Easy One Pot Gnocchi in a Spinach Mushroom Cream Sauce Recipe is a rich, creamy one pot creamy parmesan spinach gnocchi dinner packed with mushrooms, wilted spinach, and a decadent mushroom cream sauce. Everything in one pan for a delicious gnocchi with spinach mushroom cream sauce you'll want to make again and again!
I love rich, delicious, and creamy pasta dinners. There is nothing like tucking into a dish of creamy pasta packed with parmesan garlic flavor - it's the ultimate one pot comfort food!
This Creamy Spinach Mushroom Gnocchi recipe is super simple, crazy delicious, and easy enough for a busy weeknight - or decadent enough for a fancy dinner party.
And can you get anything better than an ultimate comfort food that cooks in less than 20 minutes in just one pan? This creamy spinach and mushroom gnocchi dinner delivers it all, without having to slave away in the kitchen or cleaning up a ton of pots and pans afterwards - it's soon to become your favorite new one pot gnocchi go-to recipe!
Just take me to the gnocchi recipe already!
If you'd rather skip my (very helpful, i think) tips and tricks, essential cooking info (including how to make sure your cream sauce doesn't break, how to bring out more flavor from your mushrooms, and how to keep your pasta from turning to mush when reheating), and similar recipe ideas - and get straight to this deliciously easy and creamy spinach mushroom gnocchi recipe - simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.
To make this Creamy Spinach Parmesan Gnocchi Recipe You'll Need:
This creamy spinach parmesan gnocchi recipe is super easy - but there are a couple tried and true tools that will make it the easiest dish, ever! This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
- Large nonstick pan.
- I prefer ceramic coated pans - they are naturally nonstick and wont leach BPAs or chemicals into your food.
- Microplane for grating parmesan.
- Grated parmesan is fine in this recipe, but I prefer to grate my own parmesano reggiano fresh over my gnocchi - it is salty, nutty, and so delicious!
- Wooden spoon or non-metal spatula.
- Pre-made gnocchi.
- I prefer to buy super soft fresh gnocchi from my grocer's deli refrigerator - it is faster and easier to cook than the dried variety in the pasta aisle. If you're cooking gnocchi in one pot, the refrigerated fresh kind is best.
Tips to Perfect Creamy Spinach Parmesan Gnocchi Recipe:
This super easy gnocchi recipe is a restaurant quality dinner cooks of any skill level can make in a jiffy - but there are a couple of tips and tricks that will help take this easy gnocchi dinner over the top!
- Cook the gnocchi in the same pot.
- This gnocchi gets some of the creaminess from the starches that release when cooking gnocchi in the pot - don't pre-boil, let the gnocchi cook in the pot with the rest of the dinner!
- Let sauce emulsify.
- Don't toss the cooking water out when the gnocchi is done - there shouldn't be any left to toss! Letting the gnocchi soak up the water and release starch into the pot helps make this dish creamy and irresistible!
- Fresh is best.
- Since this dish has so few ingredients, fresh herbs and garlic are best.
- Don't overcook gnocchi.
- Gnocchi is naturally a bit more dense and chewy than thin pastas - but when overcooked, it falls apart and turns to a thick, pasty mush. Cook your gnocchi - but don't overcook it.
Tips to Perfect Gnocchi With Mushroom Cream Sauce:
Cream sauce is the backbone of this recipe - it makes it rich, indulgent, meaty (without any meat!), and to-die-for delicious.
Cream sauce can be a bit tricky if you've never made one before - it can break (when the cream and oil in a dish separate so it looks spotty and oily...), get lumpy (if you scald the cream), or refuse to thicken properly. If you're intimidated at making a cream sauce, never fear!
The tips below will help you make the most amazingly perfect gnocchi with mushroom cream sauce - they are my tried and true tips to making luxuriously thick cream sauce for pasta - even in a one pot pasta dinner!
- Make a Well In the Middle Of The Pan.
- When you're making a one pot pasta - meaning you are cooking the pasta, vegetables (or meat), and sauce all in the same pan without adding or removing anything, it is essential to make a little well in the middle of the ingredients so you have some space to add your cream and whisk it.
- You can go ahead and whisk with all of the ingredients in the middle of the pan, but I find I whisk more completely when I give myself room.
- Since I'm too lazy to remove my ingredients from the pan and then make the sauce, I push the other ingredients to the sides of my pan so I have a bit area in the middle to work in.
- Add Stock or Other Liquids Before Adding Cream to Pan.
- Adding stock or other liquid to your dish before turning off the heat and adding cream will help the other liquid in the dish to come to temperature, help you scrape off any browned bits and deglaze the pan (adding TONS of rich flavor to your sauce - those browned bits are gold!), and will help make whisking your cream into a sauce that won't break so much easier.
- Turn off the Heat When Adding Cream Sauce.
