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Creamy, Spicy Chicken Gnocchi Soup with bacon bits. This is a bowl of winter comfort food, and it’s exactly what we’re craving most right now. It’s a mix of vegetables, shredded rotisserie chicken, and potato gnocchi in a creamy verde broth with melty cheddar cheese. Top each bowl of creamy soup with crispy bacon, then serve with crusty bread. It’s absolutely the yummiest cozy dinner fit for an extra chilly night.
It’s soup season! Growing up, the only three soups I was familiar with were chicken noodle soup, broccoli cheddar, and top ramen. We can’t forget that because there were times when Mom and I would eat that on repeat every single day for lunch.
My mom loves soup, and I love the three listed above the most. I’ve never been someone who gets overly excited about, say, tomato soup (although I’m coming around). Personally, I prefer a heartier soup—something with noodles, maybe some chicken, and if it’s creamy too, even better.
I’ve shared so many soups that we adore over the years, but gnocchi soup is one that I keep coming back to over and over again. It’s not only full of yummy gnocchi, but I also love to make my gnocchi soup on the creamy side. It’s so delicious!
And today’s version is a little spicier too! The trick is adding salsa verde. It adds just the right amount of flavor and spice. You don’t really know it’s there, but the flavor it adds makes this gnocchi soup better than the rest!
Trust me, I know you will enjoy it!
These are the Details to Know
Ingredients
- bacon
- fresh sage
- an onion
- carrots
- celery
- garlic
- fresh thyme, or use dried
- flour, gluten-free works great
- salted butter
- broth, I love chicken bone broth
- salsa verde, one of my most used ingredients
- chopped up kale or baby spinach
- cream or whole milk, coconut milk is great if you’re dairy-free
- potato gnocchi
- melty cheddar cheese
Special Tools
None! Just a large soup pot or Dutch oven – which we hopefully all have!
Steps
Step 1: cook the bacon
You’ll want to start with the bacon. Crisp it up, then toss in a handful of fresh sage or oregano leaves. Once the fresh herbs hit the bacon grease, they begin to fry up and become crisp.
The salty bacon and herbs add an unexpected special touch to each bowl.
Step 2: creating the broth
Once you’ve cooked the bacon, pull it out of the Dutch oven and put almost everything else in: the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and thyme. Season everything well with salt and black pepper.
Stir in butter and flour. I wanted this gnocchi soup to be incredibly creamy and have the most delicious broth. The flour helps keep the broth from separating.
Stir in a little broth and simmer everything together to allow the vegetables to cook and the flavors to mend together.
Step 3: adding the cream and gnocchi
Next, mix in the kale, cream or milk, salsa verde, and gnocchi. Let the gnocchi cook for a couple of minutes.
Now add a big handful of leftover shredded chicken, or turkey if you recently roasted a holiday bird! Add the cheese, cooking until it melts into the broth.
Step 4: serve
All you do now is ladle the soup into bowls and top with the bacon.
Of course, I like to serve this with bread. Add a nice side salad for color, and you’ll have the perfect easy dinner.
The Leftovers
If you’re planning to enjoy this soup leftover, be sure to remove the gnocchi from the broth before refrigerating. That way, the gnocchi won’t soak up all the broth. Then, just add the gnocchi back in before serving.
If your night needs some warming soup, this should be it. I’m looking forward to making this the week before Christmas—once I’m finally home again!
