Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup–A creamy soup with tender, moist bites of chicken, bacon crumbles, bright green leafy kale, Parmesan cheese and dumpling-like gnocchi.
Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here
Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup
All the flavors in this soup just mesh perfectly. I totally feel that this is restaurant quality soup! Make it for dinner, make it for potluck, make it for your neighbor, make it for book club, make it for the holidays…just make it.
Some notes on the recipe:
- Chicken: I have made this Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup recipe with both boneless, skinless chicken breasts and boneless, skinless chicken thighs and with a combination of the two. Today I used thighs because that’s what I had on hand. You can throw in frozen chicken if you want. If your chicken is frozen (mine was) your pot will just take a bit longer to come to pressure. I love measuring out my ingredients when I make my recipes. I use this digital scale.
- The vegetables: I like dicing my onions fairly fine. I know some people in my family aren’t fans of big chunks of onions, so that’s what I do to combat complaining. The onions are purely there to build a flavor base for the soup. The carrots can be sliced or diced or grated. I have a handy dandy grater tool so that’s how I prepared my carrots. I sliced my celery into quarter inch pieces but you can do a fine dice if you want to hide them from picky kids.
- Bouillon: For the base of the soup I used water plus my favorite Better Than Bouillon chicken base. It’s so handy to keep this in my fridge and use as needed. You can also use a carton or can of chicken broth.
- Bacon: I have used both packaged real bacon bits when I’ve made this recipe and I’ve also cooked up my own bacon in the oven. It’s really a matter of preference (and time).
- Half and Half: Half-and-half is a blend of equal parts whole milk and light cream. It averages 10 to 12% fat, which is more than milk but less than light cream. It can be found next to the heavy cream in your grocery store. If you don’t want to use half and half you can use half milk and half cream. Or you can use evaporated milk or even regular milk. With regular milk it won’t be as creamy and flavorful but it will work in a pinch. I like to warm my dairy before adding it to this soup to prevent curdling. I just warm it up in the microwave for 60 seconds.
- Gnocchi: Gnocchi are like an Italian dumpling. They are potato dumplings, shaped like pillows. You can find them in the pasta section of your grocery store. They only take a few minutes to cook. That’s why I added them in at the end with the dairy.
- Kale: kale can be bitter but in this soup it’s really delicious. I challenge you to give it a try. If you just can’t stomach it, then you can leave it out or even use a bit of fresh spinach instead. If you’re unsure how to cut kale here is a video that demonstrates the process.
How to Make Chicken Gnocchi Soup in the Instant Pot (Video Demonstration)
More instant pot soup recipes that you need to try…
Instant Pot Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup
Instant Pot Parmesan Sausage Kale Soup
Instant Pot Creamy Tortellini, Spinach and Chicken Soup
Pressure Cooker Butternut Squash Soup with Chicken and Orzo from Pressure Cooking Today
Pressure Cooker Lentil Soup from Eat Within Your Means
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1. I also own the 6 quart Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker. They are both great pressure cookers! The first one I mentioned has a yogurt making function but other than that they are fairly similar. The price difference between the two is about $20.
Print
Instant Pot Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes (plus time to come to pressure)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A creamy soup with tender, moist bites of chicken, bacon crumbles, bright green leafy kale, Parmesan cheese and dumpling-like gnocchi.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 cups water
- 4 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken base
- 1 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs or a combination of the two
- 2 medium carrots, grated or diced
- 3 celery ribs, sliced into quarter inch pieces
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3 Tbsp water
- 1 cup half and half, warmed
- 1 lb gnocchi
- 4 kale leaves
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 6 pieces or crispy bacon, crumbled (or 3 oz bacon bits)
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute function on the middle setting. Heat up the olive oil for a couple minutes. Add in the onion and stir. Add in the minced garlic. Cook the onion until translucent. Pour in the water and Better than Bouillon. Keep the pot on the saute setting while you prepare and add in the rest of the ingredients so it can warm up (this way it will take less time to come to pressure).
- Add in the chicken, carrots, celery, oregano, basil, parsley, bay leaf, pepper and salt.
- Cover the Instant Pot and turn it to the manual setting (on high pressure). Set the timer for 15 minutes (if using thighs) and 10 minutes (if using breasts). Make sure the valve is set to “sealing.” When the timer beeps let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure by moving the valve to “venting.”
- Remove the lid and discard the bay leaf. Remove the chicken and place it on a cutting board. Shred or cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Stir the chicken back into the pot.