- To prevent your cream sauce from breaking, turn the heat off the pan when you add the cream to the pan.
- With heat still off, whisk cream vigorously into the stock, wine, or other liquid in the pan.
- Whisk until the cream is completely integrated and there are no spots of oil or stock that haven't been mixed with cream.
- Slowly turn heat back on pan, continuing to whisk cream as you do.
- Add parmesan as you're whisking and have returned heat to pan, so it can melt as you whisk and help thicken the cream sauce.
- Whisk Cream into Cream Sauce Thoroughly.
- The most essential step in making cream sauce that doesn't break is whisking thoroughly. This is NOT a step to skip!
- Thin Cream sauce with a bit of Stock.
- If your cream sauce becomes too thick or starts to seize up, whisk in some stock or wine. If it doesn't mix well and loosen your sauce, turn the heat off and whisk in more cream, repeating the steps above for adding cream to sauce pan.
- Thicken Cream Sauce with Parmesan.
- As outlined above, stirring parmesan cheese into the cream sauce as you're returning heat to the pan and whisking cream sauce helps thicken your sauce, prevent it from breaking, and it gives tons of delicious salty cheese flavor.
- Thicken Cream Sauce with Cream Cheese.
- If all else fails, add in 4-8 tablespoons of cream cheese (depending on your preference - 8oz is a TON of cream cheese flavor that is super rich and indulgent - for this creamy mushroom gnocchi I prefer a bit less so it doesn't overpower the browned mushrooms) which will give you the most delicious, creamy, and indulgent cream sauce that WONT break.
- Simply stir in cream cheese when adding stock (before the addition of cream) for a cream cheese alfredo style gnocchi cream sauce.
- How to fix a broken cream sauce - push gnocchi and vegetables to the sides of the pan to make a well in the middle, and add cream cheese to the middle, stirring until it is melted into the sauce - then whisk vigorously to incorporate into sauce and eliminate the oily spots where it broke, incorporating everything into a totally rich sauce you'll want to drink from the pan!
Other Easy Pasta Dinners You'll Love:
If you love this easy garlic butter gnocchi, you'll love some of my other favorite easy pasta dinners! These are tried and true family favorites that will knock your socks off!
Click the links below to get each easy printable pasta recipe:
Creamy Spinach Parmesan Gnocchi Recipe
One Pot Creamy Tuscan Mushroom Linguine Recipe
20 Minute Garlic Butter Chicken and Mushroom Pasta
Creamy Chicken Bruschetta Tortellini One Pot Pasta
Spicy Tequila Lime Chicken Fettuccine
15 Minute Drunken Mussels Pasta
One Pot Creamy Ravioli and Sausage Skillet
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Recipe
One Pot Garden Alfredo Pasta Skillet
And be sure to check out one of my all time pasta favorites - a tuscan shrimp linguine that will knock your socks off!
Easy One Pot Gnocchi in a Spinach Mushroom Cream Sauce Recipe
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Mushroom Gnocchi in a Spinach Mushroom Cream Sauce
Easy One Pot Gnocchi in a Spinach Mushroom Cream Sauce Recipe is a rich, creamy one pot gnocchi pasta dinner packed with browned mushrooms and a decadently thick mushroom cream sauce. Everything cooks in one pan for a delicious gnocchi with spinach mushroom cream sauce recipe you'll want to make again and again!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup garlic, diced
- 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 lb gnocchi
- 2 cups baby spinach, fresh
- ¼ cup basil, cut into thin strips
- 1 teaspoon salt, celtic sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper, freshly cracked
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ cup parmesan, grated
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- In a large nonstick pan, melt butter until foamy.
- Add garlic and mushrooms, cook until garlic is fragrant and soft and mushrooms have started to brown, about 3 minutes.
- Pour in water and gnocchi.
- Let gnocchi soak up water and reduce, about 4 minutes on high.
- Reduce heat to medium and add spinach, basil, salt and pepper and stir well.
- Let spinach cook down, another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning or sticking.
- Turn heat off and add in cream, stirring vigorously as you add.
- Return to medium heat and stir in parmesan cheese.
- When parmesan is melted and cream sauce is thick, remove from heat and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 443Saturated Fat 12gCholesterol 53mgSodium 1290mgCarbohydrates 54gFiber 6gSugar 3gProtein 14g
Alex
Just made this, it turned out so good! My boyfriend likes it as well! Some differences to the original was, I couldn't find any fresh basil at my local store, so I swapped out for dried basil. Still delicious, but I wish I had used fresh basil. I also ended up using maybe 1-2 cups of parmesan (though mine was the kind that comes in a bag). Overall, sooo good, definitely going in my rotation!
Jackie
I wrote several weeks ago but did not receive an answer as to how much water is required. It's not listed in the ingredient list. Thank you kindly!