Soft, pillowy gnocchi, swimming in a luscious sauce packed with sundried tomatoes, spinach, and juicy chicken thighs, make this creamy ‘Marry Me’ chicken gnocchi a cozy weeknight favorite. Plus, it’s made in one pan, takes just 25 minutes, AND there’s no need to boil the gnocchi first – just throw it right in with the sauce.
Table of Contents
- ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi, at a Glance
- A One Pan Chicken Dinner of Dreams
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi
- ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi FAQs
- Watch How to Make ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi
- Like this recipe? Here are more easy one-pan ideas
- One Pan Creamy ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi Recipe
‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi, at a Glance
⏰ Total time: 25 minutes
🍽 Servings: 4
🛒 Key Ingredients: Chicken thighs, gnocchi, sundried tomatoes, parmesan, basil, sour cream
🧠 Skill Level: Beginner-friendly
🔥 Cooking Method: One pan
💪 Protein: 28g per serving
🥗 Perfect For: Weeknight dinners, casual entertaining or dinner parties
💕 Why You’ll Love: Quick and easy – it takes just 25 minutes from start to finish. Made in one pot, so less washing up for you. PACKED with gorgeous flavor that the whole family will love.
A One Pan Chicken Dinner of Dreams
There’s nothing better than an easy, packed-with-flavor meal you can make in one pan. Not only does it mean less washing up, but cooking this way gives all the ingredients time to really meld and get to know each other, giving you even MORE flavor.
This gnocchi dish is based on the iconic Tuscan chicken or ‘Marry Me’ chicken – with chicken, sundried tomatoes, garlic, and thyme in a creamy sauce – so if you love those flavors, you’re going to love this too. It’s as simple as cooking your chicken, then adding everything else into the pan and simmering until the gnocchi is cooked and the creamy sauce has thickened. A perfect cozy weeknight meal.
A lot of gnocchi recipes call for you to boil the gnocchi separately before adding it to the sauce, but I’ve found that’s unnecessary here. Because there’s a lot of sauce, the gnocchi cooks perfectly in the sauce itself, saving you time and the fuss of washing up multiple pots and pans.
And while yes, the name ‘Marry Me’ chicken is a little bit silly, there is seriously nothing silly about the taste of this lovely recipe. I love it so much I’ve created a couple of variations on the original – try my creamy ‘Marry Me’ white beans or ‘Marry Me’ chicken pasta if you’re as much of a fan as I am!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken thighs. I prefer thighs here because they have more flavor than breasts, and are less prone to drying out in the pan. But you can absolutely use chicken breasts if you like. Always use free-range for the best quality, and I’m using skinless and boneless.
- Gnocchi. I’m using shelf-stable gnocchi (which you can find with the pasta at the store), but fresh gnocchi will also work.
- Sundried tomatoes. Level up the flavor of the gnocchi even more by using the oil from your jar instead of olive oil to cook your chicken and garlic, or use sun-dried tomato pesto.
- Chicken stock. Use vegetable stock if you prefer or if that’s what you have. You could also use water with a splash of extra fish sauce if you don’t have any stock to hand.
- Sour cream. Low-fat sour cream works too, as does heavy (double) cream, crème fraîche, mascarpone, or cream cheese. Don’t use Greek yogurt – the heat will curdle the yogurtm and you’ll end up with a grainy sauce.
- Fish sauce. This is probably my most-used ingredient. It brings a deep, savory flavor that you can’t get with salt alone, so I really recommend including it here. I promise it doesn’t taste fishy in this recipe!
How to Make ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the gnocchi – the full recipe with ingredient quantities is at the bottom of the page for you.
- Toss your chicken with a little salt, then cook it in olive oil until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan, but keep that lovely chicken fat in there for the flavor.
- Add your sundried tomatoes, garlic, and seasoning to the same pan.
- Add the chicken stock, sour cream, and fish sauce. Mix it through the sundried tomatoes.
- Add the gnocchi, stir so it’s submerged in the sauce, then cover the pan and let it simmer until the gnocchi is almost cooked through.
PRO TIP: If your pan doesn’t have a lid, use a large dinner plate, a wooden board, or aluminum foil.
- Remove the lid from your pan and stir the gnocchi. It should look plump and have absorbed some of the sauce.
- Add the chicken back into the pan, along with the spinach. Stir to mix them through the sauce, then add the parmesan, lemon juice, and basil.
- Stir again, then you’re ready to serve. Divide between plates, then scatter extra parmesan and basil on top, and enjoy.
‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi FAQs
It’s best enjoyed right after cooking – storing and reheating gnocchi is tricky and changes the texture (they’ll become a bit bloated as they continue to absorb the sauce) – but you can definitely refrigerate and reheat any leftovers.
It will keep for 3 days in the fridge and is easy to reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. Heat in 30-second intervals in the microwave, and reheat over medium heat for a few minutes in a pot on the stove. I like to add a little water when I’m reheating it, just to loosen the sauce up.
Mushrooms are a great addition here. Slice about 8oz/200g thinly and cook them for a few minutes until soft, after you’ve cooked the chicken.
Remove them from the pan and add them back into the sauce when you add the spinach. You could also add a dollop of basil pesto, wild garlic pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto, or add some jarred artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, or olives.
I find this to be a meal in itself, but you could definitely serve it with some fresh bread to mop up the lovely sauce. Try my no-knead chili cheese focaccia, no-knead rosemary parmesan bread, or no yeast emergency garlic butter dinner rolls.
Watch How to Make ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi
Like this recipe? Here are more easy one-pan ideas
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
One Pan Creamy ‘Marry Me’ Chicken Gnocchi
Ingredients
Method
- Cook the chicken.Toss the diced chicken thighs with ½ teaspoon of salt. Set a high-sided skillet or pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the chicken and spread it out into an even layer.Leave it alone for about 5 minutes, until it's lovely and golden, then turn it over to brown the other side for another couple of minutes. Turn the heat off, then remove the chicken from the pan and pop it onto a plate covered with aluminum foil.
- Add the garlic and seasoning.Keep all that lovely chicken fat in the pan (this gives the dish incredible flavor!), but scoop out any burnt bits. Then add crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, dried thyme, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, for just a minute, then add the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Add the sauce and gnocchi.Stir and cook for another minute, just to let the flavors get to know each other, then add ½ cup of sour cream, 1 cup of low-sodium chicken stock, and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce. Mix to combine all the ingredients into a cohesive sauce, then add the gnocchi and stir to coat it in the sauce.Pop the lid on your pan and cook for about 5 minutes, until the gnocchi is plump and cooked through.
- Add the chicken and spinach.Lift the lid off your pan and stir the gnocchi. The gnocchi itself should look more plump, but the sauce will still be quite watery at this point. Add the chicken back into the pan, along with the spinach.Stir them through the sauce – the spinach will wilt into the sauce. Add the grated parmesan and stir again, then reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for a couple of minutes to thicken up.
- Finish and serve.Finish by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and half the basil leaves, then you're ready to serve. Divide between plates, top with the extra grated parmesan and the rest of the basil.
How many servings are included in the nutrition information?
Hi Holly 😊 That’s for one serving! xx Kate
Thank you! That was delicious 😋
Fab to hear it xx
I agree holly this was an exceptionally good recipe, the flavours tickled my taste buds and now I will have It every day! welp until i get bored of it lmao 😐