Prepared gnocchi, pesto, chicken breast, and fresh mozzarella can all be used in this quick dish. Very simple; so simple that it almost seems like a non-recipe. Actually, all you’re doing is mixing ingredients. You can also try adding different items, such vegetables or mushrooms. At the chicken stage, you can probably add anything that needs to be cooked. Since the pesto I used already contained both, I didn’t add any onions or garlic, but if yours does not, you can do so along with the oil as well.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 35 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half – cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chicken broth
- 1 (8 ounce) jar prepared pesto
- 1 (12 ounce) package potato gnocchi
- 4 ounces small fresh mozzarella balls
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper; cook and stir in the hot oil until no longer pink in the middle, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove chicken to a bowl using a slotted spoon, retaining drippings in the pan.
- Pour chicken broth into the saucepan. Bring broth to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon; continue cooking until the broth reduces in volume by about half, 7 to 10 minutes. Return cooked chicken to the saucepan. Stir pesto through the chicken mixture; remove from heat.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil. Cook gnocchi at a boil until they float to the top, about 3 minutes. Remove gnocchi from the water to a large bowl using a slotted spoon, retaining water in the pot.
- Place the saucepan with the chicken and pesto over the boiling water; cook and stir over the boiling water until warmed completely, about 5 minutes. Pour chicken and pesto mixture over the gnocchi; add mozzarella and stir until evenly mixed.
Reviews
I used left over Costco rotisserie chicken breast instead of fresh fillets and it came out great. The flavor was bright and the mini mozzarella just the right time-saving size.
So its COViD and we were unexpectedly quarantined and we have what we have in the fridge. For some weird reason I had all the ingredients and this recipe came up when I searched. This one is a keeper. It’s fast and easy, especially when you feel like ugh and need something filling but low key, cause you ain’t going out for 10 days . Ugh. And my husband , a picky italian, loved it. A winner as is. Thank you from my covid hazed brain for this flavorful filling easy recipe. See ya on the other side and stay healthy.
really delicious. the toddle absolutely loved it
Love this dish just as it is and have been making it for years. Today I didn’t have pesto so used Dijon mustard. Very tasty( not as good as pesto) but a good flavor. Thanks for this recipe as I have enjoyed it for the flavor and the ease of making it!
How this turns out clearly depends on whether you enjoy the pesto you used. Which we did so four stars. Cant give five because its more assembly instructions than a recipe.
MY NOTE: I have made a similar dish a number of times, it’s easy, quick and delish. These are my few modifications: For extra taste I used freshly ground mixed peppercorn, and didn’t use much salt. I sautéed crushed garlic, finely mince onion, 1/2 tsp. mixed Italian dry leaves herbs, dash of dried red pepper, and sliced mushroom all added while sautéed the chicken. Used good quality jarred pesto. For the sauce, also I used dry white wine au lieu of chicken broth. Follows the recipe and garnished the dish with a combination of crushed garlic, chifonnee fresh basil, fresh minced parsley all from my garden. It turned out flavorful and fabulous! Family and friends asked for the recipe.
I loved this. I had some diced pancetta I needed to use so I pan fried it with the chicken breast. Because of the pancetta, I didn’t add any salt at all to the recipe. I needed to use about 1/3 cup chicken broth. And, I finished the sauce off by mixing in about one tablespoon of cream. Definitely making this again.
Very good recipe.
made it with ground chicken instead of full chicken breast and added some veggies – my fiance loved it!
Simple, fast, and delicious!
I added extra garlic and made my own pesto. Simple and delicious!
I admit I made some changes but not really changing the basic flavor profile. First, I only used 1/2 the jar of pesto because the Barilla brand I had was *really* salty. It turned out just right. Second, I didn’t have mozzarella balls, so I used a pre-shredded Italian cheese blend that included mozzarella, parmesan, and asiago. Mixed the chicken and gnocchi as described, mixed in the cheese. Then I transferred to a casserole dish, topped with a little more of the shredded cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Broiled it until the top was golden. Perfect!
Excellent recipe. I sauteed onion and baby portabella mushrooms with the chicken. Though, this recipe is only as good as the pesto as that’s the main flavor… mine was just so, so — wish I had bought a better variety than juts using my jarred pantry version.
I made it as the recipe states, except I added the gnocchi directly into the pan with the chicken and pesto after it was cooked. It is simple, flavorful, and generally excellent. Thank you for a great recipe.
Absolutely loved it! So easy and delicious
This dish was very simple to make – thank you for sharing the recipe! We found ours to be very, very salty. Before adding salt to season chicken and cook gnocci, you would be well-served to check the salt content on your pesto jar. I used Trader Joe’s pesto and I went to look at the salt content when our dish turned out so salty – it has 840mg (35%) of salt! I looked at another jar of pesto I had in the pantry and it only contains 310mg (13%) salt. Had I used the other brand, I’m sure this dish would have been simple and great!
Loved this recipe. I used my homemade pesto with this. Very easy. Really no way to go wrong with pesto sauce and gnocchi!
Really good! I will make this again. No changes to recipe.
This was great! I used TJs Genova Pesto and TJs Gnocchi. The pesto was only 7oz but it still seemed like plenty. I did not have chicken broth so used some veggie broth. I also had to top it with a sprinkling of pre-shredded Mozz. since I did not have fresh available. I will absolutely make again. It was so quick and easy and delicious!
I just finished making it. I only made one serving, for myself, and it was DELICIOUS! I like mozzarella so I used 6 small balls when I combined everything in one pot. Otherwise, the recipe was the as is. I’m not sure if it matters, but all of the ingredients were purchased at a gourmet supermarket. There is a difference in taste when in comes to the meat. Will be making again!
This was wonderful! I will definitely make it again!