Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup has a thick and rich broth with shredded carrots, celery, chopped spinach, gnocchi and chicken hidden throughout. This tastes even better than Olive Garden!

Bring restaurant quality soup to your home. I just love the Italian flavors in the slow cooker pasta e fagioli soup or creamy zuppa toscana too, so be sure to give them a try!

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup

You guys are going to love the incredible creamy and rich broth. It is flavored with the perfect amount of seasonings and it even has one of my favorite herbs inside…. thyme. The added chicken and gnocchi (which I absolutely love) are so hearty.  When you add in the freshness of the shredded carrots, celery, and spinach this soup is full of flavor! Put this on your list of must try soups! You will not regret it.

This chicken gnocchi soup is full of flavor in every bite. The combination of the vegetables, creamy broth and gnocchi give this soup 5 stars. It is simple to make and so delicious! Make this a complete meal by serving this favorite olive garden soup with homemade breadtwists and a side salad asparagus salad with lemon vinaigrette or antipasto salad.

Ingredients to Make Gnocchi Soup:

This Olive Garden Copycat recipe has been on my list of soups to make for a few years now. I love all of Olive Garden’s Soups but their Chicken Gnocchi soup is awesome. The best part is that it is so easy to make! It comes together in less than 20 minutes.

• Butter: Use the butter to make the roux.
• Olive oil: Add to the pan with the butter onion and celery and garlic.
• Onion: I keep frozen diced onion in my freezer so that I can easily add it to any dish.
• Celery: Diced celery gives this soup a great crunch and fresh flavor.
• Garlic cloves:Minced garlic adds a deep Italian flavor.
• All-purpose flour: The flour makes a roux which gives the soup its consistency.
• Half-and-half: The creaminess of this soup.
• Chicken broth: Add as much as you like depending on how thin you like your soup. For a thinner soup use more broth.
• Fresh thyme: Earthy and a little bit sweet, with a slightly minty
• Shredded carrots: I love the sweet flavor the carrots add!
• Spinach leaves: Chopped so that you don’t have big pieces in your spoonful.
• Chicken breast: Diced and cooked chicken. Cut into pieces before cooking so it will cook quicker.  Cook it in a little bit of olive oil until it’s just done. Add a little salt and pepper to it if you like.
• Potato gnocchi: Hint- find this on the pasta isle.
• Salt and pepper: To taste!

How to Make Gnocchi:

Gnocchi is made from potatoes, flour, and eggs. It seems like an odd combination I would have never thought of, but I am so happy someone did!  Although it does take time to make from scratch, making gnocchi can be so fun!

When I am in the mood and I have the time, I enjoy making it myself.  However, it tastes great store bought too! If you are hoping to try it from scratch here is the breakdown:

1. Boil Potatoes: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel potatoes and add to pot. Once cooked, scoop out inside.
2. Combine: 1 cup mashed potato, flour and egg in a large bowl. Knead until dough forms a ball.
3. Cook Gnocchi: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in gnocchi and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until gnocchi have risen to the top; drain and serve.

Olive Garden Favorite Soup:

1. Make a Roux: In a large pot add butter and olive oil. Over medium high heat sauté onion, celery and garlic until tender. Next, add the flour to create a roux and cook for another minute.
2. Add In Liquids: Slowly add the half and half and chicken broth and stir until it starts to thicken.
3. Spices and Ingredients: The thyme, carrots, spinach, chicken and gnocchi.
4. Simmer: Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes or until gnocchi is cooked and soup is thickened. (If you want a thinner soup add another can of chicken broth.) Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Tips for the Best Chicken Gnocchi Soup:

• Gnocchi: It is best to use mini gnocchi if you can find them (or make them mini), they’re the perfect size for soup.
• Sauce: Don’t let the sauce get too hot or it can separate. Continually stir the sauce to prevent any separation.
• Spinach: For best results use fresh spinach. The frozen spinach will become mushy in the soup over a long period of time.
• Vegetables: Dice vegetables small and the same size to have them cook through evenly  in time.

Variations:

• Substitutes for Gnocchi: A great substitution is pasta. The small shells or orzo are perfect for adding to this soup as well as rice.
• Protein: Substitute Italian sausage instead of chicken in the soup. Before adding it to the soup, brown the sausage at the beginning, then add it in.
• Vegetables: Sneak in extra vegetables like peas, zucchini or asparagus.
• Thicker Soup: Add extra cream to make it even richer.
• Chicken: To save time use pre-shredded, cooked chicken from the grocery store.

