This easy parmesan spinach gnocchi recipe is ready in under 30 minutes with just one pot. Perfect for busy weeknights! Vegetarian.
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There’s no question that soft, pillowy gnocchi is one of the greatest inventions of all time.
And while gnocchi sure does shine with a bit of simple browned butter or a light tomato sauce, sometimes you just have to COVER THAT ISH IN CHEESE, y’know?
Enter this quick and easy gnocchi sauce! All you need:
- Butter
- Garlic
- Flour
- Milk
- Spinach
- Parmesan Cheese (note: strict vegetarians should look for parmesan cheese made without rennet)
Additions and Substitutions
This easy spinach gnocchi recipe is very forgiving – use whatever you have on hand! Some of our favorite ways to riff on this recipe:
- We used store-bought gnocchi here, but it’s excellent with homemade gnocchi! We frequently make quick and easy homemade gnocchi with leftover mashed potatoes, or you can try your hand at an authentic Italian recipe like this one.
- No gnocchi? Make the sauce as instructed and serve over spaghetti (or any pasta you have on hand!), grilled chicken, zucchini noodles, or your favorite grains (rice, quinoa, and farro are all great here!)
- Stretch this recipe and amp up the sauce by adding sautéed onion, fresh pesto, sautéed mushrooms, roasted veggies (broccoli, parsnips, brussels sprouts, and squash are some of our favorite mix-ins!) or fresh tomatoes.
- Use fresh or frozen spinach here, or swap the spinach for kale or arugula.
- Lighten your sauce up by swapping the flour and milk for our favorite Magic Cauliflower Cream Sauce! This quick, packed-with-veggies sauce is amazing in this recipe.
- If you’re not vegetarian, top this gnocchi with some shredded chicken, chorizo, bacon, grilled salmon, or garlicky shrimp to add some extra protein.
- For extra texture, pan-fry your cooked gnocchi in some butter to crisp them up, then spoon the sauce over top.
How to serve this gnocchi
This creamy gnocchi sauce is similar to an alfredo and is fairly rich, so we love serving it with lighter sides to balance it out! (Pro tip: To lighten up the sauce itself, swap the milk and flour for our Magic Cauliflower Cream!)
Some of our favorite sides:
If you eat meat, serve this gnocchi with grilled chicken, grilled salmon, garlic baked shrimp, or some sausage.
VIDEO: How to make parmesan spinach gnocchi
Parmesan Spinach Gnocchi
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Easy parmesan spinach gnocchi with a quick, creamy sauce!
Ingredients
- 16 ounces potato gnocchi
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1–2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 3 heaping cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (strict vegetarians: look for parmesan cheese made without rennet)
Instructions
- Cook the gnocchi according to package directions. Drain, set aside, and return the empty pot to the stove.
- Melt butter over medium heat.
- Add garlic to butter and sauté for about a minute until garlic is fragrant.
- Add flour to butter and whisk to form a roux. Cook for 30 seconds or so to cook out any raw flour taste.
- Slowly add milk to roux, whisking constantly to break up any lumps. Cook for 3-4 minutes until sauce has just begun to thicken.
- Stir chopped spinach into sauce and cook 3-4 minutes more until spinach has wilted and sauce has thickened.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Remove pot from heat.
- Add parmesan cheese to sauce and stir to combine.
- Return cooked gnocchi to sauce and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
What kind of gnocchi should I use? We used store-bought gnocchi here, but homemade is great! We love this leftover mashed potatoes gnocchi, or try this recipe for a more authentic Italian version.
No gnocchi? Serve this sauce over spaghetti or any dried pasta, rice, farro, or grilled chicken.
Additions and Substitutions. This is a forgiving recipe: use what you have! Add diced onion or sliced mushrooms when you add the garlic in step 3, or stir in extra veggies after the sauce is finished. We love adding roasted veggies (parsnips, broccoli, butternut squash, etc.) and fresh tomatoes. Frozen spinach is fine here if you don’t have fresh. You can also use arugula or kale! Use goat cheese, white cheddar, asiago, fontina, or havarti in place of the parmesan. Almond milk and coconut milk work fine here, but we do not recommend using heavy cream or half and half unless you like a very rich sauce.
For a healthy twist, swap our favorite Magic Cauliflower Cream for the flour and milk in this recipe!
Depending on the size of your gnocchi (and your personal preferences!) you may have a little more or less sauce than you need. To thin out a too-thick sauce or to stretch your sauce a little further, stir in a bit of extra milk until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
Please don’t skip the salt! With so few ingredients, seasoning is VERY important in this recipe. Taste the sauce and season as you go for best results. If a sauce ever tastes flat or bland, add more salt a pinch at a time, then stir and taste until it pops. If you don’t want to use salt, you can stir in some lemon juice, goat cheese, nutmeg, fresh herbs, or fish sauce for extra flavor.
Strict vegetarians should look for parmesan cheese made without rennet.
Nutrition
- Calories: 396
Keywords: alfredo, pasta, sauce
Loved how simple and delicious this recipe is! Only things I would change would be to cut down on the parmesan cheese at the end, perhaps half a cup instead.
Definitely be making this again
★★★★
Hi! I want to make this tomorrow but has anyone tried reheating it ? Does it turn out good- I need to know because I’m making a lot. Thank you!
I love gnocchi and I really love this recipe! It’s quick, tasty and perfect when paired with steak or salmon! Whatever protein you prefer. Tonight we’re going with fresh salmon!
★★★★★
Delicious!! It turned out like something i would have in a nice Italian restaurant!! Easy to prepare and so delicious!!
★★★★★
It was too rich for me. Would have preferred less cheese and more spinach
★★★
The amount of parm. Cheese is extremely overpowering. Must use half the amount and also must use extra milk to make sauce thinner.
Fantastic recipe. So tasty and very easy to make ! Thanks !!
★★★★★
This was AMAZING and very easy to make
★★★★★
I have to plan meals for my own family and my elderly parents. Can you freeze this dish? I have never made a dish with gnocchi before. Thanks!
Can you use almond milk or heavy whipping cream in lieu of the milk.
It says not to use cream unless you like a very rich sauce, but almond milk should be fine
I used soy milk – turned out perfectly.
Eating this now, delicious! Added a grating of nutmeg and a squeeze of lemon, really nice and very simple. Winner.
★★★★
It is a winner 😉
I made this recipe using Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi and my husband and his cousin loved it! As did I!
★★★★★
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I added about a cup of milk after adding the spinach to create more sauce because my gnocchi pack was 20oz instead of the suggested 16. I also added pesto to the sauce. I will absolutely make this again, it was so easy.
★★★★★
Yes Melisa Awesome!
Delicious, easy recipe! I used cauliflower gnocchi from Trader Joe’s instead of potato gnocchi.
★★★★★
This is a fast and delicious meal. My picky husband liked it 🙂 Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
hey, i just made this and it’s so good omg i’m obsessed, but i’m wondering can i reheat it?
Hi Jessie,
I made this last night and my wife and son loved it. My wife couldn’t resist having seconds. I increased the garlic and doubled the spinach. I also had some leftover baked chicken breast that I chopped up and warmed up for my son and I to stir in, and that was great also. I will definitely be making this again. It was exactly as advertised, easy, delicious, and quick. I do have one question though, since I am a novice to all of this. Why do you use unsalted butter instead of salted butter for the first step with sauteeing the garlic? I assume that there is more to it than just the salt.
Thank you so much!
Andy
★★★★★
Wow Andy, so happy everyone liked it! Thank you.