This velvety Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi recipe is one of my favorite one-pot meals because it’s easy, you can make it in under thirty minutes, it’s filling, and it’s big-time delicious. Like I’m-not-going-to-stop-eating-this-until-it’s-all-done delicious. Pillowy gnocchi drenched in a rich buttery cream sauce, with pops of juicy chicken and earthy spinach? Ummm, yeah. You’re going to love this one!
What Is Gnocchi?
Gnocchi are small two-inch dumplings made with mashed potatoes, flour, and eggs. They are served sauteed with butter, tomato, or cream-based sauce. In this dish, we pair gnocchi with diced chicken thighs in a buttery cream sauce. It’s basically an elevated meat and potatoes dish, with spinach thrown in because Beth says we need to cook more veggies.
What You’ll Need
You won’t need loads of time or pots and pans, that’s for sure. Everything in this dreamy, silky dish comes together in one skillet in under thirty minutes! Here’s what you’ll need to make Creamy Chicken And Gnocchi:
- Gnocchi – you can find them frozen or fresh, but I prefer the dried ones as they are more economical, plus I have more room in my pantry than I do in my freezer. You’ll find them in the pasta section of your grocery store.
- Chicken Thighs– You can also use chicken breast, but be careful not to overcook it, as you want juicy chicken, not dry, chicken-flavored cotton balls. In a pinch, sub the thighs with Italian sausage and skip the seasoning.
- Heavy cream and Butter– this is a cream sauce, so it is dairy-heavy. You need the fat found in these ingredients to create the velvety sauce that brings everything together. You can substitute the heavy cream with full-fat coconut cream and the butter with vegan butter
- Parmesan– does double duty, adding savory saltiness to the sauce while also thickening it. Asioago or feta make great substitutions. If you can’t do dairy, use a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast, but keep in mind that your sauce will be much looser.
- Vegetable broth– is used to hydrate the dried gnocchi and helps create the base of our cream sauce. Substitute it with chicken broth or in a pinch, with a cup of water with a tablespoon of tomato sauce mixed in.
- Onion and Garlic– these aromatics are fried in the chicken thigh fat and help flavor the gnocchi. You can substitute the onion with one tablespoon of onion powder and the garlic with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Spinach- brings earthiness and a beautiful color to the dish. You can substitute spinach with kale, though it will take a little longer to soften.
- Italian seasoning – creates an easy flavor base. If you don’t have Italian seasoning, substitute it with one teaspoon of dried oregano, one teaspoon of dried thyme, and one teaspoon of dried rosemary.
- Smoked paprika – using this spice is optional, but I use it to add a dank, smoky note that helps round out the sharpness of the Italian seasoning. It also lends a golden hue to the sauce.
What To Serve With Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi
This dish is heavy, so pair it with a Simple Side Salad or Panzanella. You can also lean into the heaviness and make Garlic Bread to sop up all the creamy sauce. (It is AMAZING with garlic bread. And garlic counts as a vegetable!)
Storing and Reheating
Because you make this dish with a cream-based sauce, I don’t recommend freezing it, as the cream gets grainy when it thaws. Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a microwave until steaming.
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi
Servings 4 servingsIngredients
- 1.25 lbs chicken thighs (4 to 5 thighs) ($4.23)
- 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning ($0.30)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp pepper ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced ($0.32)
- 2 garlic cloves ($0.11)
- 2 Tbsp salted butter, divided ($0.30)
- 1 lb potato gnocchi (dry) ($1.13)
- 2 cups fresh spinach ($0.60)
- 1 cup vegetable broth ($0.08)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream ($0.71)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan ($0.44)
Instructions
- Dice the chicken thighs into 2-inch pieces. Add the chicken to a bowl and top it with Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix until combined.
- Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat and add the cooking oil. Once it's shimmering, add the chicken and cook undisturbed until well browned, about 3 minutes. Stir and brown on the other side, about 3 more minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan when it's cooked through and leave the fat in the pan.
- Add the onion and garlic to the skillet. Saute until the onions have softened and the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes
- Add the gnocchi and 1 tablespoon salted butter to the skillet and brown for 2 minutes.
- Add the spinach and the broth to the skillet. Cover the pan. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the spinach has wilted and the gnocchi has hydrated.
- Add the heavy cream and the remaining 1 tablespoon of salted butter to the skillet. Stir until the butter has melted and the cream is steaming hot but not boiling.
- Take the skillet off the heat. Add the parmesan to the pan and stir until it melts, creating a velvety sauce.
- Finally, return the cooked diced chicken to the skillet. Mix gently into the gnocchi and cream sauce. If desired, garnish with parsley.
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Equipment
Nutrition
How to Make Creamy Chicken And Gnocchi – Step by Step Photos
Dice 1.25 pounds of chicken thighs (about 4 to 5 thighs) in 2-inch pieces. Add the chicken to a bowl and top it with 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Mix until combined.
