Crockpot chicken gnocchi soup! for lunch, for dinner, forever. ♡
Hello there, winter lover!
I’m super glad to see you, sitting there in my crockpot, all creamy and delicious.
I will now put on my best sweatpants, my thickest socks, and get out my deepest bowl so I can experience the best of winter with you right here on my couch. Let’s do this.
Why This Gnocchi Soup is So Good
This is a re-make of an old recipe that was inspired by a friend and what I love about this soup is, well, there are several things.
- It reminds me a little bit of the chicken wild rice soup in that we just start pretty basic with carrots, celery, onions, chicken, spices, and broth in a crockpot. And you know how I love me some chicken wild rice soup slash any soup in a crockpot. Minnesota represent!
- Unlike the wild rice soup, this chicken gnocchi soup made thick by evaporated milk and a quick cornstarch slurry. So if you’re looking for thick and creamy soup while avoiding the butter/flour/cream route of a roux base, this is your magic.
- GNOCCHI. Those tiny dumplings of happy feelings that are mixed in throughout the chicken gnocchi soup make the whole thing come together. Every time I make this soup, Bjork a) raves, and b) talks for at least 5 minutes about how much he loves “the dumplings.” I could almost actually call this Chicken and Dumpling soup except the Chicken and Dumpling soup of my youth (a Herman’s bakery special in Cambridge, MN) had approximately zero vegetables and was practically untouchable in its level of homey perfection, so I will not go there. Let’s just give ourselves a pat on the back for the carrots, celery, and sautéed garlic spinach that are present at this soup party. And the bacon. I always invite the bacon.
About the Gnocchi
To me, crockpot chicken gnocchi soup means something that can be quickly and easily tossed together and tastes best when using good, quality ingredients.
If I don’t just *happen* to have some fresh homemade gnocchi laying around (which hello, like, NEVER HAPPENS, because homemade gnocchi disappears in five seconds flat around here), then store-bought gnocchi it is. Those savory fluffy little bites of airy perfection cook up just right when stirred in at the end of cook time for this soup.
Please Bring This to All Your Friends
I could totally see this chicken gnocchi soup being a great bring-to-a-new-mom-or-sick-friend type of meal. It’s easy to throw together, it’s got that basic-yummy flavor that families love, there’s some redeeming vegetables in with all that creamy awesomeness, it saves well in the fridge or freezer… win, win, win, all around.
I have brought it to a few friends with a loaf of the Miracle No-Knead Bread and the bread + the chicken gnocchi soup it gets rave reviews every time.
Match made in heaven, I’d say.
This recipe was adapted from my friend Jessica’s version – she introduced me to the genius of using evaporated milk!
Check Out Our Video for How to Make Chicken Gnocchi Soup:
Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 1x
Description
Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup – easy, comforting, lots of vegetables, no heavy cream. Perfect with crusty bread and a green salad.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups mirepoix (just a simple mixture of chopped onions, celery, and carrots)
- 1–2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1–2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
- 2 12 ounce cans evaporated milk
- 2 1lb. packages gnocchi (about 4 cups)
- 6 slices bacon
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
Instructions
- Place the chicken, mirepoix, basil, Italian seasoning, poultry seasoning, salt, and broth in a crockpot or slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken directly in the crockpot.
- Add the cornstarch mixture, evaporated milk, and gnocchi. Stir and replace cover. Cook another 45 minutes – 1 hour until the soup has thickened and the gnocchi has softened.
- While the soup is thickening, cut the bacon into small pieces and fry until crispy. Drain on paper towels and wipe most of the bacon grease out of the pan, leaving just a little bit for the spinach/garlic. Add the garlic and saute for one minute. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Remove from heat. Add the bacon and spinach to the crockpot. Stir to combine.
- Add any additional liquid as needed (I added about a cup of water once it started to thicken) and season again with salt and pepper as needed.
Notes
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Be sure to taste and adjust with salt/pepper before serving. It may need more depending on the saltiness of your broth.
You can use something other than evaporated milk, but I found that evaporated milk has the creaminess of half and half or heavy whipping cream without actually needing to use up all my good half and half in the soup.
The leftovers do soak up a lot of the moisture, so you might need to add more evaporated milk depending on how soupy you want it and/or how long you’ll be keeping it around.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: crockpot soup, gnocchi soup, chicken gnocchi, slow cooker soup, easy gnocchi soup
One more thing!
This recipe is part of our all-star slow cooker recipes page. Check it out!
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Looks delicious! How do you think this would work with cornstarch-thickened broth instead of the milk, though? Need a dairy-free version but wonder how much that would change the taste.
I had the same question! Would soy milk work??
