Simmer covered for 4-7 minutes or until the gnocchi is heated through and the spinach is wilted. Depending on how thick your soup is, you may see that the Gnocchi floats to the top, that is a sign it is finished. Otherwise, you can take one out, cut it in half and check that the inside is heated through and soft.
Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the heavy cream.
1½ cups heavy cream
Pour into bowls and serve warm with some coarse ground black pepper to top it off, optional.
Coarse ground black pepper
Video
Notes
You can chop up carrots, celery, and shallots and even add other fresh vegetables if you wish, such as squash, peas, green beans or corn.
You can also substitute the spinach for kale if you want but it needs more time to cook so I recommend adding it to the soup with the water, cream of celery and chicken so that it can cook through.
You can make this a vegetarian soup by omitting the chicken or substituting tofu instead. If you would like to substitute another type of meat you can do so. Or you can add a bit of texture by garnishing the soup with some crumbled bacon.
If you don’t have Gnocchi, you can substitute another type of noodle such as egg noodles, shells or macaroni. Be sure to cook as directed on the box or until al dente. Most noodles will need more time to cook through than the Gnocchi does.
The longer you simmer the soup for, the thicker it will get.
Bring the heavy cream to room temperature to avoid curdling it when stirred into the soup.
Storage: Store chicken gnocchi soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.