With winter being annoyingly persistent here in Western New York I am still in soup making mode. But on the bright side I get to eat this amazing soup on a regular basis. It’s filled with chicken, potato gnocchi, spinach, carrots and celery and is so yummy.

The broth is deliciously creamy but the creaminess is achieved with a white sauce instead of heavy cream. So it tastes great but is lower in fat than one would expect from it’s silky texture. Garlic, thyme and rosemary add savory Italian flavors to the broth and some coriander adds a subtle citrus note that helps bring all of the flavors together.

If you’re unfamiliar with gnocchi then you’re in for a treat. They are tender little dumplings made by mixing mashed potatoes with flour and egg to form a pliable dough which is rolled out into a thin rope and then cut into small pieces. You don’t need to make them from scratch for this soup, however, unless you want to. Feel free to use dried, refrigerated or frozen gnocchi. Just note that if you’re using frozen gnocchi it will take the gnocchi a little longer to cook so just make sure the gnocchi are floating (which means they’re cooked) before you move on to the next step in the recipe.

This makes about a gallon of soup so it’s a big batch. But it warms up great so I love having a big bowl of this in the fridge. If you don’t think you can get through that much soup then consider making a half batch instead or sharing some with family or friends.

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Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Delicious soup filled with chicken, potato gnocchi and vegetables with the perfect amount of creaminess created with a white sauce instead of heavy cream.

Servings: 16 cups

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 onion, diced or 2 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 3 carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups cooked and diced chicken
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• ¼ ground black pepper
• 16 ounces potato gnocchi
• 6 ounces baby spinach
• Salt to taste

Instructions

Make the white sauce for the soup:

1. Melt the butter and whisk in the flour.
2. Pour in the milk and whisk well.
3. Cook over medium heat on the stove or in 2 minute intervals in the microwave (making sure it doesn’t boil over), stirring frequently until it thickens.

Make the soup:

1. Saute the celery, onion and carrots in a little extra virgin olive oil until the onion is translucent (or about 5 minutes if not using fresh onion).
2. Add the garlic (and the onion if using dried instead of fresh) and cook 1 minute.
3. Add the chicken, stock, pepper and herbs/spices.
4. Bring to a boil and then add the gnocchi.
5. Gently boil for 5 minutes or until the gnocchi are floating (which means they’re cooked).
6. Add the spinach and simmer until it wilts.
7. Add the white sauce and simmer about 5 minutes.

8. Salt to taste.