Creamy Spinach Gnocchi (20-Minute, One-Pan Meal)

March 7, 2023

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Creamy Spinach Gnocchi is a consolation meals dish made in simply 20 minutes in a single pan! This fast and straightforward recipe makes use of store-bought, shelf-stable potato gnocchi. The creamy sauce is made with garlic, smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, and pink pepper flakes. This flavor-packed dinner is certain to change into a household favourite meatless major course or a comforting aspect dish to boost your favourite protein or meat dinners!

Creamy Spinach Gnocchi in a stainless steel pan.

20-Minute, One-Pan Dinner

This 20-minute family-friendly recipe makes use of solely 3 primary components: shelf-stable potato gnocchi, spinach, and cream. What makes this recipe particular and additional flavorful is using spices: smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, garlic, pink pepper flakes, and, after all, salt and pepper. Every little thing is cooked in a single pan, together with the gnocchi! Straightforward sufficient to make on a busy weeknight. Fancy sufficient to serve when entertaining firm. It is an incredible dish so as to add to your month-to-month dinner rotation! ! Serve it as a meatless dinner, or add protein to show this into a whole meal. Different 30-minute, one-pan gnocchi recipes that I like to recommend are creamy rooster gnocchi and reader-favorite creamy sausage gnocchi with spinach.

Creamy Spinach Gnocchi - close-up photo.

What makes this recipe work

Fast and straightforward recipe. Spinach gnocchi is a straightforward 20-minute dinner that makes use of minimal components. Every little thing is cooked in a single pan, together with the gnocchi! Ultimately, there is just one pan to wash! It is a must-have to have in your rotation for busy weeknights.
Satisfying meatless dinner. The richness of the creamy sauce, the pillowy comfortable gnocchi, and the wilted spinach along with spices create a flavor-packed dinner the place you’ll not miss any meat.
Add extra veggies. Spinach gnocchi is an extremely versatile recipe. You should utilize spinach, kale, or arugula, or a mix of those greens. Add some other veggies you want: mushrooms, roasted bell peppers, broccoli, inexperienced beans, tomatoes, roasted butternut squash, and many others.

What sort of gnocchi to make use of?

Shelf-stable gnocchi. I used potato gnocchi, a Delallo model, made with 85% potatoes. They don’t seem to be gluten-free, however this model additionally provides a gluten-free possibility of potato gnocchi.
Refrigerated gnocchi – you will discover these within the refrigerated pasta part of some grocery shops!
Cauliflower gnocchi offered by Dealer Joe’s will also be used on this recipe with out making any adjustments.

Do you must pre-cook the gnocchi?

You need not pre-cook the gnocchi for this recipe. Simply add the raw gnocchi on to the sauce (heavy cream + rooster broth). The gnocchi will cook dinner in the identical pan with the sauce and the sausage. This protects you yet one more pan to wash and minimizes the cleanup. Additionally, as you cook dinner the gnocchi within the sauce, the starch from the gnocchi is launched which helps to thicken the sauce. I take advantage of heavy cream on this recipe, however half-and-half can be utilized as a substitute.

Spinach gnocchi – major components

Gnocchi. I used store-bought potato gnocchi, Delallo model, made with 85% potatoes.
Greens. I used recent spinach. You may as well use frozen spinach – thawed and drained of any liquid. Or, use kale or arugula as a substitute.
Heavy cream provides creaminess and richness to spinach gnocchi. You may lighten it up through the use of half-and-half as a substitute.
Hen broth is mixed along with heavy cream to cook dinner the gnocchi. You may as well use vegetable or beef broth (or inventory). Or, even water if you do not have rooster inventory obtainable.
Italian seasoning provides a ton of taste to creamy spinach gnocchi.
Smoked paprika is one other spice that provides each coloration and plenty of taste to this dish.
Garlic. I used recent minced garlic. It provides aroma and pungency to any dish.
Salt and pepper. Use these to style. I like to recommend utilizing freshly floor or coarse black pepper.
Purple pepper flakes will add warmth. Use these sparingly, to style, in order that they do not overwhelm the dish.

Tips on how to make spinach gnocchi

This straightforward recipe is completed in 4 easy steps.

1) Prepare dinner spinach. Begin by cooking spinach seasoned with salt and pepper in olive oil in a big high-sided skillet till wilted. Take away spinach to the plate.