Looking for other easy Monday night dinners?? Here are my favorites:
Creamy French Onion and Mushroom Soup
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
One Pot Chicken and Sage Dumplings
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Spicy Chicken Gnocchi Soup, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Spicy Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 588 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped (optional)
- 8 fresh sage leaves
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 4-6 cups broth
- 3/4 cup salsa verde
- 4-6 cups shredded kale or chopped spinach
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream or whole milk
- 1 pound fresh potato gnocchi
- 1-2 cups shredded rotisserie style chicken
- 1/2 cup shredded spicy cheddar
Instructions
- 1. Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. During the last minute of cooking, add the sage and let it get crispy Remove the bacon. If there's excess bacon grease, drain off all but 2 tablespoons. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, until fragrant.2. Stir in the butter and flour and cook for 1 minute. Add 4 cups broth. Simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes until the carrots are tender.3. Stir in the kale, cream/milk, salsa verde, and gnocchi. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and cheddar cheese. If the soup is too thick, add additional broth.4. Ladle the soup into bowls. Top with bacon and sage. Enjoy, preferably with a crusty piece of bread.
This post was originally published on December 5, 2024
We did not have any leftover poultry but had some leftover ham. It was really good but I definitely want to make it again with chicken or turkey. Flavor was absolutely amazing and I have never cooked with salsa Verde as an ingredient. You made a believer out of me!
Hey Hannah,
Awesome! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for giving it a try! xxT
This looks so yummy! Do you think it would freeze well? I’d like to make extra.
Thanks so much, Lyndsey! Yes, you can totally freeze this, just keep the gnocchi in a separate bag. I hope this helps! xT
Yum! Had leftover chicken from a sheet pan dish with Acorn squash last night. Added both to the soup but! As I was adding the squash, I had a thought – Acorn squash gnocchi might be great! Used potato gnocchi but maybe in the future…? Would you care to give us a recipe? Had fresh white sage from friend’s garden by the coast left as a gift at Thanksgiving. Wow. Thank you again!
Hey Cass,
Happy Tuesday! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it! Yum, acorn squash gnocchi sounds like a great idea! xx
No idea how you came up with this ingredient combination but it’s so cozy! Super easy weeknight meal if you pre-chop the veggies.
Lol thanks so much, Stacey!! Love to hear you enjoyed this soup! Thanks for giving it a try! xT
Wow what a great soup! My husband AKA Soup Expert loved this soup. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Cindy,
I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well! Happy Holidays! xxT
Were you suppose to take the sage out with the bacon because it doesn’t specify?
Hi Melisssa,
You can leave the sage:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
So quickly and easy and it was delicious
Thanks so much, Jolene!! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it!! xx
We loved this. I had to make some changes as my husband doesn’t like salsa verde and I didn’t have any fresh sage leaves. But even without those two ingredients, it was delicious. We eat a lot of soup in the winter and this is definitely a keeper.
Hi Gail,
Happy Holidays!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe and appreciate you making it! Thanks for your comment:) xx
Absolutely delicious!!
Thanks so much, Margaret!!
What would you use as a substitute for the heavy cream to make it dairy free?
Hi Laura,
I would use coconut cream:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Can this be made in a crockpot?
Hey Stephanie,
Sure, that would work nicely for you! Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Looking forward to making this tonight between decking the halls and work calls. 🔔 I have a lot of stock on hand from Thanksgiving- I get confused between chicken stock, chicken broth and chicken bone broth. For this recipe, am I safe to assume they are interchangeable? Happy December!!!
Hey Betsy,
You bet, any of those will work well for you here! I hope you love this recipe! Happy Holidays! xx
Can we use frozen cauliflower gnocchi instead?
Hi Laura,
I have never tested this, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work for you! I hope you love this recipe! xx
This was amazing & the perfect meal for a cold night! My son declared it the best soup he’s ever had. Will be a regular in our house this winter.
Hi Emily,
Wonderful! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear it turned out well! Happy December:) xT
Hi
This looks delicious but I have a problem finding salsa verde anywhere in my local shops, this is an ingredient in lots of your recipes that I would love to try. Do you have and ideas what I could use instead?
Thanks
Amazon.
Hi Tricia,
Thanks so much! Are you able to order online? Amazon has some good options for salsa verde. You could also make a homemade salsa verde to use. I hope this helps! xT
What type of broth did you use
Hi Janis,
I like to use chicken broth. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx