This could well be the definition of comfort food. It’s so hearty, so cosy and tastes off-the-scale delicious! Follow me…
Chicken Thighs
I like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. Thighs come out soft and juicy, and they’re fairly robust too, meaning they’re more difficult to overcook! Whilst it’s hard for the creamy gnocchi not to become the main event of this dish, we still want the chicken to hold its own and really shine through. As such, it’s important to give it a good season before you fry it. Here I use paprika, onion & garlic powder, dried thyme and salt & pepper. To cook the thighs we’ll be pan-frying them. This way they can build up a nice crust, which in turn develops more flavour. You can then also use the excess fat to continue through the dish, which adds heaps of flavour to the sauce! Process shots: season thighs (photos 1&2), fry thighs (photos 3&4).
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi
With the creamy gnocchi I love adding a few extra goodies:
Pancetta – Pairs delightfully with the chicken (especially the paprika seasoning!). Mushrooms – These soak in all the excess fat (aka liquid gold) from the chicken and pancetta! Shallots & Garlic – Add a base flavouring. Spinach – Bulks out the dish so you don’t need any extra sides.
From there, the base of the sauce is chicken stock and cream, then for a boost of flavour, we’re going to add some Dijon mustard and parmesan.
Cooking the gnocchi
Technically speaking you could cook the gnocchi in the sauce. However, there is LOTS of excess starch. As such, I like to part-boil the gnocchi and then finish it off in the sauce. Process shots: fry pancetta (photo 1) fry mushrooms, shallots & garlic (photo 2), stir in stock, cream, parmesan and mustard (photo 3), simmer then stir in spinach (photo 4), stir in gnocchi (photo 5), add chicken (photo 6).
Can I use chicken breast instead of thigh?
You can indeed! I’ve added a note on this in the recipe card below.
Where can I find pancetta?
You’ll find it in most supermarkets, often near the cured meats. If you don’t have it you could sub streaky bacon.
Do I have to add the spinach?
If you don’t like spinach you can simply leave this out.
Serving Creamy Chicken with Gnocchi
To serve, place the chicken back in the pan and simmer for 1-2 minutes to warm the chicken through, finish cooking the gnocchi and thicken the sauce. From there I recommend plating up right away so the gnocchi doesn’t overcook! Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for this creamy chicken and gnocchi shall we?!
How to make Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi (Full Recipe & Video)
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