Creamy Pesto Gnocchi Recipe
Creamy Pesto Gnocchi made with soft and pillowy store-bought potato gnocchi, basil pesto, heavy cream, and shredded parmesan. Ready in just 20 minutes, serve this easy gnocchi recipe as a side dish or meatless main course.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked potato gnocchi
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ⅓ cup pesto homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more for serving (optional)
- fresh basil to garnish, optional
- crushed red pepper to garnish, optionalBrin
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Note: Fresh/refrigerated gnocchi only requires 2-3 minutes to cook, so hold off on cooking until your creamy pesto sauce is nearly ready.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic to the melted butter and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth, pesto, heavy cream, and black pepper to the pan. Gently whisk to combine. Cook, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes, or until just starting to simmer. Reduce heat to low.
- Cook the gnocchi for about 2 minutes. Before draining, reserve at least one cup of the boiling water that was used to cook the gnocchi. Drain and add the cooked gnocchi to the sauce.
- Add the grated parmesan cheese and gently stir to combine. Allow everything to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. If the sauce is too thick, thin using the reserved water or any leftover chicken broth.
- Just before serving season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Serve garnished with additional parmesan cheese, fresh basil, and red chili flakes, if desired.
Notes
- You can also cook the gnocchi directly in the creamy pesto sauce without boiling first, however, this creates a super thick sauce that keeps requiring more and more added broth or water to thin it out. Instead, I like to cook my gnocchi separately for just about 2 minutes, and then allow it to finish cooking in the cream sauce. This way it still releases enough starch to thicken the sauce, but not too much that the sauce turns into a paste.
- Feel free to add your favorite veggies (peas, mushrooms, broccoli, onions) or protein (chicken, shrimp, bacon) to make it a complete meal.
- You may substitute the heavy cream for half-and-half. I do not recommend using skim milk, or 2% milk as it can result in a broken sauce due to the lower fat content.
Nutrition
Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 835mg | Potassium: 95mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1478IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 250mg | Iron: 4mg
