Need a lightning-fast meal that uses store-bought rotisserie chicken? And do you love comfort food? Yes and yes, right? Last week I took 5 ingredients I had on hand, threw them into a pot, and BOOM! 10 Minute Pesto Chicken Gnocchi Soup was born.
10 Minute Pesto Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This easy, delish soup has only 5 ingredients! Crazy, right? Of course, they’re mostly packaged ingredients, but hey, if you’re gonna make fast food at home, you need convenience. Might as well keep the ingredients relatively healthy, budget-friendly, and super versatile.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe
- packaged gnocchi
- reduced sodium chicken broth
- cooked chicken breast
- pesto (packaged or homemade)
- fresh spinach (could use frozen too!)
Now, I’ve been playing with packaged gnocchi for a few months…dreaming up various combinations, including this pesto and chicken thing. I’m planning on keeping gnocchi on hand for these last-minute meal moments, but prefer to use whole grains when possible. So I think I’ll be trying DeLallo Whole Wheat Potato Gnocchi. I’m totally cool to order a 6-pack from Amazon and not run around trying to find it.
For today’s recipe, I used this…and I love it, but I need that whole wheat gnocchi all up in my life.
Side note…as I’m uploading this post, my dude just asked me what I was working on. When I told him, he said “ooh, yeah, that’s a good one!” I love those words, and in that tone. It means I have an undeniable winner! The neighbor dude really liked it too…that’s 4 thumbs up!
I didn’t know Chicken Gnocchi Soup was a thing
So, Chicken Gnocchi Soup appears to be really popular online, especially the Olive Garden copycat recipes. I had no idea! I’m not sure what rock I’ve been living under, but it never even occurred to me to even put gnocchi into a soup, and add chicken, and pesto, and spinach…until I started experimenting last week.
Not better, just different
Chicken gnocchi soups often use half and half or heavy cream as the soup base. Nothing wrong with that, but instead of using heavy cream, I made mine with a chicken broth base and added pesto for flavoring and texture. Side note…vegetable broth would be just as good.
Btw, pesto seems to be available at most grocery stores these days. Of course, I buy Costco’s Kirkland brand, but any pesto will do the job. Great thing is, it has a great shelf life in the fridge and can be used in so many dishes.
Here are the steps to get 10 minute Pesto Chicken Gnocchi Soup on the table
- Add gnocchi and chicken stock to a soup pot
- Boil a few minutes
- Add shredded chicken, pesto, and spinach
- Simmer long enough to warm through
- Serve
Here’s a Money-Saving Tip
When you buy a freshly cooked, rotisserie chicken from the store, don’t just bring it home and devour it in one sitting. Instead, remove all the meat (while it’s still warm), eat a couple bites, and plan to repurpose it into meals, preferably with other healthy ingredients surrounding it. This way, you’ll maximize your dollars and find yourself with a really tasty protein spread across a few meals. It’s healthier this way too!
Here are some of my recipes using store-bought rotisserie chicken:
- Rotisserie Chicken Teriyaki Lettuce Cups are an easy, light way to eat chicken and quinoa.
- Chicken Fajita Tex Mex Salad Bowl can be made with little planning and prep.
- Chicken Teriyaki Fried Brown Rice combines rice, chicken, and store-bought Teriyaki sauce.
Kitchen tools you’ll find helpful for 10 Minute Pesto Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- chef knife and cutting board (only if you need to cut chicken)
- 3.5 quart stainless sauce pot
Some of my other crazy-fast dinners here on TKG®
- My Feel Better Pho is an Asian-inspired, delicious, soup…perfect for cold and flu season.
- Meatless Burrito Bowls are great for lunch or dinner, any day of the week.
- Whip up my Zoodle Quinoa Power Bowl For Busy People, and feel healthy when you do!
- Turn one can of chickpeas into In A Hurry Kale Chickpea Soup in under 20 minutes.
Yields 5 1-cup servings
Pesto, chicken, and gnocchi get together and party on your stove for 10 minutes. The result, a pot of soup you’ll love to make again and again. Seriously, crazy good!
10 minCook Time
10 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 17.5 oz packaged Gnocchi (shop it HERE )
- 3 cups Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth
- 1 cup cooked Chicken Breast (shredded)
- 1/4 cup Pesto
- 1 cup fresh Spinach
Instructions
- In a 3.5 quart soup pot; combine GNOCCHI and CHICKEN BROTH; bring to boil.
- Continue boiling for a few minutes (to soften gnocchi).
- Reduce heat to med-low; add CHICKEN, PESTO, and SPINACH LEAVES; simmer until chicken is warmed through (3-4 min); serve warm.
Traci Antonovich
About my recipes: Minimal meat & more plants!
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Carolyn says