This Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Gnocchi is so comforting, simple and satisfying. These juicy chicken tenders with a sun dried tomato creamy sauce and gnocchi will make it to your dinner table in 20 minutes.
This dish hits every crave-able note. It’s creamy, dreamy, rich, packed full of tender chicken, all served on fluffy little pillows of gnocchi. I have dreams about this dinner ever since the night I first made it and I know you all will too.
We’re also using sun dried tomato in this dish which adds so much depth and earthy complexity to this dish. You can make your own at home but why bother? Store bought works just as well and ensures this dinner will be ready in a flash.
What Is Gnocchi?
Gnocchi is Italian in origin, as so many delicious things are! They are little dumplings typically made from potato, egg, semolina flour, and cheese. They soak up all that rich sauce perfectly and pair oh so well with savory sausage, so let’s get into it!
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Gnocchi – I used store bought today but if you want to make your own, feel free to use my recipe.
- Oil – Just use the sun dried tomato oil right from the jar, it’ll ensure we get all that flavor infused throughout the dish.
- Butter – Unsalted as we want to control the sodium content of our dish.
- Chicken – I used chicken tenders today they’re the perfect size, quick to cook because they’re so thin and small.
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
- Sun dried tomatoes – Store bought works just fine, be sure to get the ones in oil.
- Milk – I used 3.25% fat content as we want to combine this with some cream to make a nice creamy dish
- Cream – I used half and half.
- Cheese – Parmesan cheese as we want something sharp and salty, keep this in mind while adding salt to your dish.
- Cornstarch – To thicken the sauce for our dish.
- Parsley – Fresh and chopped up to be sprinkled over top as a nice bright garnish.
How to make creamy sun dried tomato chicken gnocchi
- Prepare the sun dried tomatoes and cook the gnocchi: Drain the oil from the sun dried tomatoes jar into a small bowl. Keep this to use in the recipe. Cook the gnocchi according to package instructions.
- Brown the chicken: In a large skillet heat the butter and sun dried tomato oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken tenders to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken on both sides until no longer pink inside and lightly golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set side.
- Saute the aromatics: If more oil is needed in your skillet, add additional sun dried tomato oil. Add the garlic and sun dried tomatoes to the skillet and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes until the garlic becomes aromatic and fragrant.
- Create the sauce: Add the cup and a half of milk, half and half and Parmesan cheese to the skillet. In a small bowl whisk the cornstarch with the 2 tbsp of milk and add this to the skillet as well. Stir or whisk in the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as it bubbles from the cornstarch. Cook for about a minute.
- Finish the sun dried tomato chicken gnocchi: Stir in the gnocchi and add the chicken back to the skillet. Drizzle some of the sauce over the chicken and wait for the gnocchi to finish cooking, garnish with parsley and serve while warm.
Want to make your own gnocchi?
If you’d like to really take this dish to the next level, feel free to make your own gnocchi! It’s not nearly as difficult as making home made pasta, but it does still require some extra time. Here’s my recipe for making your own gnocchi from scratch.
Other pasta you can use
This creamy dish will work with many other types of pasta if you have some in the pantry you’d like to use up. If you use another type of pasta, reduce the sauce slightly so that the sauce will cling to the pasta. You will want to cook the pasta to slightly less than al dente before incorporating it into the dish and allowing to cook for 2 minutes.
How to serve
This rich, hearty dish pairs beautifully with light and simple sides like salads and roasted veggies. This creamy dreamy gnocchi is completely satisfying on its own so if you’d rather just curl up on the couch with a big old bowl, I won’t stop you.
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Greek Salad
- Mediterranean Couscous Salad
- Kale And Quinoa Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Italian Roasted Mushrooms And Veggies
Make ahead
This dish is great for making ahead. This dish actually stores beautifully so feel free to get some meal prep going.
Fridge
You can store this dish in an air tight shallow container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Just be sure to allow it to fully cool before placing it in the fridge.
