Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi
Try this recipe for a Tuscan-inspired gnocchi in cream sauce when you need an easy but full-flavored meal. It’s got pillowy gnocchi, tender spinach, tangy sun-dried tomatoes, butter, and garlic. And you’ll love that it’s all made in one pan in about 15 minutes.
This recipe is the ultimate comfort food. It’s got amazing flavors and texture, and lends itself to being eaten out of a cozy little bowl.
What makes this Tuscan gnocchi, you might ask? I know you love similar flavors dressing up this creamy Tuscan chicken, tortellini, white beans, and a great chickpea stew, but I’ll be the first to say this is not a traditional recipe passed down from grandmothers of the Italian countryside. It is a flavor combination marked by tomatoes, spinach, and Italian herbs, popularized by none other than the Olive Garden.
That’s OK. It doesn’t have to be from the old country to be delicious.
Ingredients & Common Substitutions
Here are a few notes and shopping tips about the ingredients you’ll need to make this, as well as possible substitutions.
- Shelf-stable gnocchi: You want the kind found in the dry pasta aisle for this recipe. This is what works best with the one-pan method we use here.
- Cream: Half and half is an acceptable substitute, but your sauce will be slightly more watery.
- Chicken or vegetable broth: Use a certified vegetarian vegetable broth or stock to keep this recipe meatless. You can also add a splash of white wine in addition to or in place of the broth.
- Sun-dried tomatoes: For this recipe you want the kind that are packed in oil and julienned, which means pre-cut into long, thin strips. If you can only find whole oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, buy those and just chop them yourself, it will only take an extra minute.
- Baby spinach: Just a few handfuls. You can leave it out if spinach isn’t your thing, or substitute with another green of your choice.
- Parmesan: Fresh-grated if possible, because we’ll want it to melt right into the sauce.
- Garlic, butter, salt, and pepper.
- Fresh basil: An optional but really nice garnish.
- NOT PICTURED: Lemon juice. This is technically optional but really brightens and brings the whole dish to life.
Is gnocchi pasta or potato?
Although we commonly think of gnocchi as a type of pasta, they are actually tiny dumplings most often made from riced potatoes. Potato gnocchi, or gnocchi di patate, are a favorite of Italian and Italian-inspired cuisine, because when prepared well, they are tender, pillowy, and miraculously light yet filling at the same time.
Of course there are other types of gnocchi, as well, such as those made with a base of ricotta cheese or butternut squash. And there are Roman gnocchi, which are made from semolina flour and have an entirely different shape.
What kind of sauce goes well with gnocchi?
The shape of gnocchi — each is a small nugget lined with ridges — is well-suited to a creamy sauce, one that won’t simply slide off the gnocchi. You can use a simple cream-based sauce like the one in this recipe, and then, if you want to branch out, try gnocchi with a creamy pesto or vodka sauce. They are extremely versatile, however, and also delicious in a simple preparation like this brown butter sage sauce.
How To Make Gnocchi in Cream Sauce
The true beauty of this recipe is that the gnocchi cook directly in the sauce, which serves several purposes:
- Reduces the number of dishes to wash.
- Subtly enhances the gnocchi’s flavor.
- Naturally thickens the sauce as the gnocchi releases starch as it cooks.
To make it, you’ll simply melt butter in a large skillet, pot, or saucepan. Be sure to use one with a lid! Then sauté garlic in the butter just for a moment before adding the cream and broth to make the base of your sauce.
Pro Tip: You can use the olive oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes in place of or in addition to the butter. Tasty and economical! Use 1-2 teaspoons, just enough to coat the pan.
Bring the liquids to a simmer, then stir in the uncooked gnocchi together with the sun-dried tomatoes. Do not boil the gnocchi separately! It will cook in the sauce.
Cover and cook for 4 minutes. Test and simmer for another 1-2 minutes, uncovered, only if necessary. As soon as the gnocchi are tender, stir in the spinach, Parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon juice. The lemon juice may seem inconsequential, but it brightens and brings to life all the other flavors!
Salt and pepper to taste, a little fresh basil for color and that little zap of flavor, and dinner is done!
Serving Suggestions
This gnocchi dish is very satisfying, which is an invitation to you to keep the sides simple. An easy salad or steamed veggies will pair with it perfectly. And of course, if serving a crowd, this is easy to stretch by serving with breadsticks or garlic bread, or by stirring in some shredded chicken.
Storage & Reheating
Tuscan gnocchi keeps and reheats very well. Leftovers are virtually guaranteed to disappear!
- Store individual portions or a larger amount tightly-covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, then reheat at full power in the microwave until warmed through, or on the stovetop over medium heat.
- The sauce will thicken as it cools! If you are reheating this dish and it looks a little too thick for your tastes, stir in 1-2 teaspoons of broth and rewarm until it returns to your desired consistency.
More Easy Gnocchi Recipes
Love gnocchi? Try this our recipes for creamy pesto gnocchi, gnocchi with charred cherry tomatoes, and gnocchi alla vodka next. Prefer a soup? This crockpot chicken gnocchi soup always hits the spot.
If you try this Tuscan Gnocchi, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.
