Chicken Gnocchi Soup in One Pot
Olive Garden's cream soup rebuilt out of dry milk, a foil pouch, and shelf-stable gnocchi.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 103
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Canoe / raft
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Shelf-stable potato gnocchi | 6 oz | the vacuum-sealed kind from the pasta aisle, not refrigerated |
|---|---|---|
| Foil pouch chicken breast | 5 oz | |
| Whole milk powder | 1/3 cup | stands in for the milk and cream |
| Chicken bouillon | 2 tsp | low sodium if you can find it |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 2 tbsp | thickener, replaces the flour roux |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | or a butter powder if you prefer |
| Dried onion, carrot, and celery | 1/4 cup total | a soup vegetable blend works |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1/4 tsp | |
| Black pepper and salt | to taste | |
| Dried spinach flakes | 2 tbsp |
Method
- Put the dried vegetables, spinach, bouillon, garlic, and thyme in the pot with 600 ml of water. Bring it to a boil.
- Simmer five minutes with the lid on. The vegetables need that time to stop being gravel.
- Add the gnocchi. Simmer three to four minutes, until they float and go soft in the middle.
- Take the pot off the heat. Whisk in the milk powder, then the potato flakes a spoonful at a time. Boiling milk powder curdles it, so keep it off the flame.
- Stir in the chicken and the oil. Let it stand two minutes to thicken, then check the salt.
The restaurant version leans on a butter-and-flour roux, whole milk, and heavy cream. None of that travels. Whole milk powder covers the dairy and most of the fat, and potato flakes do the thickening job the roux was doing, without needing you to cook out raw flour on a stove you cannot control.
Order matters more than technique here. Milk powder goes in off the heat, because a rolling boil will break it into grit. The gnocchi releases its own starch while it simmers, so go easy on the flakes at first and add more only if it is still thin.
Packing
Everything dry except the gnocchi, chicken, and oil goes in one bag at home. Gnocchi is heavy and dense but does not crush, so it can ride at the bottom of the pack.
Variations
- Swap the chicken pouch for a second scoop of milk powder and a hard cheese if you want it lighter to carry.
- Instant couscous instead of gnocchi cuts three minutes of fuel and half the weight.
https://domesticsuperhero.com/chicken-gnocchi-soup-olive-garden-copycat