Slow Cooker Adaptations:

I would still definitely use cooked, diced chicken. Also, go ahead and sauté the veggies and garlic. Then put the chicken and veggies all together in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the liquids and all the other ingredients except the gnocchi, half and half, and spinach. Cook on low for three to four hours, adding the gnocchi in for the last hour of cooking. Before serving, add the half and half and spinach and stir to combine. The spinach should wilt quickly. Serve.

How to Store Chicken Gnocchi Soup:

It is a bummer that this soup does not freeze well but it does reheat well. Place back on the stovetop and reheat on a low setting and slowly stirring it. This will help the soup from separating.

• Freezing: Unfortunately you cannot store this soup because of the dairy and gnocchi, it won’t freeze well. The gnocchi will become soggy and the dairy mixture will separate.
• Storing: If you are planning on lots of leftovers you can cook the gnocchi separately and add to individual servings.

Warm, Comforting Soups to Try:

• Creamy Sausage Tortellini Soup
• Crock-Pot Lentil Soup
• Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
• Cheeseburger Soup
• The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup

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Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup has a thick and rich broth with shredded carrots, celery, chopped spinach and gnocchi hidden throughout. This tastes even better than the Olive Garden!

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Italian, Italian American

Keyword creamy chicken gnocchi soup, gnocchi soup

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 8 Bowls of Soup

Calories 156kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Equipment

• Want to make this even easier? Here are a few products that I LOVE:
•  Calphasdon Cookware Set
• Cuisinart Stainless Steel
• Chopper Utopia Kitchen Cookied

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup onion diced
• 1/2 cup celery diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1 14 ounce can chicken broth for a thinner soup use 2 cans
• 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves chopped
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken breast I used rotisserie
• 1 16 ounce package potato gnocchi on the pasta isle
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a large pot add butter and olive oil. Over medium high heat sauté onion, celery and garlic until tender. Add the flour to create a roux and cook for another minute.
• Slowly add the half and half and chicken broth and stir until it starts to thicken. Add the thyme, carrots, spinach, chicken and gnocchi. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until gnocchi is cooked and soup is thickened. (If you want a thinner soup add another can of chicken broth.) Salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Updated on September 10, 2020

Originally Posted on September 7, 2016

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 63mg | Potassium: 113mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 387IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 1mg

 

 

 

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Instant Pot Beef Stew

Instant Pot Beef Stew is perfect for those cool fall nights, and great when you want to whip up cozy beef stew in under an hour! Sauté the beef in the bottom of the instant pot, throw in your veggies and broth, turn it on and call it a day!

For more cozy fall soups and stews, check out our Best Ever Chili, this Cream of Mushroom Soup, or this Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup.

Instant Pot Beef Stew

Gosh, if there were ever a soup that depicted cozy nights and hearty fall soups, it would be Instant Pot Beef Stew. Of course we love beef stew because it’s DELICIOUS, but we also love it because it has a little bit of everything. Beef? Check! Veggies? Check! Hearty? Check! Totally delicious??? Check check check!

While most versions of beef stew take hours to cook so the meat can tenderize, using the instant pot takes this three to four hour recipe down to a mere hour – tops. We saute stew meat in the bottom of the instant pot, and once it’s brown, cover it in big pieces of carrot, celery, onion, and potatoes.

The meat and veggies get drowned in broth, and then we will the instant pot go to town!

Ingredients in Instant Pot Beef Stew

• Olive oil. For beef stew, I like to cook the meat in a light olive oil – canola oil also works.
• Beef. You can use a chuck roast and cut it yourself, but I find it’s easiest to just buy stew meat already cut up and trimmed at the butcher counter.
• Veggies. For our version of Instant Pot Beef Stew, we use the classics – carrot, onion, celery, potatoes, and peas (at the end). You could also throw in some parsnips, green beans, or pearl onions if you want to up the veggie ratio.
• Garlic. Not much to explain here! Garlic. Always lots of garlic.
• Tomato paste. We love to use tomato paste in our beef stew because it helps to thicken the stew. It also has a really concentrated tomato flavor, so it adds a ton of flavor.
• Tomato puree. You could use tomato puree or canned tomatoes here. My kiddos don’t really like whole tomatoes, so I sneak them in this way. If you have canned diced tomatoes on hand, that works too!
• Seasoning. You don’ need much in terms of seasoning – we use LOTS of salt, a few bay leaves, a little bit of Worcestershire sauce, and just a pinch of sugar.
• Broth. You’ll want low-sodium beef stock or broth. We always use low-sodium so we can control the amount of salt that goes into our dish.

How to Cook Beef Stew Meat:

Beef stew meat is notoriously tough, so it’s important you give it enough time to cook. Also, we want to get as much flavor out of the beef itself, so it’s also important to sear the beef before you let it cook with the veggies and the broth. Usually this takes many hours, but since we are using the instant pot today, it’s only going to take about 35-40 minutes. Wild stuff!