I also need a dairy-free version and was wondering whether soy/almond/coconut milk would be a viable option. Or, I could potentially envision cooking chunks of potato in the soup, in lieu of the gnocchi (I know, sorry!), then removing and pureeing half of the potatoes/broth and adding them back in to thicken the soup. Would that work?
I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but if you are interested in a dairy free version I wonder if using coconut or cashew milk would work. Those are both fairly creamy. Coconut milk may give a slight coconut flavor, so cashew milk might be better… Just a thought 🙂
Hi Everyone,
This recipe looks like exactly what I want to eat RIGHT NOW! Beautiful!
But, if I could just pipe up really quick… Erica, you could use cornstarch thickened broth, but it wouldn’t have the really creamy texture and flavour that milk would add. It would work really well if you used a non-dairy milk like soy milk but increased the cornstarch by a tablespoon. Because evaporated milk has had about 50% of the water removed from it during the canning process it’s thicker than regular milk, or the dairy free milks, so it would need to have a little bit more thickening agent added in order to achieve the same result. Hope that helps.
Thanks for the tips, Deb!
Half and half works great and it thickens without cornstarch, just add extra because it does thicken.
I made this tonight and used coconut milk in place of the evaporated (and naturally, didn’t see the tip about increasing the cornstarch until after dinner!)
Either way, it was DELICIOUS and my picky 5 year old ate his entire bowl. I wouldn’t say we could taste the coconut, more that it had just a slight “essence” of it. I definitely couldn’t taste it, and barely smelled it. This was definitely a win for us!
★★★★★
Doesn’t soy milk taste like water? I would use original full fat milk… Give it a taste!
★★★★★
Yeah, I wouldn’t use coconut milk – I have never tried cashew milk but that seems like a better option to me!
I’m trying it with plain almond milk…hoping it will be okay
Use almond milk instead of the dairy. I am going to do just that.
OH MAN. I knew when I saw all that bacon crispin’ on Snapchat that good things were comin’ but this is better than I was expecting!!
Adding this to my favorite recipe category of 37864 slow cooker recipes
????????Enjoy your first day of Autumn????????????
★★★★★
Love that you are using emojis in your comments Brittany! 🙂
Hi Lindsay!
I know the recipe says 8-10 servings. But in the nutritional info, what constitutes a serving size? 1 cup? Just want to know so I can be accurate in my daily food log. The recipe looks delicious!
Yeah, it’s about a cup. Like one ladle-full plus maybe another half ladle. 🙂 I’m not super precise with that but I do count out how many servings I get from it, and in individual soup containers I got ten.
How much longer did you cook it after you added the gnocchi and condensed milk? Looks yummy!
The gnocchi doesn’t need much time! I just did it for as long as I was doing the bacon, spinach and garlic which probably ended up being 30 minutes.
Thank you! I wondered the same thing. Even re-read in case…
This some how seems like the perfect way to welcome in fall. Looks amazing!
Thanks Ann!
I was just in a conversation last night about “putting the brakes on” and slowing down and then today I see your post! Co-incidence? Maybe not! BTW – with all that bacon action – this is my kinda soup to mellow out too!
It’s a crazy world out there. For me, slowing down takes intentionality! Focusing on that this weekend. 🙂
This looks amazing! How did you cook the chicken? Saute it? or do you just put it raw in the crock pot?
Raw, right in the crockpot.
I was so excited to try this recipe but am finding the recipe extremely hard to follow! It sounded like the chicken needed to be cooked first, but I guess not? And what size pieces should the chicken be cut into?
Hi, Laura! The chicken breasts can be placed uncut and uncooked into the crockpot at the beginning. After cooking on high 4-5 hours or on low 6-8 hours, the chicken will be fully cooked, and you can use 2 forks to shred it directly in the crockpot.
When do you put the chicken in raw? At the beginning without the gnocchi?
That’s correct!
Oh, this looks so deliciously creamy. I would love to have some, I am sure I could cook this without a crock pot too, what do you think?
Yes! Love the crockpot.
I used a Dutch Oven and cooked it at 250 degrees for 6 hrs. First I sautéed the chicken. After removing the chicken I sautéed the veggies. Substituted half and half for the evaporated milk. Everyone including my 1 and 3 yr old grandchildren loved it! The only thing different I would do is leave out the gnocchi and use rice or dreamfield pasta.
★★★★
Great, Michael! I love the idea of using a Dutch oven. 🙂
This looks so good, I can almost smell it! Have you ever frozen this soup? I’m curious how well a creamy white soup freezes and I’ve never done that before. I make big batches of chili on weekends, and freeze leftovers in lunch-size portion mason jars. I’d love to try that with this soup, but I’d add the bacon to the soup with each serving, rather than freeze it. Please let me know if it freezes well, and thanks in advance!
