This is one of our favorite slow cooker soup recipes, and it’s a delicious copycat from Olive Garden! We also have a copycat recipe for their zuppa toscana, and their breadsticks to serve with your soup!
Copycat Olive Garden Soup
Are you still freezing in your part of the world? When it’s cold outside, we love to make SOUP! It’s comfort food during the winter and something we crave often this time of year. We recently tried a new hearty soup we will be adding to the rotation for Chicken Florentine soup. It’s a copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s Chicken and Potato Florentine soup, and it’s divine! This recipe is filled with so many great ingredients, including: potatoes, spinach, beans and tomatoes! We had this soup with some warm rolls, and it was PERFECT!!
How to Make Florentine Soup
DUMP IN SLOW COOKER. To make this soup, place shredded chicken, broth, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, pepper, diced tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, beans and water in your crock pot. COOK. Cook in the slow cooker on LOW for 4½ – 5 hours (or on HIGH for 2 – 3 hours). Stir in cream cheese until well combined. Cook soup for another half hour and add your spinach. ADD CHEESE. Cook for 20-30 more minutes and right before serving add your 2 cups of shredded Mozzarella cheese. Stir in cheese until it is well combined. Enjoy! What do I do if the tomato florentine soup is too thick or too thin? To thicken the soup:
Add flour: in a separate bowl add 1 cup soup broth with 1 tbsp flour. Stir until smooth and put it back into the soup. Repeat until you reach the desired texture. Add cornstarch: in a separate bowl add 1 tbsp cold water and 1 tbsp cornstarch. Stir until smooth and put it back into the soup. Repeat until you reach the desired texture. Add a bit more cream cheese or mozzarella cheese
To thin it out: Add more broth to it until it’s the consistency you desire.
Variations and substitutions
You can make florentine soup on the stovetop if you’re short on time. Just place all the ingredients (minus the cream cheese, spinach and shredded cheese) in a pot and cook on medium-high heat for an hour. Add cream cheese and cook for 10 minutes, then add spinach and cook an additional 10 minutes before serving with shredded cheese. Red and russet potatoes are similar enough that they are interchangeable, but have a couple differences. Either potato works well in this soup. Russet potatoes are higher in starch and have a mealy texture when cooked. They fall apart easily in soups helping to make the soup creamier. Red potatoes are lower in starch and hold their shape better when cooked. Their skins are thinner and do not need to be removed.
Making ahead & Storing
You can make this soup from start to finish and store it in the fridge for a day. Just reheat in the crock pot or on the stovetop. Chicken florentine soup also makes a great freezer meal. Combine the ingredients except for the potatoes, carrots, cream cheese, cheese and spinach. Place the soup mix in an airtight freezer safe container. Store for 4-6 months. Thaw overnight and throw the soup mixture in the crockpot and add the potatoes and carrots. Follow the recipe instructions for cooking and adding cheeses and spinach. We place leftovers (if there are any) in an air-tight container and place in the fridge for up to 3 days. Just reheat on the stove or in the microwave and add fresh shredded cheese on top!
For more soups, check out:
Cheesy Potato Soup White Chicken Chili Taco Soup Baked Potato Soup Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Chicken Tortilla Soup Cheesy Ham And Potato Soup