How to Make Instant Pot Beef Stew:

1. Sauté the beef. Turn the instant pot to the sauté function. Season the beef with lots of salt and pepper. Add your oil to the bottom of the instant pot and then add half of the beef. Sauté until brown. Remove and sauté the rest of the beef.
2. Stir in tomato paste. Once the beef has cooked, add the beef you already cooked back to the instant pot. Add the beef broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bottom of the pan. Stir in tomato paste, tomato puree, bay leaf, Worcestershire, sugar, and salt.
3. Add everything else. Place the veggies on top.
4. Cook! Put the lid on, and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Press the instant release button. Watch out!
5. Thicken the stew. Add a mixture of cornstarch and beef broth to the beef stew. Turn the instant pot back to saute and whisk in cornstarch mixture. Stir until thickened. Add in peas. Let the cook until thawed. Serve with lots of fresh parsley and crusty bread! Oh! And don’t forget to season with salt and pepper.

What to Serve with Instant Pot Beef Stew:

• Beef Stew is nothing without a little crusty bread. Try out this Miracle No Knead Bread – so delicious!
• If you’re looking for something green and refreshing, try out this easy Greek Salad.
• Looking for something indulgent? This Garlic Bread will hit the spot!

Can I Make Beef Stew In Advance?

Yes! Instant Pot Beef Stew is a great dish to make in advance. Just make from start to finish (don’t add peas). Cool completely and store in an airtight container. When you’re ready to serve, pour the beef stew in a pot and bring to a boil. Add in peas. Cook until thawed.

You can also heat the soup individually in microwave-safe bowls. Add the peas before you microwave.

More Delicious Stew Recipes to Try:

• Chicken Stew
• Beef Stew with Bacon 
• Best Ever Slow Cooker Beef Stew
• Tuscan Vegetable Chicken Stew
• Slow Cooker Beef Stew

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Instant Pot Beef Stew

Instant Pot Beef Stew is perfect for those cool fall nights, and great when you want to whip up cozy beef stew in under an hour! Saute the beef in the bottom of the instant pot, throw in your veggies and broth, turn it on and call it a day!

Course Dinner, Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword instant pot beef stew, beef stew, easy beef stew

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

0 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Servings 6 people

Calories 472kcal

Author Nicole Leggio

Cost $25

Equipment

• Instant Pot

Ingredients

• 2 lbs stew meat
• 1 tbsp kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracker black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 32 oz low-sodium beef stock
• 2 oz tomato paste
• 14 oz tomato puree
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 4 carrots cut into 2-inch pieces
• 5 medium yukon gold potatoes cut into quarters
• 1 large onion, chopped into 2-inch pieces
• 3 celery stalks cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 tsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp water
• 1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

• Turn the instant pot on to the saute function. Season beef with two teaspoons of salt and pepper. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to the instant pot. Once hot, add half of the beef. Let the beef brown for 3-4 minutes and turn. Brown on all sides. Remove to a plate once beef is all brown. Add the remaining olive oil and repeat with the rest of the beef.
• Add the beef broth on top. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Stir in tomato paste, tomato puree, bay leaves, worcestershire sauce, sugar, and remaining salt. Stir until tomato paste is distributed.
• Add all the vegetables except for the peas on top. Cover with the lid. Turn the instant pot to the HIGH manual setting for 25 minutes. Manually release the pressure on the instant pot.
• Once the steam releases, take the lid off. Turn the instant pot back to the saute function. Whisk cornstarch and water together in a smal bowl. Slowly whisk in to the beef stew. Let the stew cook for another 3-4 minutes until thickened. Add in the frozen peas. Cook until thawed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 1723mg | Potassium: 2078mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 7550IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 7mg

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Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are a heavenly combination of buttery shortbread, topped with decadent cheesecake, tantalizing apple filling, crunchy sweet streusel and drizzled with ooey caramel on top. Nothing says here comes fall quite like these!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are the perfect way to serve rich luscious cheesecake in the palm of your hand. I love serving these and others winners like Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars,  Nutella Swirl Cheesecake Bars, and Lemon Cheesecake Bars. They are always the first to go at a party or dinner.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Talk about a powerhouse dessert. This Caramel Apple Cheesecake bar has it all. Buttery melt in your mouth shortbread crust is just the beginning. Creamy smooth cream cheese layers on top for a delicious middle. Next spiced apple filling is spread on top and covered in a crumbly sweet streusel topping. After these cool the whole thing is drizzled with a caramel topping perfectly combining all the flavors into an explosion of home baked goodness in your mouth.

