One of my favorite things to do is to buy a bunch of split chicken breasts and roast them. After roasting them, I shred them up, delicious crispy skin and all. And then I‘M able to make a couple of fantastic meals out of that flavorful shredded chicken. It’s a fantastic way to do a little meal-planning/prepping in advance. Because then you can make amazing dinners like this Chicken Pot Pie Gnocchi.

This recipe is like a fun spin on a chicken pot pie. Except it’s easier and quicker. Instead of a pie crust, the chicken filling is served over chewy, buttery, pan-fried gnocchi. And then for a little crunchy texture, the chicken is finished off with a cheesy, toasted breadcrumb topping. Instead of having to make the chicken filling, pour it into a pie pan and bake it for another 40 minutes to an hour, this entire dish is done in about 40 minutes.

Let me show you how I made this Chicken Pot Pie Gnocchi 👇🏻

In a Dutch oven (or large pot), melt 2 tbsp of unsalted butter over medium-high heat. Add 2 large carrots (sliced), 2 celery ribs (sliced), 1/2 cup sliced leek, and 1/2 cup diced sweet onion.

Cook until the veggies are soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Add 3 minced garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Now add 2 tbsp of flour. Stir well to cook the veggies in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, while stirring, to cook the flour.

Add 1/2 cup white wine. Any wine. Cheap wine, expensive wine. Whatever you like. Or you can substitute the wine for more chicken broth (in the next step). Let the wine bubble and cook for a minute or two until it thickens and reduces slightly.

Add 2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth. Along with 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tbsp dried parsley, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Give it a good stir.

Reduce the heat to medium and let the broth simmer and cook down until it has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

Whisk together 1/2 cup heavy cream with 1 tbsp of cornstarch and add it to the pot.

After adding the heavy cream and cornstarch, add 2 heaping cups of cooked, shredded chicken. You can use store-bought or homemade.

Note: I used homemade shredded chicken for this recipe. I brushed 2 split chicken breasts with olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper. Then I cooked them in the oven for 45-55 minutes until they reached and internal temperature of 165 degrees. I let them cool for a few minutes and then shredded them, crispy skin and all.

You’re going to cook this until the chicken is hot and the “pot pie filling” has reduced and thickened.

While the filling is thickening, melt 4 tbsp of unsalted butter in a large, non-stick skillet over high heat. Add 24 oz of gnocchi. For this recipe, I used the Giovanni Ranna gnocchi (it can be found with the refrigerated pastas. I used two 12 oz packages).

Stir frequently to pan-fry the gnocchi. I like them slightly crispy, so I cooked them for about 6-7 minutes. When the gnocchi are done cooking, remove them to a bowl (or they will keep cooking and become too chewy).

Making the Cheesy, Toasted Breadcrumb Topping.

In that same skillet, melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs. Stir to coat the breadcrumbs in the butter. And then keep stirring frequently to toast the breadcrumbs. Be careful, they will toast quickly (and then burn very quickly after that).

Once the breadcrumbs are toasted and golden, remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 2 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese. Remove the breadcrumbs to a bowl to use for topping.