Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Chicken and Corn
If you’re anything like us then you’re always looking for trusty sheet pan dinners to keep in your back pocket (not literally). This Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Chicken and Corn recipe checks all of the boxes: it’s quick, easy, nutritious, and totally delivers on big flavor. The best part is that everything is cooked together on one baking sheet, which means less effort and fewer dishes for you.
Why You’ll Love This Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Chicken and Corn Dinner
- Only a couple dishes – you’ll only need a tray to bake everything on plus one bowl to mix it up in (and you could even skip this one and mix it directly on the tray).
- Adaptable – use fresh or frozen corn here. In season corn is excellent in this recipe, but frozen corn works great too and that way you can make it any time of year. We’ve also made this recipe with fresh zucchini too. If you do that, you may just want to move some of the veg to a 2nd sheet tray so it doesn’t get too crowded.
- Hands-off cooking – This recipe is beginner friendly and low maintenance. If you can turn on an oven, you can make this!
- All in one – Everything you need for a full meal is right here on one tray. Protein from the chicken, fruits and vegetables from the tomatoes, corn, and onions, and hearty carbs from the gnocchi.
What Makes Something a Sheet Pan Dinner?
To us, a sheet pan dinner means a fully formed, all-in-one meal that is cooked together on a baking sheet. This means your vegetables, grains or starches, and proteins all get roasted on the sheet pan alongside one another. These meals are great for busy weeknights or when you don’t feel like exhausting all of your energy on making dinner.
Despite their name, we don’t think that everything you make on a sheet pan should be classified as a “sheet pan dinner.” A tray of roasted potatoes, or another sheet pan filled with broccoli, would not, on their own, be a sheet pan dinner. However, if you mixed the broccoli, potatoes, and maybe chickpeas or chicken, we’d call that a “sheet pan dinner” because it’s a complete meal. It should include all or at least the majority of your meal, cooked together on the same tray.
Ingredients in Corn and Gnocchi Sheet Pan Dinner
- Chicken breast – we like to go for a pack of 2 large chicken breasts, about a pound to a pound and a half total. If you’d rather use thighs, go for it! You may need to adjust the timing slightly.
- Corn – we’ve made this with fresh corn kernels cut from the cob and corn straight out of the freezer. Both work great, but the frozen corn will have a little more water content so it may make the tray a little wetter overall.
- Cherry tomatoes – tomatoes go really well with sweet corn. We use sweet, round cherry tomatoes here, but any small tomato would work.
- Red onion – we’re total suckers for onions. They elevate and deepen the flavors in this sheet pan dinner. If you’re not a fan, leave them out.
- Gnocchi – we like using a shelf stable potato gnocchi because it’s pretty sturdy and cooks well in the oven. Trader Joe’s makes a good version, if you have access to their stores. If not, you can usually find potato gnocchi in most large grocery stores.
- Lime juice – just a little zing and brightness from fresh citrus.
- Spices – all you need here is a little salt and chili powder. These two, along with the lime juice, pack a big punch of flavor.
- Olive oil – just enough to coat everything.
- Cilantro + cotija cheese – for topping the roasted chicken, veg, and gnocchi at the end.
How to Make This Sheet Pan Gnocchi Recipe
Add the gnocchi, corn, tomatoes, and red onions to a bowl.- Mix the gnocchi and the veggies with olive oil, lime, chili powder, and salt.
- Spread the gnocchi and veggie onto a sheet tray.
- Season the chicken and nestle them among the gnocchi and veg.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. This prevents the gnocchi from sticking to the pan.
- Toss the gnocchi, tomatoes, corn, and onions with olive oil, lime, chili powder, and salt, then spread them into one layer on the sheet pan.
- Scoot some of the gnocchi and veggies aside to make 2 separate spaces in the middle of the sheet pan in which to place the chicken breasts.
- Place the chicken breasts into the gaps you made, then season each with olive oil, chili powder, and salt.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then toss the veggies and gnocchi to make sure they’re evenly cooking.
- At this time, you can check the doneness of the chicken with an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickets part of each breast. They should register 155°F to 160°F if they’re done (they’ll continue cooking a little when they’re out of the oven). If the chicken is done, remove it from the oven, place it on a plate, and cover it with foil to keep warm. If it’s not done cooking, leave it on the tray with the veggies and gnocchi.
- Bake the gnocchi and veggies (and chicken if it’s not done) for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Slice the chicken into pieces, then place it back on the sheet pan.
- Top the chicken, gnocchi, and veggies with cilantro and crumbled cotija cheese. Serve immediately.
Tips & Variations
- Use parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- Swap out the protein. Instead of chicken breast, this would be great with chicken thighs, salmon, a mild white fish like cod, sausage, or even firm tofu. If you want to go full veggie here, add some broccoli for more protein, or chickpeas for added fiber.
