Crispy Chicken, Bacon and Pesto Gnocchi Skillet is a simple and satisfying gluten free dinner recipe. All you need is 5 ingredients, 20 minutes, and 1 skillet!
“Oh mercy, this was good. I am allergic to nuts, so I ate some without the pesto. The rest of the family devoured theirs.”
I often joke that Crispy Chicken, Bacon and Pesto Gnocchi Skillet is my hyperfixation meal, except it’s not a joke and I really do think about this super satisfying dinner that take just 20 minutes, 1 skillet, and 5 ingredients to make ALL the time.
Make it once and you’ll know exactly how I feel!
Watch How to Make It
What’s Inside
Packaged gnocchi is sauteed in a mixture of olive oil and bacon drippings until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside then tossed with fresh pesto, cooked bacon, and chicken.
Easy as that, and just as good as it sounds!
Crispy Gnocchi vs Boiled Gnocchi
You may have seen crispy gnocchi recipes that require you to boil gnocchi before pan-frying, but it’s completely unnecessary. True, it will feel strange pouring dry, hard gnocchi into a skillet, but I promise that in 5-6 minutes the gnocchi will totally transform.
Once you try pan-fried crispy gnocchi, the second half of your life begins!
Feel free to add vegetables to this skillet dinner if you please. Halved cherry tomatoes warmed in the pan at the end is tasty, and a big handful of chopped baby spinach wilted in at the end is delicious too. As written though, this is an absolute home run, 5 star dish.
Serve with a side salad or Air Fryer Green Beans, and you’re set!
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Brown the bacon.
Start by adding chopped bacon to a cold, 12″ nonstick skillet then place the skillet over medium heat and cook until browned. Scoop the bacon into a bowl, reserving the fat in the skillet.
Step 2: Cook the chicken.
Turn the heat up slightly then add chopped chicken breasts and season with homemade seasoned salt and pepper. Saute until cooked through then scoop the chicken into another bowl and set aside.
Step 3: Cook the gnocchi.
Add enough extra virgin olive oil into the skillet to equal 2 Tablespoons fat total, then add a 12oz package gluten-free gnocchi and arrange into an even layer in the bottom.
Let the gnocchi sizzle until the bottoms are golden brown, 2-3 minutes, then stir and continue to saute until the gnocchi are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, 2-3 more minutes. Use a fork to pierce a gnocchi to test for doneness.
I use Delallo Gluten Free Gnocchi for all my gnocchi dishes — love the quality, texture, and flavor.
Step 4: Stir in prepared pesto.
Add prepared pesto to the skillet, plus the cooked chicken and bacon, then stir until everything is heated through.
I’ve included a small-batch pesto recipe in the recipe card below, or you can use my simple vegan pesto if you need a dairy-free pesto recipe. When it comes to store bought pesto, you can’t beat Gotham Green’s pesto. I actually prefer the flavor of their vegan pesto to their classic pesto, just a heads up!
Scoop the Crispy Chicken, Bacon and Pesto Gnocchi Skillet into bowls then dig in.
Like I said, you could add any kind of sauted or roasted vegetable into the mix, but this dish is 100% devourable all on its own. I hope you love it as much as my family does – enjoy!
More Gnocchi Dishes You’ll Love
- Creamy Summer Veggie Gnocchi Skillet
- One Pot Gnocchi Chicken Pot Pie
- Cheesy Gnocchi Florentine
- Gnocchi and Chicken Sausage Vegetable Skillet
- Cheesy Bacon Butternut Squash Gnocchi Skillet
- Gnocchi with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Crispy Prosciutto
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- homemade seasoned salt and pepper
- 1 — 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 12 oz package shelf-stable gluten free gnocchi, I like Delallo
- 1/4 cup prepared pesto, store-bought or homemade recipe below
For the Homemade Pesto (makes 1/3 cup):
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 Tablespoon walnuts
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- big pinch salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- squeeze fresh lemon juice
Directions
For the Homemade Pesto:
- Add basil, walnuts, parmesan cheese, garlic, and salt to a food processor then pulse until the ingredients are roughly chopped. Very slowly stream in extra virgin olive oil while the food processor is running until pesto is smooth – don't over process or the pesto can taste bitter. Stir in a little bit of lemon juice at a time until desired taste is reached – the pesto shouldn't taste lemony, just fresh. Set aside. Can be made several days ahead of time.
For the Skillet:
- Add bacon to a cold, 12" nonstick skillet then place over medium heat. Cook until browned then scoop into a bowl and set aside, reserving bacon fat in skillet. Turn heat up to medium high.
- Season chicken with seasoned salt and pepper then add to the skillet and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Scoop into a bowl then set aside.
- Add enough extra virgin olive oil to the skillet to equal 2 Tablespoons fat total then add gnocchi and arrange into a single layer. Saute until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 2-3 minutes, then stir and continue to saute until the gnocchi are tender and golden brown all over, 2-3 additional minutes.
- Turn heat down to medium-low then add pesto, chicken, and bacon into the skillet. Stir to combine and heat ingredients through then scoop into bowls and serve.
Notes
- Need a cheese-less pesto recipe? Try my Simple Vegan Pesto.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I’m having a hard time finding this gnocchi. Can you help me? I looked at the Waukee HyVee and they didn’t have it.
Thank you
My Husband asked……”what are these little crunchy things they are so good” talking about the gnocchi of course. Enough said it was delicious and he was happy!! Thank you for the recipe!
Made this tonight and as usual it did not disappoint!! The noquis were divine in particular, and I was surprised when my son asked for more–a rare occurrence at dinner. It has made it to our “make again” list.
I’ve made this recipe twice this summer! Added halved grape tomatoes last time and broccoli on the side tonight. LOVE it!
This meal is fantastic!! Making it for the second time tonight. We are going to try adding the tomatoes at the end. Can’t wait!!
So glad to hear it, Stacey! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
OMG this was so good! And so easy! I agree with many other commenters – I will never boil gnocchi again. This method is sooo much better! Thanks so much!
I made this for my family tonight. Needed something quick, filling and delicious and this fit the bill perfectly!
I made this for my family this weekend and it was amazing! I added halved cherry tomatoes right at the end. So good!
This had great flavor and was so easy to make. I recently went to a cooking class in Des Moines East Village and learned to make gnocchi so eventually I’ll swap out the store bought for homemade. Delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
I’m so glad to hear it, Jackie! The cooking class sounds fun, too!
Iowa Girl? This is AWESOME.
Wooot!! Thanks, Mindy. ;)
I’ve been eyeing this since you posted it and finally made it last night and it was SO GOOD. I added some spinach in at the end since we had some that needed to be used and liked the addition. Great easy dinner.
Love the spinach addition, Leigh Anne! So glad you loved the dish!
Hello. Do you have a non stick pan that you would recommend? I need one but do not want to buy one that has all the icky chemicals on the nonstick surface! Do they make healthy pans?
That’s a good question and unfortunately I don’t know the answer! I just did a quick Google search and it looks like “Greenpan” might be a good option: https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/best-nonstick-pan-to-buy-reviews-article
I adore my Caraway pots and pans! They use a non-toxic cermaic coating. Comes in a variety of colors and they often run promotions: https://www.carawayhome.com/ Durable and can stand up to my 20+ son who likes to cook and can be pretty rough on my cookware. I use to use the Green Pans until I learned they were found to be “greenwashing”: tina.org
Hope that helps!
Thanks Amy!
So yummy, thank you. Added some broccoli and it worked out great!