Simple Creamy Gnocchi Recipe

Simple creamy gnocchi is a date-night worthy dish that takes about 25 minutes to pull together. A fancy, hearty weeknight tested dinner that is creamy, cheesy and delicious.

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Simple Creamy Gnocchi Recipe

My simple creamy gnocchi recipe is a date-night-worthy dish that takes about 25 minutes to pull together. A fancy, hearty weeknight-tested dinner that features a creamy red sauce that is really cheesy and delicious.

I use a basic marinara sauce with added light cream, Parmesan cheese, garlic, fresh basil, white wine, and fresh mozzarella cheese to really up the ante. We’ll quickly heat up the sauce on the stove and finish by baking in the oven to get a layer of melted mozzarella. It’s a recipe that you can make once and easily memorize.

Delicious gnocchi recipes are really easy to make at home with pre-made gnocchi. See also, gnocchi bolognese and pesto gnocchi for a few other personal favs.

How to Cook Gnocchi

Gnocchi is incredibly easy to cook and only takes minutes! Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook gnocchi for about 3-4 minutes, or until those tiny pillows float to the surface. Frozen and fresh gnocchi cook at relatively the same speed. As a rule of thumb, when they float to the surface, they’re fully cooked and ready to eat.

Pan-searing is another popular method of cooking gnocchi. Pan-searing gnocchi forms a golden brown exterior that adds a crispier texture with a denser interior. Boiled gnocchi is much softer and tender throughout. I personally prefer boiled over pan seared.

Mozzarella Cheese Selection

My FAVORITE ingredient when cooking Italian recipes is FRESH mozzarella balls. They usually come vacuum-sealed in plastic wrap and are about the size of a baseball. You can also opt for smaller mozzarella pearls. Fresh mozzarella melts beautifully and tastes super fresh and authentic.

If you don’t want to use fresh mozzarella, you can use a cubed block of low-moisture whole milk mozzarella. Low-moisture mozzarella is less elastic and less stringy when it cooks. I always opt for larger blocks over pre-shredded cheese. It tastes better and melts a lot better.

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Simple Creamy Gnocchi Recipe
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Simple Creamy Gnocchi Recipe

  • Author: Shawn Williams
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Cuisine: Italian
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Description

Simple creamy gnocchi is a date-night worthy dish that takes about 25 minutes to pull together. A fancy, hearty weeknight tested dinner that is creamy, cheesy and delicious.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 16 ounces marinara
  • 2 pounds of potato gnocchi
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup baby mozzarella balls or pearls (see note)
  • 1/3 cup light cream
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 2 teaspoons salt for water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi and boil for 3-4 minutes or until gnocchi float to the surface.
  2. Heat oil over medium heat in a large oven-safe skillet or pan. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add marinara, chopped basil, Parmesan cheese, and white wine. Stir and bring to a gentle simmer.
  4. Turn off the heat and add cream and strained gnocchi. Mix until the cream is fully combined and the gnocchi is evenly distributed.
  5. Top with mozzarella and place in the oven on high broil until cheese fully melts, about 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately!

Notes

If you cut the recipe in half (only use 1 pound of gnocchi), I would still use the same amount of sauce/sauce ingredients for simplicity/ to ensure you have enough.

Can also use a chopped 8-ounce ball of fresh mozzarella. If you don’t want to use fresh mozzarella, you can use a cubed block of low-moisture whole milk mozzarella. Low-moisture mozzarella is less elastic and less stringy when it cooks. I always opt for larger blocks over pre-shredded cheese. It tastes better and melts a lot better.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1
  • Calories: 580
  • Sugar: 0.2g
  • Sodium: 630mg
  • Fat: 32.3g
  • Saturated Fat: 17.9g
  • Carbohydrates: 43.1
  • Fiber: 0.1g
  • Protein: 29.4g
  • Cholesterol: 91mg

Keywords: Gnocchi recipes, creamy gnocchi pasta