This easy parmesan spinach gnocchi recipe is ready in under 30 minutes with just one pot. Perfect for busy weeknights! Vegetarian.
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
- 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 ¼ 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
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 312
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 448.4 mg
- Fat: 8.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 51.4 g
- Protein: 8.4 g
- Cholesterol: 22.9 mg
Cindy
Fixed this recipe today! Doubled the recipe and added rotisserie chicken. Yummy! Would suggest as a winter dish.
Cindy
Oh yeah.....first time I have bought gnocchi and didn't know what to do with it. I found this recipe. I plan to try the other ideas in the different comments The broccoli and bacon sounds good.
Jessica
I had an extra bag of gnocchi pasta I didn't know what to do with and then i found this. Delicious! I added broccoli instead of spinach but the sauce was great, it reminded me of an Alfredo sauce! Thank you for sharing!
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Jessica, it's super yummy! One of our favs among readers.
Amanda
Just finished eating this. Really liked it! I added shrimp, so I used extra garlic, extra milk, and extra parmesan. It ended up super thick and sticky, but oh so tasty! Thanks for sharing it!
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Amanda - we love to hear about the changes you make! Thank you for posting, shrimp is a GREAT add-in!
Sharon
Where do I buy the potato gnocchi in the store or what kind is it?
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hello Sharon, potato gnocchi should be available in the pasta section at your local grocery store. You may want to ask the clerk, in case they put it somewhere different in the store.
Tania
It didn't taste as good as I thought it would , I added only one cup of spinach and it was still too overwhelming. I wish I would've used broccoli as a substitute. Your recipe instructions however were super easy to follow so thank you for that!
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Tania, thank you - please let us know how it goes with the broccoli.
Heather
I wanted to make a creamy gnocchi with veggies and cake across your recipe. My kiddo doesn’t like cooked spinach, so I used broccoli instead and added bacon, but followed your sauce recipe. It was excellent!
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Heather! Wohoo...so glad the add-ins worked out!
Shelly
Amazing recipe! Definitely will try with some of the add-ins listed in the other reviews. Next time may will make homemade gnocchi also.
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Shelly, thank you!
Jen
I’ve just made a gluten/lactose free version.. add mushrooms roast pumpkin and shredded chicken .. that’s on the list to make again 😊
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Jen, love the changes and so glad it made the list!
Christine Agbunag
Great recipe! Just made it! Thank you!
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Christine,
Thank you, and I'm happy to see you liked it!
Marc Cyr
Added shrooms and shrimps, super thanks wife loved the sauce.
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hey Marc,
Love the extras in it, glad it was a hit!
Jamie
This was awesome! It was easy and I had almost everything on hand. Such a great change from the marinara sauce that I usually use. Even my 10 month old loves it. Thanks!
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hi Jaime!
I'm so glad to hear it was a HIT!
Elisabeth
Do you have a recipe for the gnocchi? I would like to make it myself.
Kris
My husband and I Loved this recipe! I do not like spinach so I made it with kale and added some ham to it! So delicious 😋 I made something different for my kids because I didn’t think they’d eat it. But they did! My 6 and 5 year old each had a bowl after eating what I made them! And my 2 year old ate bites of ours! Will definitely make again and try different variations of add ins.
Jackie @ Life As A Strawberry
Hey Kris, I'm SO happy to hear that the adjustments turned out well and that your family LOVED it!
Cora Van Hall
I'm sitting here crying in a near-food coma because this was so good. if a 16 year old can make this so can you was NOT disappointed
Jessie
So happy you liked the Gnocchi, Cora!
Sharon
I bought a package of gnocchi with pumpkin. What would be a good sauce for it?
Jessie
Pumpkin gnocchi is so tasty! I love serving it with some sage and browned butter.
Jacinda
Ugh... I was so excited to try this out! Idk if I did way too much parmesan cheese or what, but it was not good at all. 🙁
Jessie
So sorry to hear that, Jacinda! I'm happy to help you troubleshoot if you'd like to share more details about what didn't work for you.