Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Gnocchi

This creamy spinach and mushroom gnocchi is a lovely cosy dish that the whole family will love. With earthy mushrooms, fresh spinach and deliciously fluffy gnocchi in a creamy sauce, this is perfect comfort food and always goes down a treat in my house.

Jump to:

• 🛒 What You'll Need
• 🔪 How To Make Mushroom and Spinach Gnocchi
• 👩‍🍳 Top Tips
• 💭 FAQs
• 🔄 Variations
• 🍽 More Tasty Mushroom Recipes 
• Try These Vegetarian Recipes Next
• Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi Recipe

Gnocchi is great for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. Whether it's a quick pesto gnocchi or a creamy sun-dried tomato gnocchi dish, my family love it! 

This spinach gnocchi is a lovely easy recipe and it's all done in one pot! Less washing up to do is always a bonus in my house! 

The mushrooms are cooked until golden brown. The gnocchi is cooked in the creamy garlic sauce until perfectly tender and then the spinach is added at the end. This is so delicious, it is creamy, garlicky and cheesy goodness! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

🛒 What You'll Need

• Gnocchi - Store-bought gnocchi is perfect for this dish, the shelf-stable kind you can find in the pasta aisle. You can also use fresh or homemade gnocchi if you like.
• Mushrooms - I use chestnut mushrooms for this, I find they have more flavour. These are also known as brown mushrooms or cremini mushrooms. You can also use white button mushrooms if that's what you have.
• Spinach - Fresh is best here and I use baby spinach. It has a milder taste compared to regular spinach so it won't overpower that lovely mushroom sauce.
• Pesto - Store store-bought pesto is fine for this. I would, however, try and get a good-quality pesto. I use red pesto for this as it goes perfectly with the mushrooms and spinach.
• Other Ingredients needed - vegetable stock, dried oregano, garlic, onion, salt, black pepper, butter and olive oil.
• Dairy - You will also need double cream (heavy cream), and hard Italian cheese such as vegetarian Parmesan cheese. I use Grana Padano is widely available in larger supermarkets.

🔪 How To Make Mushroom and Spinach Gnocchi

Please see the recipe card below for full instructions and a full ingredient list.

1. Start by cooking the mushrooms in a large large skillet. Heat the oil and butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the slices mushrooms and cook until golden brown, try not to disturb them too much as they will end up mushy. Just turn them once or twice. Set them aside until you are ready to use them.

2. Next, cook the onions. You will need to cook these for about 20 minutes to ensure that they are starting to get soft.

3. Once the onions have softened, add the oregano and garlic, cook for a minute then add the cream and stock and stir in the red pesto.

4. Now add the gnocchi. Stir the gnocchi into the sauce and simmer until the sauce reduces, this won't take long at all.

5. Once the creamy sauce has been reduced, add the spinach. The spinach will wilt as you stir it in, this should take just 2-3 minutes.

6. As soon as the spinach has wilted return the mushrooms to the pan, make sure and add any of the juices from the bowl too. Stir the mushrooms into the sauce and cook for a minute or two until the mushrooms are warmed through. Finally, take the pan off the heat and stir in the cheese. Serve immediately in big bowls!

👩‍🍳 Top Tips

• It's important to cook the onions for at least 20 minutes. If you don't cook them for long enough they will be too strong for the sauce. Cooking them for longer brings out the sweetness of the onions and reduces that astringent onion flavour. 
• Cooking the mushrooms first will make them golden brown giving them lots of flavour. If you cook them with the onions you will end up with grey overcooked mushrooms.
• Shelf-stable packages of gnocchi will give you the best results. The timings may vary for fresh gnocchi.
• The starch in the gnocchi will help to thicken the sauce and this will start to happen as soon as the gnocchi hits the pan. So don't worry if it looks too water at first, it will end up being nice and creamy.
• Use a high-sided saute pan to cook this recipe, I use a stainless steel pan. You could also use a cast iron skillet if you like.

💭 FAQs

🔄 Variations

• You can make this with other kinds of gnocchi instead of potato gnocchi, try sweet potato gnocchi, butternut squash gnocchi or spinach gnocchi.
• Try making this with a variety of mushrooms, you can go full mushroom and add wild mushrooms or oyster mushrooms instead of regular mushrooms. I would avoid shiitake mushrooms for this dish as their very earthy flavor may overpower that lovely creamy sauce.
• You could go extra cheesy and add some soft goat cheese to this to make it more luxurious.
• Swap up the seasonings. You can add more herbs to this if you like try it with Italian seasoning, or add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the finished dish for some heat.

🍽 More Tasty Mushroom Recipes 

• Creamy Garlic Mushroom Pasta - This is one of my favourite plates of pasta, it's creamy garlicky and so filling. Perfect comfort food!
• Spinach and Mushroom Pasta - Ready in 30 minutes this is perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. It's creamy, indulgent and packed with mushrooms and spinach. The creamy, cheesy sauce is smooth and perfectly garlicky.
• Creamy Mushroom Orzo - Creamy and garlicky and packed with mushrooms and spinach this one-pan pasta dish always goes down a storm with the whole family.

Try These Vegetarian Recipes Next