The combination of pesto and pasta is one that Wade and I have always loved. One evening, in search of a new twist on this meal, I decided to turn to potato gnocchi rather than traditional pasta.

This Italian pasta is made with mashed potato, flour, eggs, and seasonings. Gnocchi has a delicious pillowy texture that (when cooked right) almost feels like clouds in my mouth. There are so many delicious ways to make gnocchi. If you’re looking for more ideas, check out our Chicken Gnocchi Soup recipe!

When making Pesto Chicken Gnocchi, I highly recommend using the Vegan, Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto from Trader Joes. I’ve made this recipe with other types of store-bought pesto, but few of them have the same freshness, flavor, and lightness as this delicious Trader Joe's pesto.

In addition to being delicious, this one-skillet gnocchi pesto dish is packed full of veggies (and nutrients ;)). The spinach, tomatoes, onion, and kale (in the pesto) pair so well for a veggie-filled meal that tastes incredible!

This creamy pesto sauce covering gnocchi, chicken, and veggies is sure to impress your family and friends!

WHAT YOU’LL LOVE ABOUT THIS RECIPE

♡ ONE-SKILLET MEAL: We love less dishes to wash! This meal uses just one pan to first cook the chicken, and then cook the rest of the meal. You won’t even have to wash the pan in between the two parts!

♡ 30 MINUTES (or less)

♡ EASY: This meal is seriously so simple! Once you have the onion and tomato cut, it’s basically a game of throwing things into the skillet. The longest part of the meal is the chicken, so after you’ve got that done, the meal is almost ready to put on the table :)

♡ PROTEIN: According to Healthline, adding an appropriate amount of protein to your diet will help you develop muscle, stay fit as you age, feel full for longer, and it may even have some weight loss benefits.

♡ The GREENS: Not only does the basil & kale pesto give this dish a lovely shade of green, but the spinach also adds to it! Your body will definately be thanking you for this meal!

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST PESTO CHICKEN GNOCCHI

1) Don’t overcook the gnocchi! Gnocchi only cooks for a few minutes (3-5), just long enough to cook the egg. Be sure to cook it for the right amount of time so you can get that nice, pillowy texture.

2) Core the tomato: We like to core the tomato for this recipe (cut out the watery center full of seeds), and then chop up the outside of the tomato. This results in a less watery tomato.

3) Use the right type of pesto: I highly recommend using the Vegan, Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto from Trader Joes. I’ve made this recipe with other types of store-bought pesto, but few of them have the same freshness, flavor, and lightness as this delicious Trader Joe's pesto. If you’re using canned pesto, you’ll want to use A LOT LESS pesto than the recipe calls for. Canned pesto tends to be more oily and salty, so be sure to adjust the amount. Canned pesto also doesn’t taste near as good as fresher pesto!

SERVING IDEAS

You can either mix the chicken into the pesto sauce OR you can top the pesto dish with the sliced chicken. It’ll taste great either way! The con of mixing the chicken into the pesto dish is that it doesn’t look as pretty, but the chicken does get evenly coated in pesto!

Feel free to top with parmesan cheese, chopped basil, and or some freshly chopped cherry tomatoes.

STORAGE

Per the usual, pesto chicken gnocchi does store best in an airtight container in the refrigerator! I’ve never tried freezing the leftovers… but I don’t imagine it reheats very well. If you do try it out though and it works well, let me know in the comments!

I like to store most of my leftovers in Snapware Glass Food Storage Containers. These containers work really well, and the fact that they're glass means that I don't even have to transfer my leftovers to a bowl to reheat!

PESTO CHICKEN GNOCCHI INGREDIENTS

- Onion: Sauteeing the onion brings out the flavor of the onion and helps bring flavor to the entire dish!

- Gnocchi: Gnocchi is an italian pasta made with mashed potato, flour, eggs, and seasoning. Vegan gnocchi and / or gluten-free gnocchi can also be purchased.

- Roma Tomato: Adds a little bit of color & flavor to the dish. Additionally, the pairing of tomato (rich in Vitamin C) with spinach (rich in iron) helps the body to better absorb the iron in the spinach!

- Chicken Breast: High in protein, low in saturated fat, and rounds out the pesto bowl to be a full meal!

- Flour: Coating the chicken breast in flour gives it a little bit of a crust, which is soooo yummy!

- Salt

- Garlic Powder: In addition to adding great flavor, garlic has also been shown to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol in some people.

- Water & Chicken Bullion: Mixing water with chicken bullion mimics the flavor of chicken broth, but tends to be cheaper. My favorite chicken bullion is the Better Than Bullion because it has excellent flavor and doesn’t contain monosodium glutamate.

If you aren’t concerned about cost, I HIGHLY recommend trying out the Kettle & Fire Chicken Bone Broth to use instead of water & chicken bullion. Bone broth is SO tasty and has SO many health benefits.

- Milk: Adds to the creaminess of the pesto sauce! Your preference of milk… 1%, 2%, or skim milk. The type of milk used will affect the richness and flavor, but totally up to you what type you use! I usually go with 2% milk.

- Pesto: I highly recommend using the Vegan, Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto from Trader Joes. I’ve made this recipe with other types of store-bought pesto, but few of them have the same freshness, flavor, and lightness as this delicious Trader Joe's pesto.

- Spinach: Healthline calls it “one of the most nutritious foods on earth.” This leafy green is truly one of a kind in health benefits and flavor!

HOW TO…

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and garlic powder. Slice the chicken breast in half and pound each half of the breast with a rolling pin. This will help flatten the chicken breast so it's thinner. A thinner chicken breast will cook faster. Additionally, if you can get the two halves to be similar sizes, they will cook at similar times.

Sprinkle both sides of each half of the chicken with the flour mixture.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, slide the two pieces of chicken into the skillet.

Cook the chicken, flipping it occasionally to get a nice, even sear on both sides. Once the internal temperature of the chicken measures 165 degrees F, you may remove the chicken from the pan. Set the chicken aside to rest on a small cutting board or plate. If you don’t already own a meat thermometer, I highly recommend checking out this inexpensive, instant read meat thermometer on Amazon!

Once you’ve removed the chicken from the skillet, add the diced tomatoes and chopped onions to the skillet.

Saute the onions and tomatoes over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. The onions should start looking translucent and the tomatoes will soften.

Add the water and chicken bullion (or substitute for ½ cup of chicken broth) to the onions and tomatoes. Stir well. Add in the milk as well.

Add the pesto to the mixture and stir to combine.

Add the gnocchi to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Lastly, add the spinach to the pesto gnocchi mixture. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring during that time. The spinach will reduce dramatically in size. Once the spinach is cooked, the pesto gnocchi sauce is ready to serve. You can add the chicken to the sauce, OR you can serve the chicken on the side.

We hope you enjoy this DELICIOUS pesto gnocchi recipe as much as we do!

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