Sun Dried Tomato Chicken and Gnocchi
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Tender, juicy chicken thighs in an AMAZING garlicky sun dried tomato cream sauce. So simple, so good.
My kind of comfort meal. Wine, soft-pillowy gnocchi, juicy chicken thighs, and a light, garlicky sun dried tomato cream sauce with all the crusty bread to sop up that goodness. What more could you need?
It’s a fancy meal without ever leaving your house. Yes, wearing sweatpants/leggings/yoga pants is a must for this meal. We want to be extra comfy while devouring this like nobody’s business.
Now you guys know I LOVE the cauliflower gnocchi from Whole Foods but you can use any gnocchi of your choice or make it homemade. It is ALL GOOD. There’s only winning here.
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Sun Dried Tomato 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.
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.
Sun Dried Tomato 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
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium shallot, diced
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes halves
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ¾ cups 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
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large pot 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 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 1 tablespoon butter. Add shallot, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste, 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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
The flavor is so great and the recipe is really easy! But I did find it a bit more runny than I’d like and the Gnocchi ended up over cooking. I think next time I’ll skip cooking the gnocchi ahead of time and cook it right in the sauce to help soak some up!
The moment I saw this recipe come across my Facebook newsfeed, I knew that I had to make it…and I did! My boyfriend and I loved it so much that we made plans with our family to come over that weekend to try it. I made a fresh batch, and served it with the no knead rosemary garlic bread, and it was a big hit! Everyone complimented me on it and asked how to make it, so I printed up copies of this recipe and handed one to everyone as they walked out the door. This recipe served 6 people and we even had left overs the next day. It totally tastes like an expensive meal that you would get at a fancy, Italian restaurant. The only problem is how long it took me to make it. It took two hours, from start to finish, both times I made this recipe, so if you’re going to make it, just be aware that while it’s easy to make, it’s also time consuming, but its totally worth it!
This recipe is SO good! My picky 7 and 4 year old daughters both ate it happily and loved it! I’ll definitely be making this one again! I made it exactly as stated, except I used baby gold potatoes instead of gnocchi. Delicious!
What can you use in lieu of wine? Thank you!
Chicken broth should be ok!
“1/2 cup half and half” what do you mean by this in the ingredients list? please respond asap as making this tonight 🙂
Hi! Half and half is half whole milk and half heavy cream. Most grocery stores sell it and lots of people like it in coffee! It mostly helps to make the sauce thicker and gives some flavor! Hope this helps 🙂
Delicious!! My family loved it and it was super easy to make! I also made bread to dip in the sauce and it was amazing!! 10/10 recommend!
I’m always looking for new recipes for chicken thighs and this was a “keeper”. We loved it! I used traditional, potato gnocchi, boneless & skinless thighs, & baby spinach instead of kale. Delicious! Sauce was too thick so added more stock after I took it out of the over. Otherwise it was perfect & the best part is we have a whole other meal leftover.
Delicious! Made it with regular potato gnocchi because that’s all I could find and added some red pepper flakes at the end because we like a little heat. Otherwise made as written. My husband and two toddlers loved it. Major win!
Tasty and surprisingly easy to make! Perfect for a weeknight because it’s not a dish that you have to babysit on the stove every step of the way. I generally use wine in recipes as directed, but I realized too late I didn’t have any. Even with 1/4 cup extra chicken broth it was good. I’m sure wine will add a little extra flavor. Next time, I think I’ll only boil the gnocchi for a minute because my was a little soft by the time I boiled and then it cooked in the sauce. I was impressed how the sauce stayed on the lighter even though it did have some cream. Will definitely make again and make sure I have everything I need 🙂
How did you keep the sauce so light? Did you cook the chicken in a separate skillet?
I used one cast iron skillet, and it was already so hot with fat from chicken bits that it got the shallots too hot, too fast. From there, the sauce came out so dark. Any suggestions?
Phenomenal!!!
I’m having trouble finding the bagged sun dried tomatoes. Would the ones in oil work? I would drain them and blot them dry.
WOW! This dish is amazing! It’s definitely going into my list of ‘favourites’ for sure! One question I had: the recipe calls for fresh thyme, but in the photos it looks like there is rosemary. I used thyme and it tasted great, but just wondering if switching it up would also work?
Can’t wait to make this one again! Absolutely loved it.
Wowe! What a dish! Entertained some friends and made this for dinner. It was an overwhelming WOW from the group. So very delish! FYI – I had chicken breast on hand so I used that instead of chicken thighs and was super careful to not overcook the chicken breast. It came out perfect! Great job on this and all Damn Delicious recipes!
Hi, sundried tomatoes — in oil, or just dried? Thanks.
WOW this is SO good. I never cook with wine unless it’s for lamb or other strong flavor meat. I am so glad I tried this, I’ve made your recipes many times so I trusted it would be good and it completely surpassed my expectations. I did have to use some things I had on hand, potato gnocchi and red wine I had in the house for Easter but everything else was the same. I will absolutely make this again.
Just been saved to my favourite recipes file! Didn’t have gnocchi so made it with rigatoni pasta and IT WAS AMAZING…. can’t wait to try it now with the gnocchi.
I’d like to know this too! Couldn’t find the dried ones in the bag, only the ones with oil and making this recipe tonight. I’ll rinse them and dry, but I’m worried flavours might be off…
Yum, yum, extra yum. Just made this for dinner for ht first time and it certainly won’t be the last. What a fabulous sauce. I’d be happy with that all by itself. I used rainbow chard because that’s what I had. Fabulous meal and so easy. Nice to have something new for the rotation.
This recipe is amazing! I used Andouille sausage in place of the chicken & added fresh harvested morrel mushrooms. We used crusty French bread to dip in the sauce; the best!
Looks delicious; can i substitute fresh spinach for the kale?
Yes, absolutely!
How can I modify this to use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Chicken breasts may require additional cooking time depending on the size of the breasts. Hope that helps, Karen!