Hot Honey Chicken Gnocchi
This gnocchi looks like it is glistening because it is tossed in a sticky hot honey sauce with crispy bits of chicken! The flavors in this gnocchi dish are spicy sweet perfection! The browned edges of the chicken thighs are a great texture contrast to the soft gnocchi and the crispy breadcrumbs. If you like hot honey or any spicy sweet dishes, this one is for you!
The inspiration for this recipe
I had an amazing hot honey wing recently and I thought the flavors would go well with gnocchi. At first I wanted to toss the gnocchi with little crispy chicken pieces, like popcorn chicken maybe. I realized this would already be a bit of an intense and heavy dish, and with fried chicken in the mix it might take it over the edge. I decided to just use chicken thighs, and top it with crispy breadcrumbs to add the crunch.
Make the gnocchi
You could use store bought gnocchi for this hot honey chicken and it would come together really quick and easy. I made my gnocchi because I was making this on a nice Sunday afternoon and I had time.
Potatoes, egg, flour, and salt. Some more traditional recipes don’t use egg, but the egg makes it a lot easier to form the gnocchi. Pop the dough out on your work surface and knead until it just comes together. If you knead too much, it will get a bit gummy, so don’t overwork it!
Shape the gnocchi
Roll the dough into logs, then cut it into the gnocchi size. Roll it on a fork or with a gnocchi board to make the classic shape.
Perfect little gnocchi!
Make the hot honey chicken
Crisp up the chicken thighs in a pan with some oil and butter, then add the cooked gnocchi. Next add some heat, I wanted a variety, so I used gochujang, hot sauce, and both Mexican and Korean chili powders. Then the honey and some lemon juice and that’s it!
The crispy topping
Toss some breadcrumbs in a hot frying pan with butter, then add lemon zest and parsley. Cook until golden brown. Then serve the hot honey chicken gnocchi and top with the topping!
Serve the hot honey chicken gnocchi
Plate it up and top with the crispy topping!
The flavors in this hot honey chicken gnocchi are definitely intense! Sweet and spicy and so tasty!
Twists on hot honey chicken gnocchi
I always try to suggest a vegetarian version, and this would be great with some of the alternative chicken brands out there. I also mentioned, you could use some store bought gnocchi and hot honey and this would be super quick and easy to make! I would add a little extra lemon juice and some of the pasta cooking water if using store bought hot honey to keep it from being overly sweet.
For more tips on making gnocchi, I love this post.
For more gnocchi goodness, check out my gnocchi gobi, gnocchi chili bowls, or this mozzarella stuffed sweet potato gnocchi!
Hot Honey Chicken Gnocchi
Equipment
Ingredients
Gnocchi
- 3 russet potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1.5 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Dish
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs chopped into small pieces
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tablespoon gochujang
- 1 tablespoon valentina hot sauce or similar brand
- 1/2 teaspoon mexican chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon gochugaru
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Topping
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- lemon zest from 3 lemons
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Toss potatoes with some olive oil and salt on a baking sheet. Pierce the potatoes with a fork several times all around each potato. Bake in the oven at 350 for about an hour and a half, flipping once, until fork tender all the way through.
- Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Cut the potatoes in half and add the potato to a potato mill or ricer. Discard the skins, or snack on them like I do.
- Add the egg and flour to the potato mixture as well as the salt. Knead for a minute to bring it together but the more you work the dough, the more it will be gummy and chewy.
- Roll the dough out into logs and use a knife to cut the log into gnocchi sized pieces.
- Use the back of a fork, or a gnocchi board, to roll the gnocchi into the traditional shape. Press the gnocchi ino the board, sliding as you go, folding your thumb print over into itself. Check the link for more info.
- As you go, put the finished gnocchi onto a kitchen towel with plenty of flour.
- Add the chicken to a large pan with olive oil over medium high heat. Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes to brown on the outside and get crispy.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add in the gnocchi.
- Add the butter to the pan with the chicken, and as the gnocchi start to float in the boiling water, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the pan with the chicken. Toss and cook for 5 minutes to lightly brown some of the gnocchi
- Add in the gochujang, hot sauce, chili powder, and gochugaru. Toss to combine.
- Stir in the honey and lemon juice. Toss to combine and remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter for the breadcrumbs and add the breadcrumbs and lemon zest to the pan. Cook to brown, stirring often. Add in the parsley and cook another minute or two. Remove from heat.
- Serve the gnocchi and top with the breadcrumbs.