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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Making this for dinner 2nite, other than a salad what’s a good side
I had some chicken thighs I needed to cook up and had all of the ingredients on hand. Used regular gnocchi’s because I had them but a big bag so made up a bit of extra sauce using all ingredients. I have a tower garden and had fresh kale and some Swiss chard (also fresh thyme). Used a bit of extra chicken broth and a bit of pasta water to make the extra sauce. This was so so good! Definitely a keeper!
Delicious comfort food & so easy! Only modifications I will make next time is use half canola oil/half butter for sautéing the thighs as the butter burned & affected the flavor of the sauce. Also, sauce is definitely thick so add more chicken stock. Great combination of flavors though!
LOVED this yummy recipe! Comfort food at its best! Changes I would make next time: Half canola oil/half butter to sauté chicken to avoid burned butter taste which I had a problem with on gas burner. Also I would double the sauce.
This was amazing! My husband and I both loved it. The roux -damn delicious! Served with steamed broccoli and we used it to soak up the sauce, which I doubled. Added to our dinner rotation.
Bravo! This recipe is restaurant quality. My whole family, including my Italian husband, raved about it! Make it, you will be glad!
Can this be frozen? Thanks for your time.
So dang good! Just made it for dinner tonight, subbed fresh thyme with dried, otherwise followed it to a T. Yum!!
I used spinach bc I couldn’t find Kale. My 4 kids ages 1-8 loved it.
Next level flavor! We loved it!
I made this tonight for my family. They loved it!
I didn’t have parm so I used Gruyère and added peas instead of kale. Yum!
Delicious. Will become a new regular meal for my husband and I. We used regular gnocci and added mushrooms .
This recepie is AMAZING!! My family raved about it and I will make it again!
Pretty good. I halved the recipe. Easy to make
Uh-MAZE-ing!!! we had to improvise on a couple of ingredients. Yellow onion and green onion for shallots and frozen bag kale and it was still so good!!
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).