- In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and 3 Tbsp of water until smooth. Stir the mixture into the Instant Pot. Turn the Instant Pot to saute (the middle setting) so that the cornstarch can thicken the soup. Stir in the warmed half and half and the uncooked gnocchi.
- Lay a piece of kale on a cutting board and then cut off the leaf portion and discard the rib and stem. Cut the leafy portion into bite size pieces. Repeat this step with the other kale leaves. Add kale to the IP and stir. Stir in the Parmesan cheese.
- Once the soup is thickened and the gnocchi is cooked through ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle each serving with some bacon.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1.
You can also make this soup in your slow cooker. Get the slow cooker instructions here.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
Send Me Free Recipes
Get new recipes delivered to your email inbox by signing up below. This is a free service! Try it out. You’ll eat better and be more inspired to make family dinner happen at your house.
This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. Each time you purchase something from Amazon that I’ve linked to I get a few pennies. Thanks so much for supporting my blog!
This was delicious, thanks for a great recipe!
★★★★★
You’re welcome! Thanks for a nice 5 star review!
It was excellent. I added the bacon bits before pressure cooking to give it a smoky flavor. I also browned the spices for a few seconds with the garlic.
★★★★★
Wow that sounds amazing!
This was so good! Better than Olive Garden. Followed recipe exact n was perfect:)
★★★★★
YAY!!! 😊
I just made this soup last week. OMG it was absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe except I used shredded chicken that I already had. I put in the gnocchi as the recipe stated, but honestly the base of the soup I feel is what makes this GREAT. I am going to try it next time with rice or noodles, or maybe just plain. This soup is a definitely favorite in my house. I served it with homemade bread and it made for a very comforting meal. Love all your recipes, and enjoy your cookbook.
★★★★★
Yes you really could use anything in with the base and it would taste great!
Delicious! Made it with Gluten Free Gnocchi that I purchased on Amazon.
★★★★★
Glad you could find a pasta that works for you!
Hi Karen, thank you for all the wonderful recipes you produce,
Please can you let me know the calorie count in the instant pot chicken gnocchi soup.
Yes, just updated the recipe with the nutrition info!
That is so delicious..i have my instant pot new and now i cook your receipe is very great.
I’m looking forward to the next recipes..best wishes from germany Claudia
★★★★★
Best wishes to you Claudia!
Is there another kind of gnocchi, besides potato?
Not that I’m aware of…maybe sweet potatoes.
I found some cauliflower gnocchi. I plan to try it out in my next batch of this marvelous soup!
They have cauliflower gnocchi at Aldi, just picked some up for this recipe just to try something new! I use this recipe all the time! Such a favorite in my family! 🙂
Could I add a can of diced or sliced potatoes, or fresh potatoes sliced, instead of gnocchi? And, when would I add them?
Yes you could do that. If you add them before pressure cooking they’ll get too done though. If you add them afterwards it will take a while to get done. But that’s probably what I would do, using the saute setting.
So, I just received an instapot from a friend, and I have never used one in my life. But today was the day I was supposed to make chicken gnocchi in the crockpot for tomorrow. I decided to use the new instapot and just find an instapot recipe instead. And WOW!! I’m so impressed. Prep took longer than anything and waiting for the steam of course. I used heavy whipping cream. I chopped up the chicken breast into small pieces, carton chicken stock. I absolutely loved it. And I’m a firm believer in the instapot now. Tomorrow is chili night and I will definitely be using the instapot!
★★★★★
Welcome to the IP world! Way to jump right in Alicia!
This is a really good recipe. I added some sliced leeks (because I had some that needed to be used) and mushrooms. Otherwise, I followed the recipe. I will make this one again. It’s a good one! Thanks!
Sounds like a great version!
I’ve made this and absolutely love it. I want to make it ahead to take on an RV trip. If I make it on Monday will it still be good Wednesday night? Of course it’ll be refrigerated constantly, but wondered whether the gnocchi would hold up.
Thank you.
★★★★★
Could you boil the gnocchi on wednesday and add them in then? That’s what I would do!
Thank you! That’s what I’ll do!
This is an absolutely fabulous recipe. My whole family lived it. Used spinach instead of the kale and fried the bacon right in the IP because I don’t want to dirty another pot ☺ The smoky bacon flavor was wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing. This will go right in the ‘tried and true’ folder.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it Suzanne!
