Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Soup 

I did not grow up eating gnocchi – I thought I had a personal relationship with potatoes, but had never met the gnocchi.  For those like me who came to gnocchi late in life, they are small pasta-like shapes that are made from potatoes, usually some kind of flour and possibly eggs.  They are light and fluffy.  They are cheap ($1 at Dollar Tree)!  When fresh potatoes are not available or you are in a hurry and focused on efficiency, they are a good substitute to use in soup.  Olive Garden serves a creamy chicken and gnocchi soup.  I have put that on a shoestring  while considering limited shopping options.  See recipe in comments.  

Several options for cans to use (as always, use fresh when available)

2 cans chicken and vegetable soup; OR

2 cans cream of chicken soup and a CAN of cooked chicken;  OR
Cook raw chicken and use the broth (any cut chicken); OR

Use a rotisserie chicken (about 2 ½ cups) and add whatever meat you want in the soup.  

After can or chicken choice, if you did NOT use the chicken vegetable soup, you may want to ADD a can of carrots and some chopped celery (or celery salt).  If you did use the chicken veg soup, you already have those in there.

Sprinkle in some onion powder, garlic, thyme, and rosemary — hint of nutmeg if you have it.  I like lots of onion and garlic and smidgens of the others.  Add some chicken broth (2 14oz cans or more) and bring all that to a soft boil and then reduce heat and simmer.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Now more choices!!  In another pot/skillet you can:

1)    Make a Béchamel sauce by mixing 5T butter with 5T flour and cook that until the flour and butter form a soft paste – do not brown the flour.  Stir constantly and when that becomes a paste start adding milk about ¼ cup at a time STIRRING CONSTANTLY with a whisk.  Add a total of about 2 cups of milk.  Set aside.  Never ever boil.  Add salt and pepper.  

2)    OR If you decide not to make the Bechamel sauce (and why not really??) you need to thicken the soup.  SO, you can add dried instant potatoes in the main pot (the one with the cans of soup) and stir constantly until it achieves a nice thickness.  

3)    OR you can mix some cornstarch (1/4 cup or so) with milk and add that slowly to hot soup mixture.  Stirring, just keep stirring.  

If you cooked your own chicken, tear it into pieces.  Ditto for rotisserie chicken.  Add it to soup mixture.  Add the gnocchi – I like small pieces so if you are so inclined, you might want to cut the gnocchi in half so it doesn’t come out in big hunks.  Drop all those into the main soup pot.  Cook 5 minutes or so.  

NOW, if you made the Béchamel sauce stir it slowly into the pot of soup. 

More steps than usual but should be pantry-friendly and budget friendly.  Makes more than most of the others I post.  Here are some options:

1)    Use ham, kielbasa or Italian sausage instead of chicken;

2)    Got spinach?  Toss a handful in at the very last – fresh, not frozen.

3)    No gnocchi, you say?  Then use a pasta of your choice or rice – will need to cook those more than 5 minutes so adjust time accordingly. Remember that you may need to add more broth if you use pasta – it is a broth sucker!  

4)    Use real potatoes?  Absolutely.  Peel, chunk, and cook – again longer time needed for them to soften.