This Instant Pot Chicken and Gnocchi Soup is a healthy, no fuss dinner option that everyone will love. Fresh chicken breasts, carrots, spinach, potato gnocchi and a few pantry staples and you are ready to go. Instant Pot soup for dinner means it’s ready in a breeze and with less mess to clean up later.
If you are a fan of the Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi soup, (and who isn’t really?) you are going to loooove this creamy soup recipe. This Instant Pot Chicken and Gnocchi Soup is rich and creamy, nourishing and oh-so soul-satisfying. A great balance of indulgence and goodness. What could be better?
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Why You’ll Love this Instant Pot Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- Quick and effortless weeknight dinner
- Customizable with your favorite vegetables
- Easy one pot meal clean up
- Makes a great appetizer as well as a main course
- Ready in under an hour
Recipe Ingredients
Get more info on the ingredients and quantities needed for this delicious comforting meal in the recipe card shared below.
- Butter
- White onion
- Garlic
- Garlic powder
- Thyme
- Salt and black pepper
- Chicken broth
- Chicken breast
- Milk
- Cornstarch
- Carrots
- Potato gnocchi
- Baby spinach
Tools Needed To Make This Hearty Soup
Instant Pot
- 7-IN-1 FUNCTIONALITY: Pressure cook, slow cook, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, sauté pan and food warmer.
Measuring Cups and Spoons
No products found.
Knives and Cutting Board
- SET INCLUDES: 8-inch Chef Knife, 8-inch Slicing Knife, 7-inch Santoku Knife, 5.5-inch Utility Knife, 3.5-inch Paring Knife, 2.75-inch Bird's Beak Paring Knife, 4.5-inch Steak Knives (6), 8-inch Sharpening Steel, All-Purpose Household Shears and Wooden Block
- KITCHEN ESSENTIAL: This set of 3 bamboo cutting boards are perfect for everyday food preparation, from slicing fruit to chopping veggies and is a perfect kitchen starter set, housewarming gift or back-to-school essential
Mixing Bowl
- 7-piece mixing bowl set for use in restaurants, cafes, commercial kitchens, cafeterias, and more
Whisk
- SET INCLUDES– One 10" small whisk and one 12” large whisk for beating, stirring and mixing. A great addition to your kitchen that is just what you need to get the job done!
Mason Jars for Storing and Serving
- 6 PACK – This Mason Jar bundle comes with (6) 16 oz Regular Mouth jars. The jar's sides end with “12 oz” and the rest of the space between the end of the marking scale and the lid amounts to 4 oz , thus this means that altogether the capacity of the jar is 16 OZ.
How To Make Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Instant Pot Recipe
- Turn the Instant Pot on to saute function. Add in your butter and melt it. Then add in your diced onions and saute them for about 3-5 minutes or until they’re translucent.
- Next add in your minced garlic and saute for another minute or so to release the flavor. But not long enough to burn the garlic. Press cancel on the Instant Pot.
- Now add in your thyme, salt and pepper, chicken broth and chicken breasts.
- Then place the Instant Pot lid on, close the sealing valve and pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once finished cooking, perform a quick pressure release by turning the valve and releasing all the pressure. Be careful as the steam releases so you don’t burn yourself.
- After pressure is finished being released, take out your chicken breasts and shred on a plate before adding back the shredded chicken back to the Instant Pot.
- In your mixing bowl, mix the milk and corn starch together to create a cornstarch slurry.
- Then turn saute mode back on and slowly add the slurry in while stirring the soup.
- Toss in your carrots and gnocchi and cook for about 5 minutes or until they’re done.
- Finally add the fresh spinach and let it cook and start to wilt into the soup which only takes less than a minute.
- Serve and enjoy.
What Is An Instant Pot?
Instant Pots are a brand of electric pressure cookers or multi cookers. Pressure cookers work by creating heat under a tight seal, so the temperature is much higher than the boiling point of water and the steam can’t escape. The steam cooks food much more quickly than traditional stovetop or oven cooking.
Variations
Change the vegetables – Instead of onions you can use leeks or shallots in this creamy chicken gnocchi soup. In place of carrots try parsnips or celery. Throw in chopped kale or swiss chard instead of spinach. The combinations are endless!
Make it Asian-inspired and use coconut milk instead of dairy-based milk.
