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Home Uncategorized

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin & Spinach

By:Nagi
Published:22 Feb '17Updated:15 Oct '19
62 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Pan fried gnocchi – crispy, golden and buttery on the outside, soft on the inside, tossed with roasted pumpkin and spinach. This is one of my favourite ways to make gnocchi without blowing my carb meter and making a dreamy buttery sauce without using tons of butter!

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Spinach - Golden crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a butter sage sauce, roasted pumpkin and spinach. www.recipetineats.com

Pan Fried Gnocchi

I absolutely adore gnocchi. If I go to an Italian restaurant, chances are I’ll order gnocchi.

I put it above handmade pasta. That’s how much I love it.

And up until maybe a year ago, I was a total gnocchi snob. I would  only ever have fresh or homemade gnocchi. Scarred from my uni days when I made store bought gnocchi and it was so chewy and tasteless.

But in the years that have passed, I must say that packaged gnocchi has come a long way and now I happily use packaged gnocchi!

This gnocchi is served with a butter sauce which is a classic sauce for gnocchi.

What does Gnocchi taste like?

Gnocchi is a potato flour dumpling, so it tastes like a cross between pasta and mashed potato. It’s soft on the inside, and when pan fried like in this recipe, it’s crispy on the outside.

Plain gnocchi, like pasta, does not actually have much flavour in itself. So it’s used with sauces and ideal for add-ins, like pumpkin and spinach which is what I’m using here.

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Spinach - Golden crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a butter sage sauce, roasted pumpkin and spinach. www.recipetineats.com

Filling out Gnocchi with Pumpkin

So nowadays, armed with the convenience of store bought gnocchi, the only thing that holds me back from a weekly gnocchi fix is that it’s so high in carbs.

250g/8oz of gnocchi has 90g of carbs, 400 calories. And it’s super dense so it’s only about 1 cup in volume which isn’t enough for a meal (at least, not for me!)

Add a sauce and the calorie count starts hiking up quite considerably….

So to “lighten” it up and fill it out more, I like to add roasted pumpkin which has only 20g of carbs and 85 calories per 250g/8oz, almost 1/4 of gnocchi!

Plus roasted pumpkin is so juicy, it provides more “wetness” to this dish instead of adding more butter.

Adding roasting pumpkin adds flavour as well as filling out the gnocchi dish to make it a filling meal

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Spinach - Golden crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a butter sage sauce, roasted pumpkin and spinach. www.recipetineats.com

Butter sauce for Gnocchi

I think a simple butter sauce is the best sauce for gnocchi. But you don’t need tons of butter! If you just make this with loads of butter for the sauce, it’s far too rich.

So the way to make a butter sauce is to add some of the water used to cook the gnocchi. This water is starchy, and when tossed with the butter sauce, the starch in the water reacts with the butter to thicken the water and creates a glossy butter sauce.

It’s how a real proper Alfredo is made, the way restaurants make it, without using tons of cream. 🙂

So I use that same technique to make the butter sauce for this Pan Fried Gnocchi too. So every piece of golden crispy gnocchi is coated in a buttery sauce that actually clings to the gnocchi rather than pooling in the base of the bowl.

You will love this, I promise! Yes it’s indulgent, and yes it’s still carb heavy, but it is lighter than making it without pumpkin. Try this with fresh garden salad on the side, tossed with Balsamic or Italian dressing! – Nagi x


Gnocchi Lovers!

  • Easiest homemade gnocchi ever – Ricotta Gnocchi
  • Easy homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi with Sage Butter Sauce

And some cosy risottos!

Just because when I think of gnocchi, for some reason there’s always a passing thought of whether to make risotto instead…

  • Chicken and Mushroom Risotto
  • Creamy Baked Pumpkin Risotto
  • Creamy Prawn Risotto (Shrimp)
  • Chorizo Risotto with Kale
  • One Pot Creamy Baked Risotto with Lemon Pepper Chicken

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Spinach - Golden crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a butter sage sauce, roasted pumpkin and spinach. www.recipetineats.com

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Spinach - Golden crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a butter sage sauce, roasted pumpkin and spinach. www.recipetineats.com

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Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Spinach - Golden crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a butter sage sauce, roasted pumpkin and spinach. www.recipetineats.com

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin & Spinach

Author: Nagi @ RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Dinner, Main
4.86 from 14 votes
Servings2
Tap or hover to scale
Print
{See video below} Soft fluffy gnocchi, pan fried in butter to create a beautiful golden crust then tossed with roasted pumpkin & spinach in a butter sauce. I use pumpkin to fill out this recipe because it has far less calories than gnocchi for the same weight and it adds a gorgeous flavour to this dish!

