This a creamy spinach gnocchi recipe that‘s impossible to resist. A delicious one-pot meal ready in about 15 minutes, the perfect weeknight dish for the family yet fancy enough for guests.
The tender, pillowy gnocchi are pan-fried (not boiled) and then smothered in a comforting spinach sauce made with garlic and cream.
This creamy spinach gnocchi recipe is like a secret weapon: it’s simple, quick, and cheap enough to cook for the family on busy weeknights but also elegant and sophisticated enough for entertaining.
It’s meatless yet incredibly satisfying without meat, perfect for serving both vegetarian and non-vegetarian guests (provided you sprinkle the dish with vegetarian hard cheese and not with Parmesan which is not vegetarian). And that’s always great when you don’t want to cook two separate dishes to satisfy both parties.
Looking for more gnocchi recipes? Check out the Creamy Gnocchi Bake Recipe or the Simple Gnocchi Gorgonzola.
More reasons to love this easy recipe
- One-pan meal: Pine nut roasting, gnocchi frying, spinach wilting, and sauce making – everything happens in just one pan.
- Easy and quick: Add the ingredients one after another to the pan. Cooking the gnocchi with spinach sauce only takes about 15 minutes.
Recipe ingredients and substitutions
- Refrigerated gnocchi: You can find them in the refrigerated pasta section of most grocery stores.
- Alternatively, you can use shelf-stable potato gnocchi. Although I prefer the refrigerated kind (their texture and taste are better), I agree that shelf-stable gnocchi is a great pantry staple and that I often use them.
- Homemade gnocchi would also be a great choice.
- Fresh spinach: I used baby spinach.
- Mature spinach is also great; in this case, remove its stems and chop the leaves roughly.
- Frozen spinach: Thaw, drain, and squeeze it with your hands to remove the excess water before adding it to the pan. If using frozen spinach, the dish will look a bit different, but it will still taste delicious.
- Alternatively, you can use arugula, Swiss chard, or kale.
- Heavy cream: Makes the sauce nice and creamy.
- Alternatively, you can use half-and-half (a mixture of whole milk and cream), but heavy cream makes the creamiest sauce.
- Garlic: I add lots of garlic to any spinach sauce; the two ingredients are great together.
- Pine nuts: They add crunchiness and extra flavor. You can leave them out if you don’t have them, but I do recommend them; they are truly delicious.
- Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese: Freshly grated cheese from a wedge.
- Other ingredients: Salted or unsalted butter, onion, fresh nutmeg, fine sea salt or Kosher salt, and ground black pepper.
Additions
- Add sauteed mushrooms, sauteed or roasted broccoli florets or asparagus, green peas, or fresh tomatoes.
- If you don’t want to keep the dish vegetarian, add cooked diced chicken breast, canned tuna, fried sausage pieces, crispy bacon, shrimp, or a few finely chopped anchovies. Stir in some goat cheese instead of Parmesan.
How to cook spinach gnocchi?
- Pine nuts: Fry them without adding fat on medium heat in a large high-sided, heavy-bottomed pan for a few minutes until golden and fragrant (1). Transfer them to a plate.
- Pan-fry gnocchi: Melt the butter in the same pan. Cook gnocchi for about 8 minutes, often stirring, until soft, puffed, and slightly crispy on the outside (2). Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon
- Sauté the diced onion in the remaining melted butter (3), add garlic, and then the spinach leaves. Let them wilt for 1-2 minutes (4, 5).
- Add cream, stir to combine, and heat the spinach sauce for about 1 minute on medium-low heat (6).
- Carefully stir in the fried gnocchi (7, 8).
- Adjust the taste with salt (½ – ¾ tsp), plenty of ground black pepper, and a few generous grindings of nutmeg.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. You can also sprinkle the gnocchi in a creamy sauce with fresh herbs like parsley, basil, or fresh thyme.
Expert Tips
- The pan: Use a large high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet. The pan will be quite full after adding all the ingredients, and if you use a regular shallow frying pan, you won’t be able to combine the ingredients without spilling some all over the stovetop.
- Vegetarian version: Use vegetarian hard cheese instead of Parmesan, made with animal rennet.
- Vegan or dairy-free version: Replace butter with a vegan alternative or olive oil and the cream with coconut milk, soy, or oat cream. Leave out the Parmesan. To make the sauce a bit cheesy, add 1-2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast to the cream sauce and stir it well before adding the gnocchi.
Recipe FAQ
Italian dumplings made of boiled riced potatoes and all-purpose flour. The dumplings are pressed with the tines of a fork and cooked in a large pot of salted water. Variations can be made with ricotta, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, or other vegetables, but except for the ricotta gnocchi, all the others are not traditional.
In Italy, they are often served as a first course but can also be served as a side dish.
Sure, if you don’t have any, you can serve the same creamy spinach sauce with any kind of pasta. The sauce is also great served over rice, polenta, bulgur, or quinoa. All these ingredients must be boiled in a different pot before mixing with the spinach sauce.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Add a splash of milk to loosen the sauce and reheat gently on the stovetop. Stir often.
Reheat in the microwave: Add a splash of milk and stir well. Reheat for 1 minute and stir again. If not hot enough, reheat for another 30-60 seconds.
Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this dish; I tried it once, and it was not great. You can still eat it, but you will probably not enjoy it much; the texture of both gnocchi and sauce changes too much.
What to serve with it?
- Serve the creamy spinach gnocchi with a fresh green salad with vinaigrette dressing.
- Roasted vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, green beans, or cauliflower are also a good match.
- Try the gnocchi with spinach sauce with Air Fryer Asparagus, for instance. Or check out What to Serve with Gnocchi? (25 Ideas).
More gnocchi recipes
Creamy Spinach Gnocchi Recipe
Equipment
- High-sided heavy-bottomed pan
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potato gnocchi 1 kg, Note 1
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons butter divided
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 7 – 9 oz fresh baby spinach 200 – 250 g, Note 2
- 1 cup heavy cream 250 ml
- a few gratings of nutmeg
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan freshly grated or to taste
Instructions
- Pine nuts: Heat the pan and roast the pine nuts for about 2 minutes until golden and fragrant. Shake the pan often to prevent them from burning. Transfer them to a plate immediately.2 Tbsp pine nuts
- Pan-fry gnocchi: Melt 1 ½ tablespoons of butter in the same pan. Add gnocchi and fry them for about 8 minutes, often stirring, until they are soft, puffed, and slightly crispy on the outside. Remove them from the pan.1 ½ Tbsp butter + 2 lbs (1 kg) gnocchi
- Prepare vegetables: In the meantime, finely chop the onion, mince the garlic cloves, and wash the spinach in a colander.1 small onion, 3 garlic cloves, 7-9 oz (200-250 g) spinach
- Sauté the onion in the remaining butter, add garlic, and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and let it wilt for 1-2 minutes.½ Tbsp butter
- Add cream, stir to combine, and heat the spinach sauce for about 1 minute. Carefully stir in the fried gnocchi.1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
- Adjust the taste with salt (½ – ¾ tsp), plenty of ground black pepper, and a few generous grindings of nutmeg.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan (to taste).
Notes
- Refrigerated potato gnocchi (refrigerated pasta aisle of the grocery store). Homemade gnocchi are also great. Alternatively, you can use shelf-stable potato gnocchi.
- Spinach: If using mature spinach, remove its stems and roughly chop the leaves.
Frozen spinach: Thaw, drain, and squeeze it with your hands to remove the excess water before adding it to the pan. If using frozen spinach, the dish will look a bit different, but it will still taste delicious.