Creamy Chicken Gnocchi

This Chicken Gnocchi screams comfort. Pillowy soft Gnocchi, tender chicken simmered in a delicious cream cheese sundried tomato sauce that is packed with Italian flavors.

chicken breast, gnocchi in a creamy parmesan sauce with sundried tomatoes, Italian basil.

When Italian potato dumplings called Gnocchi along with juicy chicken breast cooked in a cream cheese parmesan sauce, the outcome is a comforting and delicious dinner. Sundried tomatoes and Italian Basil give it a Tuscan sauce vibe. Instead of heavy cream, I have used cream cheese for a change, which I loved. A restaurant-worthy dish made right in your own kitchen in just 30 minutes. Oh! I forgot to mention, how versatile this gnocchi recipe is, you can play around with ingredients and easily come up with different variations.

Gnocchi is a great alternative to pasta and rice. I love that you can practically substitute pasta with gnocchi in most recipes. And when gnocchi is slathered with an incredible sauce like this, I bet you will add this recipe to your dinner rotation.

What you’ll need?

Gnocchi – You can use fresh gnocchi. Long-shelf life dry gnocchi that you find in the pasta aisle in supermarkets, as a more convenient option.
Onion and garlic – Chop them fine for a smooth sauce.
Sundried tomatoes – Good quality sundried tomatoes in olive oil. Drain tomatoes and keep the oil to use in any other dish.
Butter
Seasoning – Chilli pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper
Cream cheese – full-fat cream cheese for a rich flavourful sauce
Freshly grated parmesan
Chicken stock for the sauce – water will do, but
Italian basil

Variations

You can add chopped spinach to the sauce. Other veggies that might work well in this recipe is chopped red bell pepper. I love adding crispy bacon to the sacue, it goes really well with the sauce. If you don’t have cream cheese, Sour cream will work in a pinch.

Steps to make Creamy Gnocchi with chicken

This is not a one-pot recipe but the flow goes like just any pasta recipe. Start making the sauce and meanwhile, cook the gnocchi.

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Prep

Cut boneless chicken breast into 1-inch cubes. Drain oil from sundried tomatoes, and chop it roughly. Just like pasta, cook gnocchi in salted water. When they float on top, it’s cooked through.

Cook Gnocchi

In a heavy bottom skillet, season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Sear chicken on medium heat until it is no longer pink and cooked through with a few brown caramelized spots here and there. Remove from the skillet and keep aside in a bowl.

Saute aromatics

No need to clean the skillet, all the brown bits from cooking chicken add a lot of flavor to the sauce. Saute onion and garlic until aromatic but not brown. Next add chili pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and chopped sundried tomatoes.

Saute onion , galric, followed by seasonings and sundried tomatoes.

Make cream cheese sauce

Once the aromatics are sauteed, stir in the stock and scrap the bottom if the pan to release any stuck brown bit. Lower the heat and stir in cream cheese. Whisk until the cream cheese has fully melted into the stock. Keeping the flame low, stir in the parmesan cheese.

make the sauce by adding stock, cream cheese followed by parmesan cheese.

Last step

Add chicken(along with any juice in the bowl) and gnocchi to the sauce. Toss and simmer for 5 minutes for the sauce to infuse. Finish it off with fresh Italian Basil.

add cooked chicken, gnocchi and Italian basil to the cream cheese parmesan sauce.

Helpful Tips

To cook gnocchi or add it directly to the pan? Many recipe calls for adding gnocchi directly to the pan but here is my take. Packaged gnocchi are coated heavily with flour or anticaking agents. And all the flour will go into the sauce making it floury and thick. Therefore I prefer cooking it first to get rid of all coated flour and then add it to the skillet. One extra step in the process but it’s worth it.
Try to bring chicken to room temperature for even cooking.
Another important thing is to use soft room-temperature cream cheese, as it blends well.
With all the sauces that involve cream, cheese, or dairy products, reduce the flame before you add them to the skillet. This prevents the cream/cheese from splitting and making the sauce grainy.
You can always adjust the sauce consistency by adding more stock to it.
If planning to make it ahead of time, this is what I would do. Cook chicken and make the sauce. You can also cook gnocchi and keep it. Before consuming, add gnocchi to the sauce and simmer for 7-8 minutes.

Storing leftovers

Like any other pasta recipe, you can store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. But gnocchi tend to absorb all the liquid when stored, hence you might find the leftovers to be thick with barely any sauce.

Reheating

Reheat in a microwave. While reheating add a splash of water for little stock to loosen the sauce and bring it to desired consistency.

Freezing

Dishes that are heavy on dairy like milk, cream, or cheese don’t freeze well. The sauce might split and turn grain.

Serving

Chicken gnocchi is a complete meal in itself. A light salad or roasted veggies like Airfryer broccoli, roasted carrots or roasted zucchini will go well.