Freezer
You can freeze this dish as well! Just hold off on adding the gnocchi till you’re ready to eat it. Freeze the dish in a shallow airtight container once fully cooled. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before heating back up on the stove top and incorporating your gnocchi.
Freezing homemade gnocchi
Arrange your gnocchi on a baking tray with some extra flour and freeze for 2 – 3 hours. Once frozen transfer to an airtight container and store till ready to cook, it will last in the freezer for 4 – 6 weeks. Don’t thaw your gnocchi, just add it straight to salted boiling water when ready to eat.
More incredible pasta recipes to try:
- Garlic and Parsley Butter Chicken with Gnocchi
- One-Skillet Ham and Cheese Gnocchi
- Gnocchi with Bacon, Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella
- One Pot Chicken Florentine Gnocchi
- Sausage Leek Ragu Gnocchi
- Chicken And Gnocchi Dumpling Soup
- Chicken Bacon Pasta With Tomato Sauce
- Cheesy Taco Pasta
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Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 pound gnocchi uncooked
- 1 tablespoon oil from sun dried tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 1 pound chicken tenders
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 7 ounce sun dried tomatoes drained, keep oil
- 1 1/2 cups milk I used 3.25 %
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cook the gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and set aside. Drain the oil from the sun dried tomatoes jar into a small bowl. Keep this to use in the recipe.
- In a large skillet heat the butter and sun dried tomato oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken tenders to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken on both sides until no longer pink inside and lightly golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set side.
- If more oil is needed in your skillet, add additional sun dried tomato oil. Add the garlic and sun dried tomatoes to the skillet and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes until the garlic becomes aromatic and fragrant.
- Add the cup and a half of milk, half and half and Parmesan cheese to the skillet. In a small bowl whisk the cornstarch with the 2 tbsp of milk and add this to the skillet as well. Stir or whisk in the sauce. The sauce will begin to thicken as it bubbles from the cornstarch. Cook for about a minute.
- Stir in the gnocchi and add the chicken back to the skillet. Drizzle some of the sauce over the chicken, garnish with parsley and serve while warm.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Sun dried tomatoes usually come in a jar and can be found in the same aisle as olives.
- Half and half can be found near the milk and cream in the dairy section of your local grocery store. Half and half is a blend of equal parts whole milk and light cream. It averages 10 to 12% of fat.
- You can store this dish in an air tight shallow container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. Just be sure to allow it to fully cool before placing it in the fridge.
- You can freeze this dish as well! Just hold off on adding the gnocchi till you’re ready to eat it. Freeze the dish in a shallow airtight container once fully cooled. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before heating back up on the stove top and incorporating your gnocchi.
During lockdown, since we can’t get together to share a meal, my girlfriend and I make and deliver dinner to each other (and our hubby’s) every other Sunday. It’s like sharing a meal, we each get a break from cooking and we both love trying a new recipe on each other! This week was my turn and I made the Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Gnocchi. What a hit! I was looking for a comfort food and it certainly met that criteria. Served with a homemade focaccia, sauteed peppers and roasted balsamic green beans and mushrooms. Delish and absolutely going into my ‘keeper’ file. Loving your recipes here in Ontario!
That’s such an awesome idea!! We are so glad you liked it 🙂
This was very tasty and also very easy but I feel like you could use a half of the sundried tomatoes and get the same effect. We ended up throwing a lot of them out at the end. Will have to try next time.
Gave this to my husband tonight to cook while I finished up a conference call. It was super tasty – we added half a bag of spinach to it at the very end, right before adding cooked gnocchi. The only kind of alarming thing was that, on my husband’s iPhone, the recipe didn’t show any measurements. I don’t know if we’d have had this meal on the table had I not finished the call 30 mn early and checked in on my laptop, where there are ingredients. Weird, huh? Anyway, tech aside, this was so yummy!
The measurements are in the recipe card, you can click the jump to recipe button on the top of the post.