Transport yourself to the rolling hills of Tuscany with this delightful Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi recipe. Combine tender chicken meatballs seasoned with herbs, garlic, and Parmesan, and serve atop pillowy-soft gnocchi, simmered in a rich, sundried tomato-infused cream sauce. If you want to try your hand at making fresh gnocchi, check out my Lemon Parm Chicken Gnocchi recipe to learn how. For more Tuscany inspired dishes, try my Tuscan Chicken Thighs recipe for an easy one pan dinner idea.
Make my Meatball Salad or my Italian Meatball Soup for more ways to enjoy oven baked meatballs, or make my easy Cabbage Roll Casserole for a delicious meal idea.
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Ingredients
- Ground Chicken
- Sundried Tomatoes
- Garlic Cloves
- Oreagno
- Grated Parmesan
- Panko Crumbs
- Egg
- Ready-made Gnocchi
- Fresh Baby Spinach
- Chicken Broth
- White Wine
- Heavy Cream
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi
Start by preheating your oven to 350F and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl. Mix everything together until smooth. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes, to allow the panko crumbs to start absorbing moisture.
Prepare a small bowl of water to dip your fingers in to prevent the meat from sticking to your hands while shaping them. Shape between 20-24 meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter.
Place the shaped meatballs on the prepared baking tray. Bake the Tuscan Chicken Meatballs in the preheated 350F oven for 16-18 minutes or until a probe thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165F. Prepare the sauce and gnocchi while the meatballs are cooking.
Place a large skillet on medium-high heat. Drizzle in olive oil and cook the chopped shallot, garlic and sundried tomatoes.
Add the baby spinach to the skillet once the shallots are translucent. Cook until the spinach is fully wilted.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Continue by adding the chicken broth to the skillet and follow by adding the heavy cream.
Bring the sauce to a simmer and then add the ready-made gnocchi to the skillet. Cook the gnocchi in the simmering sauce for 3 minutes, or as directed on the packaging.
Serve the Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi with more grated parmesan.
Substitutions and Variations
- Ground Meat - Replace the ground chicken with ground turkey for a similar flavor profile, or make them with ground pork or beef for a delicious variation.
- Bread Crumbs - Substitute the panko crumbs for your favorite bread crumbs
- White Wine - Use chicken broth instead of the white wine if you don't have any.
- Gnocchi - For this recipe I used shelf stable ready-made gnocchi. If you are using frozen gnocchi, make sure to simmer them in the sauce with the lid on the skillet because they might take a little longer to cook through. Alternatively, you can make the sauce on its own and simmer it to desired consistency. Cook your favorite pasta on the side to serve with the sauce.
Storage
Store any leftovers of the Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi, portioned out in airtight containers for 2-3 in the refrigerators. Place in the freezer for up to a month for great take-along meals on busy days.
Recipe
Tuscan Chicken Meatballs with Gnocchi
Ingredients
Meatballs Ingredients
- 16 ounces Ground Chicken
- ¾ cup Panko Crumbs or bread crumbs
- ¾ cup Grated Parmesan
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tablespoon Dry Oregano
- ¼ cup Sundried Tomatoes finely chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
Cream Sauce Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 large Shallot or half a medium onion
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- ? cup Sundried Tomatoes roughly chopped
- 2 cups Fresh Baby Spinach
- ½ cup White Wine or replace with chicken broth
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 500 grams Gnocchi
- ½ cup Grated Parmesan to garnish
Instructions
Prepare the Meatballs
- Preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Place the ground chicken, panko crumbs, grated parmesan, egg, oregano, sundried tomatoes and garlic in a large bowl. Mix everything together until smooth. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes.
- Dip your fingers in a small bowl of water before shaping the meatballs to prevent the meat from sticking to your hands while shaping. Shape between 20-24 meatballs, around 1 inch in diameter.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking tray and bake in the preheated 350F oven for 16-18 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 165F.
Prepare the sauce
- While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the sauce by placing a large skillet on medium-high heat.
- Drizzle the olive oil in the skillet and add the finely chopped shallot (or onion), garlic, and sundried tomatoes. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the shallots are translucent. Add the spinach and cook, just until fully wilted.
- Deglaze the skillet with the white wine and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Continue by adding the chicken broth and then the heavy cream and the salt.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the gnocchi to the skillet. Turn the heat down, just to keep the simmer, and cook the gnocchi for 3 minutes or as directed on the package. The gnocchi will cook and the sauce will thicken at the same time. When ready, take off the heat.
- Serve the gnocchi and the sauce with the cooked meatballs and garnish with freshly grated parmesan. Enjoy!
Made this for dinner today and it was amazing. Very easy too. Merci pour la recette!