- If you’re not a fan of potato gnocchi, you can try this recipe with cauliflower gnocchi or sweet potato gnocchi.
- You can also use diced gold potatoes instead of gnocchi. You can roast them on the sheet pan with the veggies and chicken, or cook them on their own, separate sheet pan ingredients to avoid them steaming, which won’t give you crispy potatoes.
Serving Suggestions
The magic of a sheet pan dinner is that everything you need for a complete meal is packed in on one tray.
If you want to serve this with something else though, we’d suggest having a side of melon or fruit salad, crusty bread, beans, or grains like quinoa or farro. Really though, you can get a full and satisfying dinner between the gnocchi, vegetables, and chicken.
Frequently Asked Questions: Gnocchi Sheet Pan
No. Roasting the gnocchi directly on the sheet pan gives it a golden outside and soft inside. No need to boil it first.
Yes! Frozen or refrigerated gnocchi works just as well. No need to boil it first. Just toss it with the olive oil, chili powder, and lime then add it straight onto the sheet pan.
We use chicken breasts for this recipe. The chicken stays super juicy with the oven roasting. but thighs would work well too! Just make sure to use boneless, skinless thighs instead of bone-in or they’ll take too long to cook.
Large chicken breasts will take anywhere between 20 and 30 minutes to cook. We recommend you check the temperature of the chicken with an instant read thermometer after 20 minutes of cooking. If the chicken registers 155F to 160F it’ll keep cooking through a process called “carryover cooking.” We explain more about that in our Sweet and Smoky Salmon recipe.
It’s recommended to make sure you don’t overcook the chicken, but you don’t have to. We’ve found that we usually cook the chicken for the full 30 minutes with the gnocchi and the veggies and it turns out juicy and delicious. If you’re using smaller chicken breasts (we’ve done with this larger chicken breasts), you may want to remove the chicken at 20 to 25 minutes to keep it from overcooking.)
Definitely! This recipe uses 2 large chicken breasts for 4 servings (½ a large breast, plus ¼ of the gnocchi and veggies for each person). If you want more chicken for each person, feel free to add more. You just may need to put the additional chicken onto a second sheet pan.
Nope! Just toss the corn with the other ingredients and place them onto the sheet pan to cook in the oven. You can use fresh corn kernels or frozen corn.
Absolutely! You can use zucchini or yellow squash, bell peppers, or anything that would taste good with chili and lime.
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove.
Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Chicken and Corn Recipe
Ingredients
Gnocchi and Veg
- 16 oz gnocchi
- 2 cups corn kernels frozen or fresh (about 2 medium corn cobs)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes whole
- ½ red onion diced large
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast
- 2 tsp olive oil one tsp for each
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp chili powder
Topping
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves roughly chopped
- ¼ cup cotija cheese crumbled or grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss the gnocchi, corn, tomatoes, and onions with olive oil, lime, chili powder, and salt, then spread them into one layer on the sheet pan.2 cups corn kernels, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 16 oz gnocchi, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lime juice, 2 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ red onion
- Scoot some of the gnocchi and veggies aside to make 2 separate spaces in the middle of the sheet pan in which to place the chicken breasts.
- Place the chicken breasts into the gaps you made, then season each with olive oil, chili powder, and salt.1 ½ pounds chicken breast, 2 tsp olive oil, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp chili powder
- Bake for 20 minutes, then toss the veggies and gnocchi to make sure they’re evenly cooking.
- Check the doneness of the chicken with an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of each breast. The chicken breasts should register 155°F to 160°F if they’re done (they’ll continue to cook once removed from the oven). If the chicken is done, remove it from the oven, place it on a plate, and cover it with foil to keep warm. If it’s not done cooking, leave it on the tray with the veggies and gnocchi.
- Bake the gnocchi and veggies (and chicken if it’s not done) for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven. Slice the chicken into pieces, then place it back on the sheet pan.
- Top the chicken, gnocchi, and veggies with cilantro and crumbled cotija cheese. Serve immediately.¼ cup cotija cheese, ¼ cup cilantro leaves
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Final Thoughts
This Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Chicken and Corn recipe is a fantastic weeknight dinner option. It’s easy to put together (very little prep), and everything cooks together on one sheet pan (no need to boil the gnocchi beforehand). Plus, it’ll be on your table in 40 minutes, from start to finish!
Try These Other Weeknight Favorites
- Easy Sheet Pan Shrimp Tacos
- Roasted Vegetable Couscous
- Sweet and Smoky Salmon
- The Best Juicy Turkey Burgers
- Moroccan Inspired Spiced Chicken
- Blue Cheese, Walnut, and Pear Salad
- Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Miso Soup with Veggies and Tofu
Let Us Know!
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