Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi Recipe (2024)

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BY Karina PUBLISHED April 26, 2020 UPDATED April 30, 2020 | 32 Comments

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Soft, tender pillows of gnocchi enveloped in a full-flavoured cream sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, spinach, parmesan and fresh basil. All cooked in one pan!

THE ultimate comfort food! Even if you don’t particularly like creamy sauces, you will fall in love with thisone pan gnocchi recipe.Quick and easy to make, ready on the table in less than 15 minutes, you will even impress yourself!

GNOCCHI RECIPE

You’ve loved our Tuscan flavours on shrimp, salmonandchicken. NOW it’s time to let gnocchi SHINE. Leave people wondering if there is a hidden chef in your kitchen with this for dinner. An easy to make and filling meal!

But Tuscan? I know, this is NOT a traditional recipe form Tuscany… BUT itis a popular recipe from Olive Garden.

HOW TO COOK ONE PAN GNOCCHI

You’re going to:

FRY your gnocchi in garlic butter first. Use uncooked dry gnocchifound with the dry package pastas in your supermarket. Fresh or homemade gnocchi will not work and may turn to mush in the sauce.

ADD the sun dried tomatoes and let them release flavours.
POUR in chicken broth, cream and herbs. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan — browned bits equal flavour!
MIX everything together, reduce heat to medium and cover pan with lid

COOK for 5 minutes. The starch released from the gnocchi thickens the sauce while cooking.
WILTthe spinach leaves in the sauce.Stir through parmesan.

SIMMERuntil gnocchi is soft and the sauce has thickened.

Serve immediately.

*The sauce thickenes as it cools. If not serving immediately, add extra cream or chicken broth just before serving to thin it out a little*

WINE SELECTION

I choose a white wine to go with this. A light Chardonnay or Pinot Gris pairs really well. For a sweeter wine, choose a Riesling or a Sparkling Moscato.

SOME TIPS:

Remember to use dry gnocchi and add it uncooked!
Heavy cream, thickened cream or half and half work well in this recipe. is an American product, made from equal parts light cream and milk. Feel free to use half light cream and half 2% milk (or full fat if not worried about calories and fat counts), in place of half and half. Alternatively, use all light cream if you wish.
I use sun dried tomato strips in oil. When draining them, reserve about 2 teaspoons of the jarred oil for added flavour when cooking.

MORE GNOCCHI RECIPES

Slow Cooker Gnocchi Sausage Kale Soup

Soft, tender pillows of gnocchi enveloped in a full-flavoured cream sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic and fresh basil. Creamy Tuscan Gnocchi is the ultimate comfort food all cooked in one pan!

PRINT SAVE

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

Serves: 4 serves

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter, (or olive oil)
1 brown shallot, chopped (or 1 small onion)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound (500 g) uncooked potato gnocchi, (the dry packaged gnocchi -- not fresh)
1/2 cup jarred sun dried tomato strips in oil, (reserve 2 teaspoons of the jarred oil for cooking)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/4 cups heavy cream, (thickened cream or half andf half)
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
salt & pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil, (or parsley)

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt the butter and sauté shallots until transparent, about 2 minutes. Sauté garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the gnocchi and let sear in the butter for a minute. Add the sun dried tomatoes and reserved oil. Cook for a further minute to release flavours into the gnocchi.
Pour in the chicken broth, cream and Italian herbs. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix everything together and reduce heat to medium. Cover pan with lid and let cook for 5 minutes.
Stir in the spinach leaves and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.
Stir through parmesan cheese and chopped basil. Let simmer for a further minute or until gnocchi is soft, cooked through and the sauce has thickened to your liking.
Season with a little extra salt & pepper, if needed, to suit your taste.
Serve immediately.*

Notes

Add uncooked dry gnocchi as it cooks right in the sauce! The starch released from the gnocchi thickens the sauce perfectly while cooking.

*The sauce thickenes as it cools. If not serving immediately, add extra cream or chicken broth just before serving to thin it out a little.

Nutrition

Calories: 450kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 21g

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Shonda says
February 14, 2024 at 2:28 pm

This dish is amazing!!! I make it as is or with chicken or shrimp. It’s wonderful!
Reply
Allison says
January 07, 2024 at 2:19 pm

This is such a wonderful delicious recipe! I love that it’s one pot. So much faster and easier than cooking gnocchi separately. My friends always request this for dinner parties. I usually change up the recipe by using pancetta instead of sun dried tomatoes and spinach, although those main ingredients sound great! Omit the salt if you use pancetta!
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Matt Smith says
October 30, 2023 at 1:14 am
I make this recipe often, the problem I usually have is in the 5 min cook stage, or reheating leftovers in the microwave, the cream sauce can break, causing it to be very greasy. To avoid this, juice a lemon, neutralize the acid with baking soda until it stops fizzing, and mix this neutralized lemon juice to the cream before adding it to the sauce. This acts as an emulsifier (sodium citrate) that prevents the cream sauce from breaking.
Reply
Ash says
September 21, 2023 at 11:49 am

Extremely delicious. I followed the recipe exactly and let me tell you, I did NOT want to share. Will be a regular for dinner. Thank you! Try this, you won’t be disappointed
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Tricia says
August 10, 2023 at 8:20 am

Absolutely delicious. So quick and easy. I typically tweak all my recipes but I didn’t need to change anything. The whole family loved it.
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Scoot says
August 06, 2023 at 6:38 am

