Do you ever have one of those nights where you realize it’s time to sit down for dinner and you still don’t know what you’re going to make?!
Please tell me I’m not the only one this happens to.
This recipe came from one of those nights.
On this night I took a quick inventory of my kitchen and here’s what I found:
Pantry: 1 package of gnocchi
Fridge: Leftover cooked chicken
Freezer: 1 bag frozen spinach
I thought to myself, I should be able to make these ingredients into a delicious meal and I just needed a quick sauce to pull it all together. I knew I needed a creamy sauce, but I wanted it to be lighter than my typical alfredo sauce. This sauce was creamy and just cheesy enough without feeling overly heavy, which makes it perfect for summertime when you want comfort food, but it’s also bathing suit season.
While most pasta doesn’t take long to cook, I love that gnocchi cook even faster! (the package I bought cooked in 2 minutes!) Every minute counts when people are getting hangrier by the minute.
Using spinach in this dish is entirely optional, but it added just the right amount of veggies to the dish. And turned this into a quick weeknight meal.
Skillet Chicken and Spinach Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup milk - I used 1%
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1 package - 16 ounces gnocchi
- 2 cups chicken - cooked and diced
- 1/2 - 1 cup frozen spinach - thawed, drained, and chopped.
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Remove garlic to a small bowl.
- Melt butter in the skillet and gradually whisk in the flour until smooth, and cook, whisking constantly for about 3 minutes. Whisk in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in parmesan cheese and continue cooking for 3-5 minutes until thickened.
- Add in the cooked chicken, gnocchi, and spinach. Stir until combined and heated through.
- Remove from the heat, top with additional salt, pepper, and some chopped fresh parsley if desired.
3 Comments
Michelle
Do you cook the gnocchi ahead of time or add it uncooked?
Sam
You add the gnocchi in uncooked. It cooks in just a couple of minutes.
Sarah
I recently got married, and I realized that my husband and I were eating the same thing every week. I had to find some new recipes.I love gnocchi, and I found this recipe. Now, we eat this all the time! We’ve shared it with friends, and everyone agrees that it is DELICIOUS!