Set a large deep skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the chicken and cook undisturbed until well browned, about 3 minutes. Stir and brown on the other side, about 3 minutes more. Remove the chicken from the pan when it’s cooked through and has reached an internal temperature of 160°F. Leave the rendered fat in the pan.
Add 1 diced onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic to the skillet. Saute until the onions have softened and the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add 1 pound of dry potato gnocchi and 1 tablespoon of salted butter to the skillet. Brown the gnocchi for 2 minutes.
Add 2 cups of spinach and 1 cup of vegetable broth to the skillet. Cover the pan. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the spinach has wilted and the gnocchi has hydrated.
Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 1 tablespoon of salted butter to the skillet. Stir until the butter has melted and the cream is steaming hot, but not boiling. You’re about to add cheese to the sauce, and cheese curdles at high temperatures, so make sure it isn’t boiling.
Take the pan off the heat. Add 1/4 cup of parmesan to the pan and stir until it melts, creating a velvety sauce.
Finally, return the cooked diced chicken to the skillet. Mix gently into the gnocchi and cream sauce. If desired, garnish with parsley. Serve this dish piping hot, then sit back and enjoy what took you less than a half hour to make!
Substituted bacon bc it was on sale, turned out great
Everyone in our family enjoyed this recipe, but I thought it was missing a little something. I stirred in some “Better than Bouillon” chicken flavoring before serving and that kicked the flavor up a notch. Thanks for sharing!
Picked up some gnocchi on sale and while at the store googled recipes and found this one. Was super easy and quick to make and everyone loved it, even my picky daughter. I used boneless breasts instead of thighs, also used vegetable stock because I had some in the fridge and unsalted butter.
This was delicious but was very salty for us… the vegetable broth and the added salt. Next time will not add the salt in.
Holy moly this was amazing. Easy and delicious.
Do you think frozen spinach would work in this recipe instead of fresh?
I used 2 cubes of frozen spinach and it tasted fine…sauce takes on a slightly greenish hue over time but otherwise great!
Loved the recipe could probably go lighter on the chicken rub it seemed slightly overbearing but tasty. I may use chicken broth next time instead of vegetable broth. Very good recipe though everyone loves it in my house
More of a question lol if I use fresh gnocchi should I need to change anything?
You probably won’t need as much broth since the gnocchi doesn’t need to be hydrated, but without testing I’m not sure how much to reduce. Also keep in mind that the broth brings a lot of flavor to the dish, so when you reduce the broth you are also reducing the flavor some.
I really liked this recipe!! The only thing I changed was cooking the chicken longer (do you guys really get cooked chicken in 6 minutes?!) and cooking the chicken with the onions and garlic (also cooked longer), I just like the flavor of those cooked together instead of added together at the end. Everything else was the same, served with garlic bread!
Soo good… I made a few hiccups as it was my first try but it still came out amazing!
– Costco grinder Italian seasoning and pepper only
– Trader Joe’s gnocchi and I didn’t realize it had the Gouda cheese in it
– used too much bone broth since the gnocchi wasnt dry… Had to cook it a bit longer but it eventually thickened
– Due to the Gouda I used 2% milk only
– Generous portions of Costco Parmesan!!
I had nearly half of this entire portion it was so good.
Swapped the onions for onion powder, and did everything else as the recipe stated. Delicious! Definitely going to take the recommendations to add a crusty baguette or garlic bread next time; this is definitely going into my rotation of frequent recipes!
Great recipe, I feel like this recipe taught me a lot about making a cream sauce and making an easy one pot dish. First time I made it used wayyyy too much onion, but the sauce was so good so I gave it another try. It was great! I added mushrooms and switched out the chicken for Italian sausage the second time around. Served with a salad, roasted asparagus, and some crusty bread!
Awesome recipe! I like that you can scale the measurements down. Unfortunately I did not trust the process and added a bit too much cream. If I’d added less it would’ve been the perfect sauce. But it was so tasty, and I’ll definitely be making this again!
As usual, this is an amazing recipe! It was just rich enough without being too heavy, and the only changes I made were to add in diced zucchini with the onions at the saute phase, and I added a tiny bit of marsala and half a cup white wine. I realize that makes it more costly, but I love the depth of flavor
How did you complete change the recipe and still give it less than 5 stars that’s crazy lol
Seriously!!!!! “I followed this recipe to a T except for completely not following the recipe. It’s a 4/5 stars for me.”
Your opinion on the recipe is irrelevant the instant you deviated from the list. If you wanna make your own recipe start a youtube channel or a cooking blog.
This is excellent. I followed the recipe exactly.
Oh my, yes. Very delicious, and I was able to get a nice rich sauce using light cream. Good enough to make for guests and I think this will end up in my regular rotation.
Oh my wow! This recipe is so delicious that my husband and I fought over who gets to eat the leftovers. The amount of sauce this has begs for some garlic bread on the side or could easily accommodate tossing in some extra veggies.