These are so extravagant yet so homey you can take and serve them anywhere. From your dinner table to the potluck to the work party, these are perfect. The balance of the tart apples goes perfectly with the tangy cream cheese filling. The crumb topping with caramel will make everyone want the recipe so be prepared with copies.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars Ingredients:

The list may look long, but it’s not complicated at all, it’s just simple sweet elegance.

• Flour: All purpose or bread flour work for this recipe
• Brown Sugar: Try dark brown sugar for more of a rich flavor
• Butter: Be sure to soften the butter for easy mixing.
• Cream Cheese: Low fat cream cheese will work here but I wouldn’t recommend non fat.
• Eggs: Make sure to get Large eggs.
• Vanilla: Helps sweeten the cream cheese.
• Granny Smith Apples: The tartness of granny smiths pairs perfectly with the caramel.
• Ground Cinnamon: Adds spice and warmth.
• Ground Nutmeg: Makes everything taste like fall.
• Caramel Topping: Use your favorite caramel topping or make your own.

Streusel Topping: 

• Brown Sugar: Light or dark will work beautifully.
• Flour: Needed to help make that crumb texture.
• Quick Cooking Oats: Make sure they’re not rolled oats.
• Butter: Don’t substitute shortening or margarine here. You want that clean smooth buttery taste in your crumb.

How to Make Apple Cheesecake Bars:

This a simple recipe, it just takes a little time but it’s easy to do.

1. Line: Line your 9 x 13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray to make removal of the bars easier. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine and Bake: Mix the flour and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl. Cut in the butter till mixture is crumbly. Press into the bottom of your pan and bake for 15 min till lightly brown.
3. Beat: In another bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed till smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs one at a time wand the vanilla. Mix well and pour over warm crust
4. Apple Filling: In a small bowl combine the apples, two Tablespoons of sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and spoon over the cream cheese layer.
5. Streusel: Combine brown sugar, flour, oats and butter till crumbly and sprinkle over the apple layer.
6. Bake: Bake for 30 min. until filling is set. After cooking drizzle with caramel topping.

 

Hints for Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars:

This delicious caramel apple cheesecake dessert has all of the amazing flavors of fall combined into it. The best part is the caramel drizzled on top! Now drool. 🙂

• Apples: Cut the apples up into pea sized pieces. This ensures they’ll cook and be easier to eat. If you don’t have Granny Smith apples you can use Jonathan, Jonagold, or even Fugi.The taste will be slightly more sweet however.
• Streusel: Don’t melt the butter, keep it cold, but a little soft to ensure you get that nice crumbly texture. Use two knives or a fork to work the butter in if you don’t have a pastry cutter. Use a measuring cup or your hands to press evenly into the pan.
• Cream Cheese: You can use either full fat or 1/3 less fat cream cheese, however the full fat will give you a slightly thicker batter. Try adding a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg to the cream cheese mixture to add a little bit more flavor.
• Prepare: These do take time to prepare, bake, cook and then cool for an hour all before you refrigerate them for at least 3 hours.So before serving these amazing bars make sure you plan accordingly, It will be worth it. I promise.

 

How to Store Cheesecake Bars:

• Refrigerator: Cover bars tightly with foil or place in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
• Freezer: Cheesecake has always frozen well and these are no exception. Before freezing do not but the caramel sauce on. It doesn’t freeze quite as well. Place  the bars in an airtight container, or freezer safe ziploc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the refrigerator over night or at least for 4-5 hours. When ready to serve drizzle with the caramel sauce.

More Tempting Caramel Apple Recipes:

There is nothing like biting into a crisp fall apple that has been dipped in caramel. Try these for more caramel apple deliciousness:

• Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls
• Delicious Caramel Apple Cupcakes
• Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake
• Salted Caramel Apple Butter Bars
• Dutch Caramel Apple Pie Bars

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Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Delicious apple cheesecake streusel bars drizzled with caramel topping!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword caramel apple bars, carmmel apple cheesecake bars, cheesecake bars

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 12 Slices

Calories 528kcal

Author Alyssa Rivers

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup butter softened
• 2 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup caramel topping

Streusel topping:

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup butter softened

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. This makes removal of the bars easier.
• In a medium sized bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Press into the bottom of your 9x13 pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
• In a large mixing bowl beat with a hand mixer the cream cheese, 1/2 sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust. In a small bowl combine apples, remaining 2 Tbs sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon evenly on top of the cheesecake layer.
• Combine brown sugar, flour, cooking oats and butter until crumbly. Sprinkle streusel topping over the apple layer.
• Bake for 30 minutes until filling is set. Allow to cool and drizzle with caramel topping.

Notes

Updated on September 9, 2020

Originally Posted on October 4, 2913

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 257mg | Potassium: 155mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 787IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg

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