Hi, wondering why you use kale. OG, uses spinach in their recipe.?
I just like it better! But you can also use spinach 🙂
Excited to try this recipe, but curious how steps would change if I use rotisserie chicken that I bought already cooked (easier for a weeknight dinner). How would the cooking time change in Step #3 if chicken was not included? And would you still add the 5c of water in step #1? Thank you.
I would do everything the same but add in the cooked chicken and only use a 5 minute cooking time.
Would you add the precooked chicken before pressure cooking or at the end after pressure cooked?
Before
This is so good! I just made it tonight for about the 4th time, and my sister is the one who told me about it when I first got my Instant Pot. One of the first things I made in it, and a regular “go to”! One thing I learned tonight is not to use “shaker” parmesan cheese. Always before I had hand grated 100% parmesan cheese off the block, but this time forgot that the recipe called for parmesan (I thought I had the ingredients memorized by now lol) and so threw in some pre shredded parmesan with all the wood pulp and additives in it, and it turned into a huge glop that would not melt – lesson learned! Even so , after I pulled the glop out, it was still a very delicious soup and so satisfying! Thank you so much for the recipe
★★★★★
Haha! The glop! Good to know. Thanks for sharing.
my husband came home right after I finished making it and had a bowl, and then a 2nd bowl, and then asked “where’s yours?” lol
★★★★★
Nice! This is great 🙂
I am making this right now with an 8 quart instapot. Do you change the times because the pot is bigger? Thanks!
you can keep the same time for this recipe
I had homemade chicken stock in the refrigerator . This soup was awesome. Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
Maybe a silly question but I have a TON of canned chicken…do you think I could use that in place of chicken breasts or thighs?
yes you could
I made this tonight. I used kale! This soup is phenomenal! Thank you so much for the recipe! It is a keeper!
★★★★★
Glad you liked it Dannette!
This was Harty and very tasty, my whole family loved it. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for another excellent recipe! Everyone in the family adored this soup. I used spinach instead of the kale. I also tried the bacon in the instant pot (l hate dirtying an extra pan). The bacon flavor was lovely in the soup. This is such a keeper – going in the “tried and true” folder. Thanks again!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Suzanne!
I’m wondering if you could simply defrost frozen gnocchi to use in this recipe? It may, however cause them to stick together… any thoughts?
I bet that would work just fine.
I made this recipe exactly as listed… I’m speechless. This has caused me to sign up for your newsletter, join the Facebook group and delete all other recipes I was going to try for this dish. Thank you!
★★★★★
LOL!!! This is great 🙂
Would this soup be able to be doubled? We have an 8 qt and a large family
I bet you could 1 1/2 times the recipe in an 8 quart.
I tried everything doubled and it fit fine in the 8 qt. And it was delicious!
If we don’t have the 4 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken base would we just use 4tsp of chicken broth?
No. Instead of the 5 cups of water use 5 cups of chicken broth and then just eliminate the better than bouillon.
Karen I made this soup today and I have to tell you… It’s SO good!! Better than Olive Garden in my opinion. Another one of your recipes added to my recipe book. Love your IP Meatloaf also, makes great sandwiches. Enjoy the weekend:)
I’m so glad you think so Elizabeth!!
What a great soup didn’t change a thing best soup ever will make it again thanks for that awesome recipe
★★★★★
So glad to hear this Gerda!
If I use cooked chicken do I put in after the gnocchi is done?
Yes that would work!
This looks so good! I love soup and could eat it everyday and this is one of my favorite ones! This looks so much easier than the way I normally make it, loving my instant pot! Thanks
★★★★★
Hi Lora, I hope you like it! Thanks for following along 🙂
I can’t have milk/dairy products, any idea what I can use for the half and half?
Is there a lactose free product that you could use? I am not familiar with them.
I used full fat coconut milk and it was delicious.
We made this tonight and it was fantastic! We’ll definitely be making it again!
★★★★★
Nice! I’m so glad you liked it Lacey.
Can I use a whole chicken with this recipe?
Hi Vicky, if you want to use the whole chicken I would suggest cooking it by itself in the Instant Pot beforehand and then using the chicken that you take off the bones in the soup recipe. Here is a whole chicken instant pot recipe: https://amindfullmom.com/how-to-make-a-whole-chicken-in-the-instant-pot/
I am not a fan of bay leaf or Kale.
Is it ok to omit the bay leaf?
When substituting with spinach, does it need to be fresh?