You know what – I actually did freeze it just like you described (in lunch jars) but I haven’t tried it yet! 🙂 Just put it in there yesterday. Usually freezing dairy isn’t super awesome but Im willing to try it for this one!
Can you update us when you thaw it and eat it again?
Trying to stock up on foods I am craving so when the craving hits I don’t have to run to the nearest restaurant with a big ole belly and toddler in tow. Thanks!
I know this post is years old but this is one of my favorite soups! We’re invited to a soup party, where we have to bring soups to freeze and I’m wondering how this ended up tasting after you froze it?!
Had some for lunch that had been frozen 6 weeks ago – still tasted great. Will make again.
You are my new best friend, and this is what’s for dinner this coming Sunday! Thank you, thank you, thank you! This looks amazing, I will let you know how it turns out for me!
Thanks Ashlie! Hope you like it!
I would love to slow down and savor a cup of this soup with some garlic bread but at last, a case of bed bugs is making me want to pull my hair out so rain check? 🙂
★★★★★
!!! Oh no! Rain check for sure.
How could I make this in the Instant Pot? Want to make this weekend since Memphis is getting hit with another cold spell! 😩
May I use 2% milk
Yes, but I don’t think it would have the same creaminess as the evaporated milk.
POY you read my mind, I was Googling for a recipe like this last night. Can’t wait to try. Thanks!!
haha that’s great! we’re food twins! Hope you like it Alaina!
May I ask how the soup reheats ? I am wondering if the gnocchi would break down & become pastey. I’d love to make a batch & reheat leftovers for lunches at work.
Hi, Tammy! The soup does absorb some liquid as it sits in the fridge. When you reheat it, you may need to add back in a little extra evaporated milk (or another liquid) to get it back to the original consistency.
I feel like this soup would taste the way a great hug feels. Just warm and cozy and happy and perfect. Is that awkward? Aaannnyywayyy, sounds so yummy! Putting it on the meal plan for next week
Enjoy, Lucia!
Thank you for the recipe. Now can I have your bowl? 🙂 Is there a story behind it?
There is a story! Lindsay’s father-in-law made that bowl for her. 🙂
I’m OBSESSED with Olive Garden’s chicken and gnocchi soup…and have made a stovetop copycat version very similar to this with — wait for it — your creamy cauliflower sauce instead of condensed milk or half and half. It came out tasting amazing!!
Love that idea, Sarah!
My husband has been a little under the weather and he always asks for chicken soup when he’s sick. I think this creamy, comforting gnocchi is just the thing to get his spirits up!
Absolutely, Whitney!
Doesn’t get more comforting than this, it looks absolutely awesome!
Thanks, Matt!
Awww fall. And now it’s finally time for soup. Making this for college ball Saturday. Yum! My favorite meal for my favorite time of the year. Can it it get any better?
Hope you enjoy it, Peggy!
This sounded great until I saw the word crockpot – and then it sounded amazing! And then I saw BACON. And now I just need this asap.
Enjoy, Rachel!
Why must fall weather and shorter days go hand-in-hand? Can’t wait to add this to my crockpot rotation!
Awesome, Megan!
I’m so glad it is Fall. Bring on the short days and comfort food. This looks delicious. I might have to make it instead of the chicken soup I was planning for our apple cider making party on Saturday.
Sounds like a fun event, Karen! Enjoy!
I plan on making this tomorrow and had a couple questions:
1. I plan on putting the chicken in at 11 am and eating around 7:30 pm. Will i shred the chicken at 7 (once it’s cooked for 8 hours), then start with the bacon and spinach process? Will the chicken be over cooked if I leave it on low 8 hours?
2. The notes mention the leftovers soak up a lot of liquid and to maybe add extra evaporated milk. Would I do this after I ladel out the portions for dinner that night, and before I put the rest away? Would I add a whole other can of the evaporated milk?
Sorry for the questions, but I can’t wait to try it!!
Good questions, Ashlie! You should be fine to keep the chicken on Low for 8 hours. You can shred the chicken whenever you get home, and then do the bacon/spinach steps. Adding in the bacon and spinach should be the last thing before serving. As far as leftovers, it’s hard to say how much extra liquid you’ll need. I think the easiest way to tell would be to add in the extra liquid as you are reheating the leftovers. At that point, you’ll be able to see how much liquid got soaked up as well as how much liquid you need to add back in for proper consistency. Hope that helps!
Hello New Best Friend!
I made this yesterday for a delicious friday night meal and it was AMAZING! First, when my husband walked in the door the door he commented on how good it smelled (I was cooking the garlic). Once we sat doen with our soup cups and garlic bread, the meal did not disappoint! I can’t wait for the leftovers! It’s already been agreed that this recipe will go into the recipe dawer to use again — which reminds me, I’ve been meaning to tut that drawer into a recipe scrapbook, or binder at least!
Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it, Ashlie!
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