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!
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
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 1 ¼ cup chicken broth
- 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
- 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 sear both sides until golden brown, about 3-4 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.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Stir in chicken broth, 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 and the chicken is cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Cook the chicken in batches. Sear the chicken in batches to prevent an overcrowded pan which will cause the chicken to steam instead of yielding a crisp, golden-brown crust.
- 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.
- Deglaze the pan. This will allow you to lift up the caramelized food bits (fond) while adding a deep flavor base to the cream sauce.
- 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!