2) Make the creamy sauce and cook dinner the gnocchi. Subsequent, to the identical, now empty, skillet, add raw potato gnocchi, rooster broth, heavy cream, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and smoked paprika. Deliver to a boil on medium warmth and cook dinner for about 5 minutes on medium warmth, whereas the sauce boils.

4) Meeting. Lastly, assemble the dish by including cooked spinach again to the skillet with cooked gnocchi and creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper, in addition to pink pepper flakes and extra smoked paprika.

Creamy Spinach Gnocchi in a stainless steel pan.

Cooking Suggestions

Use shelf-stable packaged gnocchi for finest outcomes. Your subsequent best option is refrigerated gnocchi or cauliflower gnocchi. Selfmade gnocchi will be fragile and crumble within the sauce or flip into mush, so watch out if utilizing do-it-yourself stuff.
The sauce will thicken as this dish cools. On this case, add a splash of additional heavy cream, half-and-half, milk, or rooster broth to skinny it out earlier than serving.
Use a high-sided, heavy-bottomed skillet reminiscent of a cast-iron skillet or a good-quality stainless-steel pan. This may assist keep away from the burn spots and can guarantee even cooking with out meals getting caught to the underside of the pan.
Make this recipe gluten-free through the use of gnocchi clearly labeled as “gluten-free”.

Variations, substitutions, and add-ins

Pasta. If you cannot discover gnocchi, you need to use short-cut pasta as a substitute. I like to recommend utilizing orzo, bow-tie (farfalle), fusilli, orecchiette, rotini, or rigatoni. If utilizing this type of pasta, you might need to cook dinner it as you’ll usually cook dinner pasta – in a big pot of boiling water – and solely then add it to this recipe.
Use different greens. Swiss chard, arugula, or kale will work nice on this recipe moreover spinach.
Add some other veggies you want: mushrooms, roasted bell peppers, broccoli, inexperienced beans, tomatoes, roasted butternut squash, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, and many others.
Cream. You should utilize both heavy cream for a wealthy creamy sauce or half-and-half for a lighter model.
Dairy-free possibility. Strive utilizing unsweetened coconut milk. Or use almond milk, cashew milk, or oat milk and thicken it up with a roux of olive oil and flour (similar to you’ll make a bechamel sauce).
Add sausage or rooster. I like to recommend spicy Italian sausage, rooster sausage, or skinless boneless rooster thighs. You may as well use plant-based sausage reminiscent of Past sausage model.
Toppings. When serving, you’ll be able to add grated Parmesan cheese (or Asiago, Romano, or Gruyere), recent herbs, chopped inexperienced onions, or chopped chives.

Storage and reheating suggestions

Fridge. Retailer the leftover creamy spinach gnocchi in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
I don’t advocate freezing this dish. Creamy sauces are often not freezer-friendly they usually lose their texture when frozen and thawed.
Reheat on the stovetop. I like to recommend reheating the leftovers on the stovetop for the very best outcomes. After being refrigerated, the creamy spinach gnocchi sauce will thicken. Reheat it slowly, over low-medium warmth in a big, high-sided skillet on the stovetop. When utilizing this technique, add a small quantity of heavy cream, half-and-half, milk, or broth to skinny out the sauce when reheating.
Reheat within the microwave oven. Reheat the refrigerated leftovers in a deep pasta bowl in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds. Style and reheat for 30 additional seconds or extra, if wanted. You might need so as to add a small quantity of milk or cream if the sauce is just too thick, steadily add it, and stir it in.

What to serve with it

As a result of spinach gnocchi has a wealthy, luscious sauce, I like to recommend serving it with a lightweight and recent salad. Listed here are a few of my favorites:

Apple Spinach Salad with do-it-yourself Maple-Lime Mustard Dressing
Cranberry Spinach Salad with Cashews and Goat Cheese
Arugula Salad with Lemon Zest, Parmesan, Pine Nuts, and Balsamic Dressing
Arugula Salad with Apples, Cranberries, and Pecans
Strawberry Spinach Salad with Blueberries, Feta, and Pecans
Spinach Salad with Mango, Avocado, Blueberries, Strawberries, Cashew Nuts, and Balsamic French dressing

Different gnocchi recipes you may like