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Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Soup is a cozy and hearty winter comfort food! It's prepped in the crockpot in less than 10 minutes, and filled with tender chicken, pillowy gnocchi, white beans, sun-dried tomatoes and kale in a herby broth with a touch of cream.
- Winter is for Soup! - The best way to get tender shredded chicken soup is to let your crockpot do the work! Tuscan Chicken Soup will make your kitchen smell amazing, just top with plenty of Parmesan cheese and crusty bread for dunking!
- A Complete Meal! - This soup is full of healthy veggies, protein-rich chicken and white beans, and comforting gnocchi, cream and Parmesan cheese. It's a balanced meal all in one, perfect for a cold winter day!
- If you Love this Soup, try my Creamy Sausage Potato Soup and this Tuscan Sausage White Bean Soup.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
This soup is pantry-friendly! You may have most of the ingredients on hand or in the freezer!
- Chicken - Use raw chicken breasts or thighs. If using bone in, skin on chicken, just discard the bones and skin when shredding the cooked chicken.
- Onion and Garlic - The base layers of flavor, veggies also add nutrition.
- Seasonings - Dry Italian herbs and simple salt and pepper are important to season all those veggies. If you don't have thyme and oregano, dried basil or Italian seasoning mix is fine!
- Sun-Dried Tomato - This gives your soup its Tuscan flavor! Use sun-dried tomatoes from a jar packed in olive oil. Pull out and chop ⅓ cup, but don't drain or rinse the oil, a little adds great flavor to the soup!
- White Beans - Add protein and hearty substance to any soup! I used Great Northern Beans, but navy or cannellini beans are fine too. If you only have 1 can, that will work!
- Chicken Stock - Use store-bought or try my Homemade Chicken Stock from Bones and Veggie Scraps.
- Kale - A bit of leafy greens add nice texture to the soup. You can also substitute fresh spinach. You can use frozen kale, you may want to add it earlier, at least a couple hours before serving.
- Cream - This soup is not thick and creamy, but rather an herb broth-based soup with a touch of rich cream. Cream adds a nice silky element, but you could substitute half & half, or use less than 1 cup.
- Gnocchi - Pillowy soft and chewy potato gnocchi are delicious in soup! They are quick cooking and can be tossed right in, no need to boil separately. You may also like my Sausage Gnocchi Soup!
- Parmesan Cheese - You can reserve it for a topping, but I like to also add a big handful of shredded Parmesan right into the finished soup. It adds great flavor and creamy texture.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Simmered in the slow cooker, this soup is quick and easy, healthy and filling, and sure to become a favorite!
Step 1 - Add raw chicken to a slow cooker, sprinkled with seasonings, along with the onion, garlic, and sun-dried tomato.
Step 2 - Add the beans and stock and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.
Step 3 - When the chicken is cooked through, use to forks to shred and chop it on a cutting board.
Chop the kale, or you can chop it when you chop the onion and reserve it in the fridge.
Step 4 - Add the kale, gnocchi, cream and shredded chicken back to the crockpot and stir.
Cook 1 hour more, or until the gnocchi and kale are tender.
Step 5 - When the soup is ready, taste and add another pinch of salt if needed. Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve more to top each bowl.
Recipe Notes & Helpful Tips
- When to Add the Kale - How long the kale cooks is kind of a personal preference. You could add it right at the beginning if you really want it to wilt in and be totally soft. Adding it toward the end when you add the gnocchi will give you nicely cooked kale, but still with some texture. Or you can add it any time in between. Some types of kale are more fibrous than others.
- Adding Fresh Herbs - I only used dried herbs for this recipe to keep it simple, but you can always add fresh herbs if you have them! Italian flavors like thyme, parsley, rosemary or sage would be delicious and can be added with the gnocchi. If you preserve your Mixed Fresh Herbs and Garden Greens for the Freezer in the summer like I do, this soup is perfect to add a few spoonfuls right from the freezer.
- What to Serve it With - This soup is really a complete meal, but always better with lots of Parmesan cheese and crusty bread for dipping. A baguette or my Overnight Dutch Oven Bread are great. You can also pair soup night with a simple salad like this Spinach Arugula Salad or my Prosciutto Parmesan Salad. Like the soup, they are all Italian inspired in flavor.
- Storage and Freezing - This Chicken White Bean Soup can be made a day in advance, or stored in the fridge in an airtight container. Leftovers are delicious reheated within 3 days. This soup can be frozen for up to 4 months, cooled first in the fridge. To use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat over low heat on the stovetop.
Recipe FAQs
No, and it isn't meant to be! There is no flour thickener in this crockpot chicken gnocchi soup, and is rather an herb flavored broth-based soup with a bit of cream.
Yes, this soup can be finished by cooking gnocchi in the crockpot, or by substituting about 1 cup of any short pasta such as ditalini, bowtie, shells, or refrigerated cheese tortellini (maybe 2 cups). Cooking times may vary, but the soup is ready when the pasta is cooked through and al dente.
Yes, you can use leftover cooked chicken instead of the raw chicken in this soup. However, the raw chicken is why the soup is cooked in a slow cooker for several hours. You wouldn't need to cook it as long if using cooked chicken. You could even make the same soup by sautéing the veggies in oil on the stovetop, then adding all other ingredients and simmering until the gnocchi is ready.
More Cozy Bowls of Soup!
If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!
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Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 small onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound chicken breast or thighs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil sliced
- 2 cans (15oz) white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 2 cups water (or more chicken stock)
Added at the End
- 1 pound potato gnocchi
- 4 leaves kale stems removed, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, plus more to garnish shredded
Instructions
- Add raw chicken to a slow cooker and sprinkle with salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano. Add chopped onion, garlic, and sliced sun-dried tomatoes including some of their oil.
- Add white beans, chicken stock and water and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.
- Remove chicken to a cutting board and use 2 forks to shred and chop. Add the gnocchi, kale, heavy cream and chicken back to the slow cooker. Stir and cook another hour or until the gnocchi and kale are tender.
- Taste and add another pinch of salt if needed. Add Parmesan cheese and serve with more on each bowl.
Notes
- When to add the Kale - Kale can be added at the beginning if you really want it to wilt in and be totally soft. Adding it toward the end when you add the gnocchi will give you nicely cooked kale, but still with some texture. Or you can add it any time in between. Some types of kale are more fibrous than others.
- Broth Based Soup - Remember this soup contains no flour thickener and is not meant to be thick and creamy. It is rather an herbed broth-based soup with a hint of cream for a silky rich texture.
- Gnocchi - Gnocchi could be substituted with 1 cup of dry short pasta (or 2 cups of cheese filled tortellini) for a different variation. Cook in the crockpot until the pasta is al dente.
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