Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup Copycat
If you’re like me, every time you go to the Olive Garden, you skip the full meal and go straight for the soup, salad, and breadsticks. When I first got my Instant Pot, I made a list of soups I had to make. Olive Garden’s chicken gnocchi soup was at the top of my list.
Making this Olive Garden copycat soup is easy in the pressure cooker and takes little time. Your family will even think this Instant Pot chicken gnocchi soup was cooking all day! Rich and hearty, this soup has roasted chicken, gnocchi, celery, carrots, and spinach. As a bonus, you get a heartier taste with rendered bacon cooked right in. You’ll love prepping this soup and then freeze individual portions for later! It’s perfect for that cozy and chilly fall or winter day when you just need a bowl of soup to keep you warm.
What’s the Best Pre-Cooked Gnocchi?
Gnocchi is an Italian favorite. Unlike most pasta, this type is made from flour, potatoes, and eggs. It’s pretty easy to make at home, but for time’s sake, you can pick up a bag of gnocchi from your favorite grocery store or Italian deli. As long as you pick a freshly prepared gnocchi made of these simple ingredients, you shouldn’t have any problem at all.
Should I Pre-Cook Chicken?
If you want to save some time, pre-cooking chicken is easy. You can check out my Instant Pot rotisserie chicken recipe if you’re looking to include the dark and white meat pieces in your Instant Pot Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup.
How to Make Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup in the Pressure Cooker
To make Instant Pot Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup, you will first turn on your Instant Pot or multi-cooker to the sauté function and add the chopped bacon. Once the bacon is finished sauteeing set the bacon aside, add the butter, celery, onions, garlic, and carrots until the onions are translucent.
Next, add your rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and stir for about one minute. Turn off the sauté function. Add in your chicken. If using already cooked chicken, skip this step and add in later. Add in chicken broth and scrape any bits at the bottom of the pot.
Secure your lid and turn the valve to the sealing position. Hit pressure cook for nine minutes on high pressure. Once the timer goes off, let sit for 15 minutes and do a natural release.
Turn the valve to venting to let the pressure out. If you added chicken, take the chicken out and cut it into pieces. Turn the sauté function on.
Discard the bay leaf. Add the gnocchi, stirring occasionally until the gnocchi floats up. Add the bacon back in.Add the chicken back in, the parmesan cheese, and the spinach and give a good stir. Add in the heavy cream while stirring. Add any salt and pepper to taste. Now, your Instant Pot Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup copycat is ready to serve!
Looking for an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker?
You can also make Instant Pot Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup using a slow cooker. However, if you are looking for an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker, check our reviews and our guides. Don’t forget to look for more delicious recipes while you’re here!
Instant Pot Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup Copycat
Notes
Note: You can substitute for pre-cooked chicken of your choice
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 Chicken Breasts or Thighs, uncooked, boneless, skinless or cooked and cut up into bite-sized pieces
- 6-8 slices Thick Cut Bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 16 oz Gnocchi
- Shredded Parmesan cheese for topping
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 cup of fresh spinach, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Turn on your Instant Pot or multi-cooker to the sauté function.
- Once hot, add the chopped bacon.
- Once the bacon is finished sauteeing set it aside
- Add the butter, celery, onions, garlic, and carrots and sautee until the onions are translucent.
- Next, add your rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning and stir for about one minute.
- Turn off the sauté function. Add in your chicken. (If using already cooked chicken, skip this step and add in later)
- Add in chicken broth and scrape any bits at the bottom of the pot.
- Secure your lid and turn the valve to the sealing position. Hit pressure cook for nine minutes on high pressure. Once the timer goes off, let sit for 15 minutes and do a natural release.
- Turn the valve to venting to let the pressure out. If you added chicken, take the chicken out and cut it into pieces. Turn the sauté function on.
- Discard the bay leaf. Add the gnocchi, stirring occasionally until the gnocchi floats up. Add the chicken and the bacon back in
- Add the parmesan cheese, and the spinach, and give a good stir.
- Add in the heavy cream while stirring. Add any salt and pepper to taste.
- Now, your Instant Pot Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup copycat is ready to serve!