Yes omit the bay leaf. You could probably use frozen spinach but I would thaw it and squeeze excess water off of it first before adding it in.
Made this instant pot chicken gnocchi soup and in no time it was ready. The taste of it was just perfect. We both were sick and the soup made us feel much better.
We had left overs the next night. Can’t wait to cook it again
★★★★★
Hooray!!
This was absolutely delicious!! My family loved it. I’m wondering if it could be canned for enjoying this winter? 🤔
★★★★★
I don’t know! I’m so not a canner. I wish I could be more helpful.
You’d have to pressure cab it and I wonder if the gnocchi would survive
★★★★★
This soup is delicious! I will be making this regularly. Spot on!
So glad you liked it Kirsten!
If I’m using frozen tortellini in place of gnocchi how would I adjust this recipe?
Thanks!
I would follow the same instructions except add in tortellini instead of the gnocchi. It may take the tortellini a few minutes to warm up and cook.
I had frozen chicken and frozen gnocchi, so I cut the chicken in cubes and added at the end of sautéing the veggies. Added gnocchi with broth and seasonings and did 4 minutes manual and 5 NPR. Was delicious! Even my 1 1/2, 4 and 7 year old grandsons liked it. Thanks!
Can I freeze this soup?? Loved it!!
★★★★★
I’m not sure how well the dairy would freeze. But if you try it let me know how it works!
Very excited to make this! How many does it serve? I have a family of 4 w two teenage boys.
I would say it makes 8 large servings. I bet your boys will eat a couple servings each!
Can this be made vegetarian? What would you recommend for protein? Fried tofu squares?
You could make it without meat. I would put in some tofu or mushrooms.
Vegetables have protein .
This recipe is awesome. I did make an adjustment by using tortellini, 1/2 water and 1/2 bone broth (extra protein) and I used frozen chicken strips, frozen veggies (from Kroger) and I used spinach because my hubby doesn’t care for kale. It is a hit.
★★★★★
Sounds so good!
Easy. The vegetable dicing took the most time in the recipe (which I prepared ahead). This was flavorful and wonderful served with a crusty bread!
★★★★★
Yum on the crusty bread. That sounds so good to me right now!
This recipe was a hit!! Followed it exactly and we loved it! Mine turned out a little thicker than your pics, but the taste was excellent! This was only my 3rd time using my new IP, so I’ll be checking your site for more. Thanks!
★★★★★
Oh I’m so glad!
Second time making this soup. I absolutely love it! And wonderful during this icky cold and flu season. Thank you!
★★★★★
I just love gnocchi. Glad you liked it too!
I’ve read this 3 times now, am I completely missing where the bacon comes in??
Sorry! The very last line of the recipe says to sprinkle each serving of soup with some of the bacon. You can also just stir it in at the very end.
Can this recupe bee halved? Thank you!
sure!
Does the cook time change if you cut the recipe in half?
no. keep the time the same.
This is my first time ever rating & commenting on a recipe. This dish was just such a huge hit with my family that I had to let you know how much we love it!! My husband and I have such different preferences when it comes to food, so it’s usually one for me, one for you around here when it comes to dinner, but this soup is finally something we can agree on – it tastes amazing!! Love love love! YUM. Thanks again.
★★★★★
Oh I’m so happy to hear this! What a nice comment.
Great step by step instructions! This was the first thing I made in my new pot. Delicious
Hooray for a new pot!! Hope you love it 🙂
Can’t wait to try this but I’m a newbie with gnocchi! About how long did it take for it to be “cooked through”? I assume it’s obvious when it’s done? I have the ingredients on my grocery list as this is on tomorrow’s menu. Thanks!
oh, probably 10 minutes or less. They float to the top when they are done! Good luck 🙂
Loved it.
★★★★★
Hooray!
Absolutely, wonderful! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Karen! Making this soup now, someone posted your wonderful recipe in the instant pot community FB group earlier and it sounded amazing 😋 Had all the ingredients except kale, using spinach instead. My daughter & I are so excited to try this!
I hope you like it as much as we did!!!
This recipe sounds delicious and I have some gnocchi I’ve been wanting to use. I don’t see where you put in the half and half or am I missing something? I’m assuming you put it in before the cornstarch mixture. Thanks for sharing! Making this tomorrow!
just corrected it! Thanks for the heads up!
You are missing the step when you add the half and half
Just corrected it! Thanks for the heads up!