Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi
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This creamy chicken and gnocchi is packed with soft-pillowy gnocchi, a garlicky cream sauce, tender, juicy chicken, and sneaked-in greens!
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Absolutely delicious! I love that this recipe is quick to whip up, and can easily be changed also. We didn’t have kale, so I added a can of cannelini beans. Next time I’ll add some anchovies, some greenery, and use better wine. Whole family loved it!
Why you’ll love this Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi
- Restaurant-quality comfort food. If you need one of those nights in with a tall glass of white wine (that you can also use in this recipe) and the best kind of comfort food you can eat in the most comfortable sweatpants, this is for you. It’s hearty, it’s cozy, and it’s super easy to whip up.
- Incredibly flexible recipe. You can use store-bought potato gnocchi or you can go that extra mile and use homemade gnocchi instead. You can also sub breasts for thighs, or spinach for kale. The recipe is so giving with what you have on hand!
- The cream sauce is pure gold. The cream sauce is velvety, garlicky and completely irresistible, and the gnocchi soaks up every single drop of flavor.
How to make creamy chicken and gnocchi
- Prep the gnocchi. Cook the gnocchi first in a large pot of boiling water, removing the gnocchi with a slotted spoon as soon as they rise to the top. Pro tip: avoid overcooking the gnocchi or they will get mushy.
- Cook the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Then melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat, cooking the chicken in batches until golden brown and cooked through (165°F). Set aside and keep warm.
- Build the cream sauce. Melt the remaining butter and sauté the aromatics until fragrant. Whisk in the flour, then stir in the chicken broth and wine until slightly thickened. Finally, stir in the half and half, seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Combine. Stir in the cooked gnocchi and kale until wilted.
- Finish. Return the chicken to the Dutch oven and sprinkle with Parmesan before baking until golden brown and bubbly at 400°F, about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve. Serve warm with crusty bread for sopping.
what to serve with chicken and gnocchi
Tools For This Recipe
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use chicken breasts?
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
Do I have to use white wine?
Additional chicken broth can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
What is half and half?
Half and half is equal parts of whole milk and cream. For 1 cup half and half, you can substitute 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream or 2/3 cup skim or low-fat milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream.
What can I substitute for the kale?
Spinach, cabbage, swiss chard and collard greens are all excellent swaps.
How can I store leftovers?
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Is this freezer-friendly?
Unfortunately cream-based sauces do not freeze well as they become grainy upon thawing.
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi
This creamy chicken and gnocchi is packed with soft-pillowy gnocchi, a garlicky cream sauce, tender, juicy chicken, and sneaked-in greens!
Video
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce)package cauliflower potato gnocchi
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- ½ cup half and half
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan, about 2 ounces
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi according to package instructions; drain well.
- Season chicken with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large oven-proof skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet in a single layer and cook until golden brown and cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 4-5 minutes per side; set aside.
- Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter. Add shallot, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in chicken broth and wine, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in half and half until thickened, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in gnocchi and kale until the kale has wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet; sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place into oven and bake until bubbly, about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Make it lighter. Cauliflower potato gnocchi is a great option as it is slightly lighter and less dense than traditional gnocchi.
- Homemade gnocchi goes a long way. In a pinch, we love using cauliflower potato gnocchi but we also highly recommend using homemade gnocchi if you have the time. It makes all of the difference!
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry white wine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in all the greens (kale, spinach, cabbage, swiss chard or collard greens) for those picky eaters.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
Did you make this recipe?
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Love this recipe! It is now a regular meal in our household!
I’ve done it with ground chicken and spinach instead and it is delicious!
Adding panko before baking it is also very good
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I made gnocchi for the first time this week! It came out fairly well. I had cooked some chicken breasts in the crockpot the same day. So I used the broth from them, cut about 1-1/2 of the breast up, (they were fairly large) used regular white onion, more broth because I had no white wine, fresh greens & some fresh mushrooms. Then I added some grated cheddar in with it. Baked it in my ninja foodi dual heat air fryer and it was very good! A real good comfort meal.
I’ve made this dish several times, it’s delicious!! A family favorite. I make enough for leftovers. Substituted spinach for the kale also.
Made this dish three times already. So delicious! Everyone in my family loved it, especially on cold nights. I make a double batch, btw, so there’s leftovers ❤️
This was delicious! I doubled the amount of half and half and added an extra 1/2 cup of broth just because the half and half was spoiling soon and I wanted to use the rest of it. It came out great!
Wow! Yum! I subbed spinach for the kale and it turned out really well. Great recipe.
Another hit. Your recipes are so good and simple.
Thank you so much.
Will have to prepare this one again as I used 2 teaspoons of bottled thyme (not fresh). I forgot that so the thyme taste was overwhelming. Also subbed kale with spinach.
I made this for my family for dinner one night.. It was amazing and they all loved it! My uncle with dementia who refuses to eat anything if its not box potatoes… ate the entire meal! I will be making this anytime I have someone I want to impress.. Thank you!
This looks amazing! Do you have any suggestions for how to cook the gnocchi in the same pan to avoid dirtying a second dish?
This was awesome… my husband and I loved it and plan to add it to the fall/winter dinner rotation. I did make a few subs due to convenience. I used rotisserie chicken quarters and instead of cooking the gnocchi separately (I used a package of dry potato gnocchi), I added extra broth and cooked it in the sauce. Worked beautifully and reduced the cooking time greatly.
Made this last night for my mom’s bday. We both loved it. I had to make some changes as we didn’t have flour. Subbed it for almond flour and a little bit of arrowroot mixed into the wine first then added. I also essentially slow cooked the chicken within the cream since I hadn’t realized it was to be separated in the process. Chicken came out so tender it melted in your mouth so I’m not complaining.
Will definitely be making this again.
This is SO GOOD! I had to make some changes because I made it as dinner meal prep for the week and since I am a college student.
I used chicken breasts and cut them into cubes to cook. I also used a yellow onion instead of a shallot, just potato gnocchi because they didn’t have cauliflower gnocchi at the store, 3 handfuls of chopped kale from a bag instead of a whole head, pre-minced garlic from a jar, just chicken broth so no white wine, dried thyme instead of fresh, and I just used the parmesan they sell in the little plastic shakers instead of fresh grated.
Even with all the changes, my roommate said it was the best thing I’ve ever cooked. It was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be making it again!
Holy moly I’ve made this and wow, it was so delicious everyone enjoyed it. I recommend this recipe!!
This recipe was incredible!! I loved it so much and will definitely be making it again.
But while I’m here I just want to tell you that God loves you and that you should take some time to learn more about Him! Have a great day.
I made this bomb ass recipe, only I used spinach instead of kale and I added mushrooms. I also used complete seasoning on the chicken instead of just salt and pepper.
This is the second chicken gnocchi recipe I’ve tried, and so far it’s my fave. Will be using this again!
Good recipe. I cooked garlic about 10 secs so as not to burn. Think I’ll try with thin breasts and wide egg noodles for a variation next time. That roux gravy is damn delicious.
MUST TRY! This has become me and my fiancés favorite dish! We are big pot roast/crock pot, real meat and potatoes type of eaters and this is perfect! Literally so good we make this all the time now! Yum!
This was Damn Delicious!
Just made this it was awesome !!!!!!
I am a terrible cook but following this recipe, the family, without solicitation, declared it to be “restaurant quality”, which is the highest level of praise possible in this house.