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Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup chicken or veggie broth
- 1 pound potato gnocchi uncooked
- 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes julienne style
- 1/2 cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1-2 cups fresh baby spinach
- fresh basil optional garnish
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. (Use a skillet with a lid.) Add garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds, just until fragrant, then stir in the cream and broth.
- Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, then stir in the gnocchi and sun-dried tomatoes. Cover the skillet and cook for 4 minutes, untouched.
- Uncover the pan, stir well, and test a gnocchi. Continue to cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until the gnocchi is tender and the sauce slightly thickened.
- When the gnocchi is tender, stir in the spinach, Parmesan, and lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice to taste. (I usually start with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 8-10 cranks of black pepper, but this will vary to your preference.) Once the spinach has wilted, remove pan from the heat.
- Garnish with fresh basil and more Parmesan, as desired. Serve and enjoy!
This sounds delicious, but I have to ask, can you really mince 3 cloves of garlic, julienne tomatoes, grate 1/2 c parmesan and measure out the other ingredients, all in just 3 minutes? It would take me double that just to get the ingredients out. I really appreciate it when recipe writers give realistic prep times.
Hi Elizabeth- that is a fair point. I think the disconnect is that the way I would normally approach this recipe is to mince the garlic, then begin to cook. I would then have time to grate the Parmesan and measure out other items while the first cooking steps are already underway. I usually purchase sun-dried tomatoes already julienned in oil; if you can only purchase them whole, yes, that would add an extra minute of slicing up front. This said I can see how it may seem misleading if your approach is more of a classical chef with a full mise en place, and am sorry for the confusion. I can promise it’s not an intentional effort to mislead or give unrealistic information.
As far as getting the ingredients out, maybe I am speed demon or just guilty of juggling too many items at once, but yes, I can usually pull everything needed to make this type of recipe in one go from the fridge and another from the pantry, so about 60 seconds total for that. 🙂
It was really really delicious 😋🤗
So happy to hear it!
Just made this and it is so good!! I love gnocchi but always get it while I’m out to dinner. So glad I found a recipe that I can make at home. I had left over chicken from earlier so I added some of that to it and so good!
Easy dish with lots of flavor!! I double the sauce since we like ours saucey! And add sausage, but the base recipe is perfection!!!
Absolutely ah-MAY-zing!
Thank you so so much!
This was fantastic! Will definitely be an easy dinner to add to my rotation.
Oh my heavens…… this was delicious! So quick and easy!
This dish was really good! I made a few changes. First I doubled the sauce, then I added, fresh mushrooms, half of a small onion, roasted red peppers and shrimp! It was really good.
So amazing I’d give it more than five stars if I could! It’s quick, easy and super flavorful. I’m a college student so I’m always looking for affordable and delicious meals and this one definitely hit the mark. This is something I know I’ll make again and again.
I have been craving a creamy garlicky sauce and finally satisfied that craving with this recipe. For my stomach, this is a very heavy and rich meal. So I don’t indulge often in such foods. If I was gonna do it, this was the recipe to do it with. It was easy, smelled amazing and delicious. Soooooo good!!
Absolutely delicious! I used a whole bunch of asparagus instead of the spinach, which I chopped and pre-cooked before the garlic. Lots of Parmesan too, of course. Love, love, love it.
Yum, that sounds like a delicious swap! So happy you enjoyed this meal!
I made this tonight , looking for “comfort food”OMG, this was delicious!!
This is company and holiday worthy food! I think I will make this as a side for Christmas Eve, the fresh squeezed lemon juice really does add a great touch and I used half Chardonnay and half veggie broth for the liquid
Very very good! I added some onion and used almond milk instead of heavy cream and it thickened up just fine. I think any milk would work because the gnocchi thickens up liquids.
I made this tonight…I added mushrooms that I cooked b4 garlic.
At the end I folded in bacon bits because I had some…delish!!!
This recipe is simple and good! Added ground sausage to it and it still only took 20min to come together. Like another comment, I too got a really soupy sauce and I think next time I might pan sear the gnocchi first italian style to keep it from getting too soft. Otherwise a great recipe!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
This looks so good! What a great recipe to make for friends in the summer!
Question: when buying the gnocchi, was it the refrigerated kind or the dried kind?
I always start with the dried, shelf-stable kind.
I omitted the sun-dried tomatoes and added fried pancetta as a topper, delish! Reminded me of gnocchi I had in Florence last year. But, if you add something salty like pancetta, omit any salt! Great recipe!
Great tip on the pancetta! Thank you so much, and I’m so glad you enjoy this!
I just whipped this up after my sons skating practice. Quick and easy and delicious
Super tasty! I loved the tanginess of the sun dried tomatoes and lemon juice. I used half and half instead of cream and my sauce wasn’t thin at all!
So, so happy to hear that, Sasha! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave this helpful review!
It really did remind me of an Olive Garden dish I used to order! Very quick, easy, and comforting on a cold day. Mine seemed to have more creamy sauce than pictured on the blog. Might be that my mini gnocchi became tender faster than regular gnocchi would have, and the sauce would have reduced more if cooked longer. Agree it would be good with chicken! If not adding chicken next time, I might reduce the amount of cream and broth just slightly.
So happy to hear this was a winner, and thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review! That could well be the case about the mini gnocchi. 🙂