Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi
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Soft-pillowy gnocchi, a garlicky cream sauce, tender, juicy chicken thighs, and sneaked-in kale? Yes, 1,000% yes.
Featured Comment
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 it for you.
It’s hearty, it’s cozy, and it’s super super easy to whip up.
Now you can use store-bought cauliflower potato gnocchi (I used the one from Whole Food’s here – it seemed a lot lighter and less dense than the regular kind of gnocchi), or you can go that extra mile and use the homemade gnocchi recipe here.
IT IS ALL GOOD. There is absolutely no wrong-doing here at all. Just know that the cream sauce is absolute perfection.
tips and tricks for success
- 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 your 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.
what to serve with chicken and gnocchi
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi: Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Additional chicken broth can be used for white wine as a non-alcoholic substitute.
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.
Spinach, cabbage, swiss chard and collard greens are all great subs.
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi
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
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- 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.
- Place into oven and bake until bubbly, about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I had this for dinner the other night and it was a big hit with my family! Delicious and yummy.
Amazing. Simply amazing. Substituted mozerella for Parmesan, still delish! Would add more kale next time :)!
Loved this recipe! It was so easy and perfectly delicious. The whole family loved it.
Rich and creamy, this was SO yummy! It made more than I expected and was a hit with my husband and 1.5 year old 🙂
I made this for my family and it was a huge hit. I didn’t have kale, so I substituted spinach and it was still delicious.
I made this last night and it was delicious. The family loved it. I had to use bone-in thighs and I couldn’t find the cauliflower gnocchi at WF so I went with mini potato. The sauce was a little too thick and I increased the amount of wine but that’s never a complaint. I love the addition of kale, and I’m sure spinach would have been great too. I’ll definitely make this again, with boneless thighs (my favorite).
This recipe is the bomb! I read all the reviews and saw the variations that people have tried. I had Italian sausage on hand so I used that instead of chicken. I browned the sausage first then removed from pan and then used the same pan proceeding with the directions. I used potato gnocchi that I had made and froze. I put them in boiling water and removed with a slotted ladle and placed into the pan towards the end of the recipe. I made the recipe as described but added sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli rabe instead of kale. I pre-blanched the broccoli rabe. I also added less flour and it thickened fine. This was amazing.!!!!! Everyone loved it. I would make this recipe as is as well as with other variations again!
Our grocery delivery left out kale, so I went ahead and made this without it. Y’all. When I tell you it is a family favorite, I’m not exaggerating. Both adults, the teenager, and the 8yo LOVED every bite. The flavors are so layered, and the chicken is perfection. I’ll make sure to get kale for the next time we make it, but you can just as easily leave it out in a pinch. Husband said leftovers were even better the second day. Bonus points for only having one pan to clean up.
My first time making anything with gnocchi. Easy and so delicious!
I didn’t get to finish. I made this but with Garlic pepper and regular potato GNOCCHI
We made these a second time because we still had leftover cream from last time. However, we didn’t have any gnocchi so we substituted regular pasta instead. I feel that the gnocchi creates a much more balanced flavor, whereas with regular pasta the sauce tastes a bit too strong – still good, but not so wow-amazing as with gnocchi. Maybe with tortellini it would’ve been better (as other reviewers suggested), but yeah I just wanted to write this update for anyone who might be thinking of using regular pasta
This is probably one of my favorite recipes of all time. It came out so delicious that it makes both me and my partner sad to finish it, and he kept raving about how good it is. Please do yourself a favor and try it out!!!
Delicious! Followed the recipe to the letter (with the exception of using regular potato gnocchi) and it turns out great every time. It’s the perfect recipe for a college student like me who’s both inexperienced at cooking and strapped for time.
AMAZING! I took notes from several other reviews using tortellini, spinach, and mushrooms. I tend to double the sauce portion every time, but just because I love it so much. Quickly becoming a comfort staple.
Hello, am planning on making this for tonight’s dinner….read all the comments and it looks delicious!
Since my twin girls are not too much into kale or spinach, would petit garden peas work as a substitute? Don’t want to ruin the end-flavour!
Also, if I add some small chestnut mushrooms, would I add these when the shallot is in the pan cooking before it hits the oven?
Would appreciate any feedback thank you!
This was super delicious and not overly difficult to make. I made it for a Sunday family dinner and everyone loved it. My parents who claim to hate kale even ate it and commented how good it was. The kale helped balance the creaminess of the dish. I was worried that there wouldn’t be enough sauce, but it was perfect. I added the cooked chicken to a baking dish and topped it with everything in the pan before putting it into the oven (my pan wasn’t oven-proof). I could not have been happier with this dish. Served it with biscuits and roasted green beans. My family declared it to be the perfect meal. Yay! We’ll be making this again and again.
*Kale note: I used roughly 2-3 cups of fresh, chopped kale.
*Oops! I forgot to add that I used a package of potato gnocchi. Perfection. Everyone loved these!
I need some help here, anyone have thoughts. Love this recipe, but I’m a single guy. I usually cook in batches for the left-overs. For the life of me I can not re-heat this recipe without the sauce breaking. It’s still pretty terrific, but not quite the same. Any thoughts? Anyone?
I love all of your recipe’s and might I say, they are ALLLLLL DANG DELICIOUS! This recipe was amazing, the textures, the aromas, the flavor, the presentation with green kale. AMAZING! Thank you!!!
Excellent recipe!! We loved it. Only made two changes based on reviews. Omitted the flour and instead dusted the chicken in flour before frying, helped with browning and thickness of the sauce. Also used regular gnocchi from Trader Joe’s because that’s what I had on hand. Seriously company worthy. Thank you!!!
Okay so I didn’t have gnocchi but did have some cheese tortellini and honestly? SO GOOD. I’m a make it work use what you have in pantry type so no kale just spinach the chicken and tortellini. I would cut the flour in half next time my sauce was VERY thick. Think the Parmesan adds some extra salt and flavor. And it was sexy coming out of the oven in that skillet! Very good. Very easy will make again.