One thing this family looooves is Olive Garden. They have great entrees, but I think most of us know why you go to Olive Garden. It’s the soup, salad, and breadsticks, am I right?

For me, it’s the Zuppa Toscana, which I think is amazing. I’ve never actually ordered anything else because if I’m eating that, I’m not eating the zuppa, which would be sad. For my husband, though, it’s the chicken gnocchi soup.

That’s why I spent the week leading up to our half year anniversary coming up with a recipe that tasted like we’d gone to Olive Garden (Yes, we did celebrate our half year anniversary the first year. We’re cute like that.)

This light version of the Olive Garden classic comes from Erin Sellers over at Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts (a great blog, if you’re interested). I made a few tweaks and came out with something I could be proud of. It’s light, it’s creamy, it’s super pretty, and it makes my husband happy. What more could you want in a copycat recipe?

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Olive Garden Copycat Chicken Gnocchi Soup

A lightened up version of the Olive Garden favorite!

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 chicken breast chopped and cooked
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
12 oz evaporated milk
1 cup water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp garlic powder
½ cup shredded carrots
1 small onion diced
1 cup spinach chopped
½ tsp thyme
1 pkg gnocchi

Instructions

In a saucepan, melt the butter and heat the oil.
Saute onion and carrot until onion is translucent.
Add chicken, milk, water, bouillon, cornstarch, garlic, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
In the meantime, make gnocchi according to package instructions. When gnocchi is done, add gnocchi and spinach to the soup and allow to simmer for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.