One-Pan Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
One pan, one bowl, and dinner feels handled fast.
If you’re tired and want dinner to feel comforting without turning your kitchen into a project, this is a good night for creamy chicken gnocchi soup. It comes together in one pan, uses everyday ingredients, and lands somewhere between soup and a hearty bowl of pasta. You’ll get tender chicken, pillowy gnocchi, and a creamy broth with vegetables built in, so it feels complete without extra sides. It’s not a fussy copycat; it’s the real, familiar soup adapted for a low-energy night. Expect a cozy, dependable dinner that tastes like you tried harder than you did.
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts — cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cup yellow onion — small dice
- 2 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 2 cup carrots — thinly sliced
- 2 cup celery — thinly sliced
- 4 cup chicken broth
- 1 unit bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 lb potato gnocchi
- 2 cup baby spinach
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 0.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp salt — plus more to taste
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
Method
- 1 Heat the olive oil and butter in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook until lightly browned and mostly cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.
- 2 Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.
- 3 Pour in the chicken broth, add the bay leaf and thyme, and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.
- 4 Stir in the gnocchi and simmer until they float and are tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
- 5 Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the spinach, half-and-half, and Parmesan until the soup looks creamy and the spinach wilts, 1 to 2 minutes.
- 6 Remove the bay leaf, taste, and adjust with more salt and pepper. Serve hot.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Skip the chicken and use 2 cups canned white beans plus vegetable broth for a similar cozy bowl.
- Faster swap — Use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and add it with the gnocchi, which cuts active stove time by a few minutes.
- Easy substitutions — Use kale instead of spinach, or swap the half-and-half for whole milk plus an extra tbsp of Parmesan for a lighter creaminess.
Notes
For a thicker soup, simmer 2 to 3 extra minutes before adding the spinach and cream. If your gnocchi is shelf-stable, it works well here; refrigerated gnocchi also works. Keep the heat low after adding the half-and-half so the soup stays smooth.
Equipment that helps
- Large deep skillet or Dutch oven — It holds the soup comfortably while still giving the chicken room to brown.
- Wooden spoon or spatula — It makes it easy to scrape up browned bits and stir without breaking the gnocchi.
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