Gnocchi with Chicken and Bacon
This "Wicked Easy" one-pan comfort food recipe consists of pillowy gnocchi, crispy bacon, and tender chicken cooked in a creamy garlic sauce!
These are the simple ingredients needed to make the Gnocchi with chicken and crispy bacon.
Cook the cut-up bacon in a deep skillet over medium heat stirring frequently. Cook until it is crispy, about 10 minutes.
While the bacon is cooking, cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and then season with salt and pepper.
When the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside. Leave about a tablespoon of the bacon grease in the pan and discard the rest.
Add the seasoned chicken pieces to the hot pan and cook in the bacon grease for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until the chicken is seared and turns white.
Add the uncooked potato gnocchi to the pan with the other ingredients, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
Continue cooking the gnocchi in the creamy garlic sauce uncovered for a few minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens to the desired consistency.
When the gnocchi is cooked, stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Then plate up and serve immediately, topped with additional Parmesan cheese and optional chopped fresh herbs.
NOTE: I often use the shelf-stable gnocchi found in the pasta aisle of my local grocery store, especially if I don’t have any of my homemade gnocchi on hand in the freezer.
No need to pre-cook the gnocchi, as it will cook right in the sauce of this recipe.
If you want a recipe for homemade gnocchi, check out my previous blog post on the topic using this link – https://chefroche.com/gnocchi/
Gnocchi with Chicken and Bacon
You will love this "wicked easy", one-pan, ultimate comfort food recipe of pillowy gnocchi, tender chicken and crispy bacon bits all in a creamy garlic sauce!
Equipment
- 1 skillet
- 1 tong or kitchen spoon
Ingredients
- 6 slices Bacon
- 2 each Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced.
- 2 oz White Wine
- 1 cup Chicken Broth or Stock
- 1/8 tsp Oregano, dried or fresh (chopped fine if needed)
- 1/8 tsp Basil, dried or fresh (chopped fine if needed)
- 1 lb. Potato Gnocchi, uncooked
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
- To taste Salt & Pepper
- To taste Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Dice the raw bacon into small pieces with a knife or kitchen shears. Add it to a deep skillet, over medium-heat, and fry, stirring frequently, until it is crispy (about 10 minutes).
- While the bacon is cooking, cut the boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
- When the bacon is done, remove it from the pan and set aside. Leave about a tablespoon of bacon grease in the pan and discard the rest.
- Add the seasoned chicken pieces to the hot pan and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until chicken turns white on the outside. If the chicken is sticking to the pan when you try to turn it, just give it a little more time to cook and it will release naturally from the pan on its own.
- At this point, add the minced garlic to the pan with the chicken and stir it around. Reduce the heat to medium and add in the white wine, scrapping up any of the cooked bits on the bottom of the pan. Let the wine reduce by at least half and then stir in the chicken stock, Italian herbs, the gnocchi, and the reserved cooked bacon bits. Cover the pan and cook for approximately 5 minutes.
- Remove the cover, stir, and continue cooking uncovered for a few more minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens to your liking. If it gets too thick, you can always thin it out with a little chicken stock or water.
- Once the gnocchi are cooked through and the sauce is at the proper thickness, stir in the grated parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper as needed. This is also the time when you would add in the optional red pepper flakes if you are going to use them. Plate and serve immediately.
Notes
I often use the shelf-stable gnocchi found in the pasta aisle of my grocery store, especially if I don't have any of my homemade gnocchi on hand in the freezer. No need to pre-cook the gnocchi as it cooks right in the sauce of this recipe.
If you want to make fresh gnocchi, then click this link to see my blog post and recipe on how to make fresh gnocchi - https://chefroche.com/gnocchi/
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I am going to make this as gnocchi is a family favorite and cooking in one pan makes clean-uo a breeze. I have never used shelf stable gnocchi before as it always looked unappetizing to me; I always buy the freezer variety. Do you have a particular brand you like? Can I use frozen gnocchi in this dish? What would be the prep to incorporate in this recipe? Would I thaw it or precook beforehand?
Could this dish be turned into a soup ala Olive Garden style by adding more broth and cream?
I think this may become dinner this week after I go grocery shopping. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hello, thank you for these great questions! Prepackaged is like dried pasta, convenient but not as good as homemade. However, they are a huge time saver. And as the dried gnocchi cook in the sauce, they not only help thicken it, but the delicious strong flavors get absorbed into the gnocchi as they cook and soften. Frozen gnocchi will also work, though they will have more moisture in them, which may make the sauce less thick. If that is the case, just cook a little longer if needed to reduce the liquid. I would add them in their frozen state. As far as turning the recipe into a soup, that would be a great idea, just add more stock and adjust the seasonings to account for the additional liquid. Please let us all know how the recipes turn out using frozen gnocchi and turning it into soup!