Loved it, I would modify it some our tastes. Would add a little more broth and a little less cream. Also I would use a little less sun dried tomatoes but this is nit picky. Over all a great dish and very rich.
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E says
June 24, 2023 at 3:11 am
I love making this dish. I usually add sliced sausage or shredded rotisserie chicken to make it more of a hearty one dish meal.
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Cajun Cook says
June 10, 2023 at 1:20 am

Very good recipe, thanks! My entire family enjoyed it, even the pickiest eater. I was short on time so added less cream and used a bit of bouillon for flavor instead of broth that would add more liquid and need to be reduced. We plan to make this again, quite rich so best to serve with a steamed vegetable or something else simple.
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Traci says
March 24, 2023 at 10:18 am

This was amazing next time I will add some prosciutto for added flavor. Thanks for another great recipe to add to my nightly rotation.
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MC says
March 04, 2023 at 11:02 am

Made some basic basic changes, added chicken strips I sautéed earlier. Complete meal!
Reply
Cher says
February 24, 2023 at 11:18 am
See Also
Creamy pork and potato lasagne recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine

This is soooo delish!!! We used a heaping tsp of basil pesto, since we didn’t have fresh basil (worked wonderfully). A hefty amount of fresh-ground black pepper gave it a nice pepperiness. Also, we cooked up some crisp bacon to add as a topping. On the side we had cucumber salad (made with chunks of cucumber, tomato, black olives, and home-mixed Italian dressing) — this was a refreshing accompaniment to have with the gnocchi. We’ll definitely make this again!
Reply
Jennifer says
October 25, 2022 at 3:59 am

My family loved this. I will do a better job next time of draining the sun dried tomatoes and only using the 2 tsp. Ours was a little oily, but still delicious. I also added extra parmesan because we are cheese junkies. Have everything ready to add so you don’t overcook your gnocchi.
Reply
Christie says
October 18, 2022 at 6:36 am

Loved this recipe. I actually made this twice in one week. It was that good!
Reply
Michelle J says
May 09, 2022 at 9:24 am

This was excellent! Creamy,decadent, cheesy and elegant enough to impress company! I added some rotisserie chicken because I needed to use some up and it was wonderful. It would be equally great with shrimp or scallops( not that the recipe isn’t perfect as it is) Once again, Karina’s recipes for a win!! Thanks, Karina! You’ve helped me make many great meals and feed many grateful people!
Reply
Meg says
April 17, 2022 at 11:43 am

We loved this! We’re a well traveled group and we ALL loved it. Thank you so much for sharing.
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Amy says
March 16, 2022 at 7:59 am

Jeeeeez, this was killer! And super simple. Even my two year old was dancing around while eating. No complaints or adjustments on my end!
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Katy says
February 02, 2022 at 3:24 pm

Amazing recipe!! I don’t like sun-dried tomatoes, so I left them out, but it still tasted great. This recipe was super easy to make, and I will definitely make it again!
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Kelly K Hale says
December 15, 2021 at 10:22 am

This is THE dish my husband asks for on the regular! Last night I tossed in some diced bacon and his comment was, “this is my number 1 favorite dish you make”! Pretty great feedback. Thanks for making me look so good.
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Elley says
March 23, 2021 at 3:07 pm

FANTASTIC recipe! So flavorful, comforting, and perfect. The flavor is truly perfect. I will definitely be making this again.
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Paula Baritot says
March 22, 2021 at 11:21 am

Absolutely Delicious !!!
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Teri says
March 07, 2021 at 12:16 pm

I made this tonight. Delish!!! The only thing I added some smoked sausage. Definitely going to make this again.
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Kay says
December 04, 2020 at 3:45 am

Easy and SUPER tasty. I used frozen spinach and threw in some chilli flakes (also substituted the chicken broth with vegetable, to make it actually vegetarian), and it is so filling and delicious. This is definitely going to enter my regular dinner rotation!
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Linda says
November 18, 2020 at 12:08 pm

I cut down the liquid a bit and made it with homemade gnocchi. So tasty and decadent! A great dinner for a cold, rainy night.
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Sue says
October 27, 2020 at 8:30 am

OMG this was SO good. Easy, inexpensive & I will make it again. I’d never had gnocchi before so didn’t know what to expect, especially from a package, but I needn’t have worried. I agree with Vic’s accompaniments of garlic bread & red wine. This is a meal you could serve to someone you want to impress! Thank you for another winner, Karina!
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Michelle says
August 24, 2020 at 11:55 am

This was excellent. Followed the directions and doubled everything with my big family. It came out great and everyone loved it.
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Katie says
May 30, 2020 at 3:43 am

Found this on Instagram. SO GOOD and so easy. I’m making it again this week
Reply
Andrea Cover says
May 27, 2020 at 8:47 pm

OMG what a sensational comfort dish. Love it!
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Theresa german says
May 16, 2020 at 8:37 am
This is an excellent dish. My family really enjoyed it tonight. I’m looking forward to making two other dishes that you have published. Thank you
Reply
Moe says
May 11, 2020 at 1:29 pm

So easy and so fabulous! Definitely a recipe to impress somebody.
Reply
Carl says
May 09, 2020 at 3:33 am

Easy to make and very delicious. Proof – serves 4 but 2 of us finished it off!
Reply
vic rauter says
May 04, 2020 at 10:21 am

Great..tasty…and quick
Served with garlic toast…red wine..and it was the perfect special dinner
And it was very simple to make..
It really was a delite
Reply
Camilla says
May 03, 2020 at 1:17 pm

Brilliant! So creamy and flavors on point. I was hesitant to cook the gnocchi in the sauce but it works so beautifully. I used fresh gnocchi and just kept my eye on things and it still came out incredible! Thank you Karina! You’re the BEST
Reply

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