Ingredients

  • 500g/1lb pumpkin, cut into 2cm / 4/5" pieces
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 350g/12oz gnocchi, store bought (Note 1)
  • 45g / 3 tbsp butter, salted (unsalted also ok, just add more salt)
  • 1 garlic clove (large), minced
  • 80g / 2.5oz baby spinach leaves
  • 1/2 tsp fresh sage, finely sliced
  • Salt & pepper
  • Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 200C/390F. Place pumpkin in a large bowl, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, spread out on tray and bake for 20 - 25 minutes, turning once, until golden and soft inside. Set aside.
  • Bring a large pot of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt. Cook gnocchi according to packet directions, or until gnocchi pops to the surface of the water (see video). SCOOP OUT a large mug of cooking water, then drain gnocchi.
  • Place butter in a skillet then put on the stove over medium high heat. Once it foams, add gnocchi immediately. Stir, turn up the heat to high, then leave to cook for about 30 seconds. 
  • Add garlic and sage, then stir / toss for no longer than 1 1/2 minutes (i.e. 2 minutes in total - see note 2) until gnocchi is golden on both sides.
  • Add about 3/4 cup of gnocchi cooking water and toss - the water will evaporate quickly and transform into a sauce.
  • Then add the pumpkin, spinach and about 1/4 cup of cooking water. Stir quickly , then season with salt and pepper. Toss then serve immediately with freshly grated parmesan.

Recipe Notes:

  1. I use both refrigerated and non refrigerated store bought gnocchi. I don't have a favourite brand, but the ones you get from Italian delis are extra great!
  2. If you pan fry gnocchi for too long, it becomes chewy inside which is not very nice! That's why I limit the pan frying to 2 minutes.
  3. Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Spinach nutrition per serving.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 468gCalories: 648cal (32%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

 WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin & Spinach recipe video!


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Pan Fried Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Spinach - Golden crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a butter sage sauce, roasted pumpkin and spinach. www.recipetineats.com

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62 Comments

  1. Nikita says

    January 21, 2021 at 7:55 am

    Hi Nagi! Is there a substitute for sage? It’s a little difficult to find it in my part of the world.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 21, 2021 at 4:36 pm

      Marjoram or a little thyme would be great too! N x

      Reply
  2. Kym says

    September 23, 2020 at 6:32 pm

    5 stars
    Great recipe. I’m going to be one of those food wankers who post about my adjustments to the recipe.
    Who even am I.
    Damn you 2020.
    I am sure the recipe is fabulous as is, but as I don’t have a sweet tooth and find roasted pumpkin Way too sweet for my liking. And yet I had a big chunk of pumpkin in my vege box this week
    I simply added some roasted pinenuts (Because crunch and protein) and then used crumbled feta rather than Parmesan, to cut through the sweetness.
    (I am so sorry for my pretentiousness but yum)

    Reply
  3. Maddy says

    August 27, 2020 at 10:05 pm

    5 stars
    I don’t leave recipe reviews but have to here! I’ve never perfected gnocchi sauce but this one was so easy and so delicious. Thank you for spelling it all out for people like me who need the help. Can say I used pumpkin gnocchi instead of pumpkin and gnocchi. Also added mushrooms. Really amazing! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 28, 2020 at 2:03 pm

      That’s great to hear Maddy!! Thanks so much for letting me know ❤️ N x

      Reply
  4. Jennifer says

    August 7, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    An absolute gastronomic delight. It was far tastier than the pumpkin gnocchi we had for lunch in a top restaurant. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Rhonda says

    July 27, 2020 at 12:48 pm

    5 stars
    This is just sooooo good! Huge family hit!!! Thank you

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 27, 2020 at 4:03 pm

      Wahoo, that’s great to hear Rhonda! N x

      Reply
  6. Jo Williams says

    June 3, 2020 at 2:58 am

    5 stars
    OH my I have just found my new favourite comfort food.

    Reply
  7. Geni says

    November 9, 2019 at 6:21 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious. Did half sweet potato and half pumpkin but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Everyone loved it and requested it again so always a bonus.

    Reply
  8. Allison D. says

    October 13, 2019 at 9:38 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for dinner last night and it was great! Used a little more gnocchi (16oz package), 16oz pre-cubed butternut squash, and dried sage, and it came together very quickly! Super yummy, and everyone loved it. Will make again, thank you!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 14, 2019 at 9:34 am

      Perfect Allison!

      Reply
  9. Maryellen says

    September 6, 2019 at 8:32 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, my daughter requested this for birthday dinner last night, it was so easy and so delicious. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 7, 2019 at 12:13 pm

      Thanks so much for letting me know Maryellen – N x

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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