Olive Garden Style Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

My husband and I LOVE this soup! We haven't even gone to Olive Garden since I started making it. I did make a couple of small changes to suit our preferences - but nothing major. I cook the gnocchi a little longer than indicated because my husband likes them super fluffy and cooked through. I also add the heavy cream and spinach right before I serve it. We found the cream seperates a bit if you add it when the recipe calls for it. If you use heavy cream you don't have to use the cornstarch. I serve it with french bread or garlic breadsticks. I can have this soup on the table in about 35-40 minutes - easy and quick.....can't ask for anything more!

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Mrs. VodkaAndTonic needs to remember not to post when she's had a few V&Ts. The recipe does not say to 'boil' - it says to 'bring to a boil' - that means to stop before boiling begins. It isn't neccesary to boil milk/cream.

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My family and friends request this all the time...they are say its just as good if not better than the OG...I do make a few changes...I use 1.5C fat free half and half and .5c cream....have tried several ratios but this seems the best to keep it low cal and true to taste...i also boil the gnocchi in the soup before I add cream and H&H ...otherwise it seperates. ..use fresh thyme instead of dried too.

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I have not tried this as yet but I do know the Olive Garden only uses the dark meat for this soup.
Thanks

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20 something on a budget. This is a recipe i'll be keeping around. I couldn't find Gnocchi at the store i went to, so i omitted it. I also forgot to buy corn starch, and didn't take it off the heat fast enough so it curdled just a tiny bit. But it tasted heavenly! My sister took all my leftovers! and now my parents are begging me to make more.

I can't think of a better way to deal with rainy - march Seattle. Thank you.

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This taste just like Olive Garden's soup but, BETTER!
Everyone enjoyed this at my house. I did double up on the veggies, along with my homemade gnocchi. So good on a cold day. Thanks for a great recipe!

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I followed the directions exactly and the cream separated leaving me with a gritty looking soup. So disappointing! The soup still tasted good but it was not visually appealing. I will try the recipe again and try Chef #549586's suggestion wait to add the cream until after the gnocchi has cooked. I didn't think this tasted that much like OG's soup but it is still a very good recipe. I poached the chicken and diced it. I think I prefer it that way over the rotisserie chicken which I often use in soups. The poached chicken was more tender. I also used a bag of prewashed fresh spinach and used kitchen shears to cut the spinach into small pieces. You can cut it in the bag, no messy chopping board!

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I've made this recipe so many times I can't even count. I always follow the recipe to the best of my ability.. (more or less veggies/chicken here and there). it comes out a little bit different every time but is always delicious... I love it! I've noticed many of the reviews say to add less chicken to make it more like the real thing (Olive Garden), but I happen to like it with more chicken that way I can have it as a meal instead of an appetizer.

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This turned out great!! I added a bit more veggies and used matchstick style carrots instead of shredded. Used the frozen gnocchi, which next time I will use my daughter's homemade gnocchi. Might have to double the batch!! Everyone loved it!!

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Great Soup! Added additional broth. Add the half and half last to keep it from separating. The "missing" ingredient identified by the reviews is SOUR CREAM. Add about 8 ounces immediately before serving!

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Y-U-C-K. I followed this recipe EXACTLY and it tasted nothing like the Olive Garden's. I followed the cooking instructions exactly and made no substitutions. I didn't use corn starch because mine was already thick. There was TOO MUCH chicken! At the Olive Garden, it's a light creamy broth with soft gnocci dumplings and a few bites of chicken. This was more like chicken and dumplings consistency. When I first tasted it, I noticed that it was missing something. I added more pepper and thyme. Still missing something, I added some garlic powder (Olive Garden's has a very garlicky taste). Nothing I added helped. Neither the flavor nor texture were there. I will not make this again and I do not recommend it to anyone else.

Chicken stock $2.99
Chicken $3.80
Gnocci $2.50 (on sale)
Heavy cream $3.50
Vegetables about $3

It cost me about $16 to make this and I ended up throwing it away.

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I made this recipe for a covered dish dinner at my house. Normally we go to the Olive Garden, but we all have finance problems these days so we're saving money. This recipe was so close to the real thing that one of the boys thought I went and bought bowls of soup! I'll be making this again for sure :)

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I just tried making this tonight and my family says it's a HIT! Daughter said it was exactly like the restaurant. This is a keeper! I had all of the prep done before and it was a snap to put together. Might try to figure out how to do in a crockpot someday, but still an easy recipe to pull off.

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I actually work at the Olive Garden and I don't really like this soup..it is my least favorite. However, my boyfriend absolutly LOVES it..so i found this recipe about a year ago and have made it ever since!!!! It is WAY better than Olive Garden's, and I am not the only person who has said that. I made it for my family one night and the next day we all went and ate at Olive Garden and they compared soups and said that mine was better. I make this once a week and I never get tired of it!!! Awesome recipe!

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Loved this recipe!!! Followed the recipe exactly. Everyone gobbled it up and is begging for more. It's July, so I'm going to have to wait until the weather cools, but you can bet this will be our "go to" soup all autumn and winter long. Thanks for posting!!

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I took the advice from other reviewers and used less chicken breasts. I doubled the recipe and used the 4 chicken breasts. Since I doubled the recipe I used 2 cups of heavy whipping cream and 2 cups of 1/2 & 1/2 and did'nt need to do anything to thicken it. I also used celery seed and that came out fine. My gnocchi from the store wasn't as fluffy as Olive Gardens. Anyways it tasted awesome! I was licking the bowl when I was done.

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This soup is DELICIOUS! Not exactly the same as OG, but since the closest OG is 100 miles away, it's definitely an acceptable substitute! I left out the celery since my hubby hates it, and used half a package of frozen spinach instead of fresh. At first I thought it was a bit heavy on the thyme, but I let it sit for a few minutes prior to serving, and the flavors melded perfectly. We sprinkled a bit of parmesan on the top of each bowl also. Even most of the kids loved this one, and they're hard to please! Great recipe, thanks so much!

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Followed the recipe exactly except used the suggestion of heavy cream instead of half and half - hoping I wouldn't have to mess with the starch. Still felt it needed the starch though. It came out delicious!!! I was so proud of myself. I used 3 chicken breasts but think I would cut it down to only 2 next time. Thanks for a great recipe.

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I made this almost exactly as written, except i had to cook my chicken first since i didnt have any already done. I cooked it in a teaspoon of poultry seasoning, a teasp of garlic powder and some pepper and water to cover which i then used as my stock. Everything else was as written and very very delicious. It took me a little time since i had to cook the chicken first but boy was it worth it and i was so proud at how it turned out almost exactly like olive gardens! hubby and son loved it too! thanks for a keeper anne!

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Delicious! I was very happy and impressed with my olive garden imitation. I think it tasted just as good as OG's and my boyfriend said it tasted just like it.. YAY! I used heavy whipping cream and added the half and half after the gnocchi boiled for its first 4 minutes at the simmering point and let it simmer for 15 minutes til it thickened up. Didn't have a problem with separation. I also used 1 whole carrot and 1/2 a medium-large onion. It was so good, and it really warmed us up even though we are in spring and it's warm enough outside lol. I couldn't wait til winter to make this!

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