Go dairy free– make it non-dairy and use vegan butter and a plant-based milk. We suggest using an almond milk, coconut milk, or oat milk (here’s our diy oat milk recipe).
Swap meat– Not in the mood for boneless skinless chicken breasts, use turkey breast instead. You can also use rotisserie chicken if you have it. Keep in mind that this chicken is already cooked so you will only add it after all the other items have cooked.
Forgot to get gnocchi? Any pasta shape or stuffed pasta will do.
Trade out chicken broth– No chicken broth in the pantry? Soup powder is a good substitute. But if you’re in a real pinch, add water, chicken stock or vegetable broth.
Helpful Tips & Tricks
- Make sure to add the gnocchi at the end or you’ll end up with mushy gnocchis in your bowl of soup.
- Low fat milk can be used but a higher fat content, like whole milk, will add creaminess and bring out the most flavor in the soup. You could even use heavy cream for more fat and flavor.
- Regular spinach will work, just chop it before adding to the pot once it’s finished cooking so it doesn’t wilt.
- Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to avoid a burn notice when sauteeing the garlic.
- Keep in mind that the cooking time stated here does not account for the time it takes the pressure cooker to come up to pressure or the time it takes to release pressure as this can vary widely from each model of Instant Pot.
- When performing any kind of pressure release whether natural release or quick pressure release, take extra caution not to burn yourself. We recommend tossing a dish towel over the valve as it releases pressure so it reduces the chances of anybody getting burned.
Can I Use Frozen Chicken?
Absolutely, you can use frozen chicken but the recipe will cook faster if the chicken is defrosted.
Should I Pre-Cook The Gnocchi?
You don’t need to pre-cook the gnocchi but it should be added at the end so it doesn’t disintegrate into the soup.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs Instead Of Breasts?
Yes you can use chicken thighs instead, however, adjust your cook time by increasing it a few minutes as thighs take longer to cook.
Can I Use Homemade Gnocchi Instead Of Store Bought?
Yes! You absolutely can use homemade fresh gnocchi. We have a new recipe for homemade gnocchi coming soon.
How Do You Store Leftover Soup?
If you have leftover soup to store and enjoy for later, we recommend storing it in a Mason Jar or another airtight container in the refrigerator. With all of the dairy products, you definitely want to keep it refrigerated.
How Long Is Chicken and Gnocchi Soup Good For?
If stored properly like suggested above, this soup is good for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Can You Freeze Instant Pot Gnocchi Soup?
You sure can freeze this soup. If you want to make an extra batch or two of this delicious soup you can easily freeze it for later. This is a fantastic meal prep recipe if you want to have some stored away for later use.
You can freeze your soup in freezer safe Mason Jars or once the soup cools you can freeze it in a resealable freezer safe storage bag.
This soup is safe to freeze for about 3 months. Make sure to add it to your freezer inventory free printable so you don’t lose track of it.
Other Delicious Soups
If you’re looking for more Olive Garden Copycat recipes, you need to check out one of our other favorite things, the Minestrone Soup. We have a pasta e fagioli recipe in the works too.
We also love our Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup, a family favorite that goes amazing with crusty bread.
Instant Pot Chicken and Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1/2 white onion diced
- 1 Tablespoon garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon dried garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1- pound chicken breast about 2 breasts
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 large carrots coarsely shredded
- 1 16-oz package potato gnocchi, uncooked
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on to saute function. Add in your butter and melt it. Then add in your diced onions and saute them for about 3-5 minutes or until they’re translucent.
- Next add in your minced garlic and saute for another minute or so to release the flavor. But not long enough to burn the garlic. Press cancel on the Instant Pot.
- Now add in your thyme, salt and pepper, chicken broth and chicken breasts.
- Then place the Instant Pot lid on, close the sealing valve and pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once finished cooking, perform a quick pressure release by turning the valve and releasing all the pressure. Be careful as the steam releases so you don’t burn yourself.
- After pressure is finished being released, take out your chicken breasts and shred on a plate before adding back the shredded chicken back to the Instant Pot.
- In your mixing bowl, mix the milk and corn starch together to create a cornstarch slurry.
- Then turn saute mode back on and slowly add the slurry in while stirring the soup.
- Toss in your carrots and gnocchi and cook for about 5 minutes or until they’re done.
- Finally add the fresh spinach and let it cook and start to wilt into the soup which only takes less than a minute.
- Serve and enjoy.
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