165°F inside. Move it to a plate.
- Turn the heat to medium, melt the butter in the same pot and add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook 6–8 minutes, stirring, until softened but not browned.
- Stir in the garlic, oregano, basil, thyme and pepper for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Whisk the cornstarch with a few spoons of the evaporated milk until smooth, then pour it into the pot with the rest of the milk and the broth, stirring. Bring just to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 10 minutes.
- Add the gnocchi and cauliflower and simmer 6–10 minutes, stirring gently now and then, until the gnocchi float and are tender and the cauliflower is soft.
- Take the pot off the heat and stir in the chicken and spinach until the spinach wilts. Taste for salt.
- Ladle into bowls and finish with parmesan, parsley and black pepper.
Good to know
Will the gnocchi go mushy?
Only if they boil too long or sit in the soup for days. Simmer them just until they float and are tender, and if you are cooking ahead, keep a portion of soup aside for reheating before you add the gnocchi.
Can I freeze it?
Freeze the soup base without the gnocchi; milk-thickened soups keep fine for 3 months if you reheat them gently, stirring. Add fresh gnocchi when you reheat.
Richer, like the restaurant bowl?
Use regular (whole) evaporated milk instead of fat-free. It tastes closer to a cream-based version, at about 61 instead of 69.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 80
- Protein
- (36%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (19%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (45%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 250 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 2926 kcal goes into the pot and 3954 g of ingredients comes out as about 3650 g of food: 80 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.