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Home » Recipes » Food

By: Melissa, Updated: Oct 15, 2023

Pan Fried Gnocchi with Kale and Parmesan Cream

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Pan-fried gnocchi with kale and Parmesan cream is a delicious, easy gnocchi recipe that makes a great quick meal and it's delicious.

gnocchi with parmesan cream
Crisped-up gnocchi with kale in cream sauce.

This gnocchi recipe is one of my favorites. It is made with pre-packaged, shelf-stable gnocchi and the cream sauce for it is a Parmesan cream sauce infused with some lemon and Parmesan.

This is one of my favorite go-to quick meals once the weather starts to cool and I can start making slightly heavier meals like gnocchi.

For this recipe, there are very few ingredients and all really simple steps to make this.

The Parmesan cream sauce is so good and the perfect velvety and creamy sauce to coat the gnocchi and kale beautifully.

I like to roast the kale in the oven to crisp it up and to make sure the kale does not flavor the Parmesan cream sauce. In total, this meal is ready in less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients Needed

  • Gnocchi (shelf-stable gnocchi)
  • Kale
  • Heavy Cream
  • Parmesan cheese and the rind
  • Lemon
  • Kosher salt. I always use kosher salt but if you do not have this, regular table salt is fine. Just half the amount in the recipe.
  • Olive oil
  • Garlic powder
Italian pan fried gnocchi with parmesan cream

Notes about the ingredients:

I like using lacinato kale for this pan-fried gnocchi recipe which is a smoother variety of kale.

We use shelf-stable gnocchi for this recipe. If you are not familiar with this, it is gnocchi that is in a vacuum-sealed package that is found in the main isles of your grocery store.

How to make

Preparing the dish from roasting the kale to making the cream sauce and toasting up the gnocchi in a pan.

1: First, you want to fry up the gnocchi in a frying pan with a little oil. Frying the gnocchi will crisp up the gnocchi and give it a nice bite. There is no need to precook the gnocchi before doing this.

2: Make your gnocchi cream sauce: After you fry up the gnocchi, you remove them from the pan and start on the gnocchi cream sauce. This is the Parmesan and cream. If you have the Parmesan rind, I like to use that too.

3: Roast your Kale: Roasting the kale in the oven then adding to the fried gnocchi and cream sauce keeps the kale crisp until you are ready to serve it.

You want to roast the kale until it is nice and crispy.

4: Mix it all together in the pan: Once you have fried the gnocchi, roasted the kale, and made the gnocchi cream sauce, it is just lightly toss it all together in the pan and then serve. This fried gnocchi really is an effortless meal.

Gnocchi with kale and cream

Tips

  • Make sure you sauté the gnocchi until it is just starting to brown. This will give it a nice bite.
  • Allow the gnocchi and kale to sit in the Parmesan cream for at least a minute, stirring often so the gnocchi gets a chance to pick up some of that sauce.
  • Make sure you cut your kale into bite-sized pieces. This will help ensure that you can pick up a little kale and gnocchi with a fork with each bite.

Faqs

Can you fry gnocchi without boiling it?

You do not need to boil your gnocchi first when pan frying gnocchi since you are cooking them in a pan.

Is gnocchi a pasta?

Gnocchi is actually not pasta. It is made from flour, eggs, Parmesan and potatoes

Where do you find shelf-stable gnocchi?

You can find shelf-stable gnocchi in the International food section of your grocery store.

Storing

If you have any gnocchi leftover, it stores and reheats beautifully! You can store it in the fridge for up to one week. I like to use the microwave to reheat the gnocchi. To keep the gnocchi from drying out, add a moistened paper towel over the gnocchi and heat on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes.

Pairing Ideas

Here are some of my favorite things to pair with this pan-fried gnocchi:

  • pumpkin creme brulee
    Pumpkin Creme Brûlée
  • elderflower gimlet
    French Gimlet
  • mini cheesecake bites
    Easy Mini Cheesecake Bites
  • roasted radicchio salad
    Roasted Radicchio Salad with Arugula
Italian pan fried gnocchi with parmesan cream
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Pan Fried Gnocchi with Kale and Parmesan Cream

Pan-fried gnocchi with kale and Parmesan cream is a delicious, easy gnocchi recipe that makes a great quick meal and it's delicious.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Total Time20 minutes mins
Servings: 4 servings
Author: Melissa Oleary

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces gnocchi shelf stable about 1 package
  • 8 cups finely chopped curly kale About 2 bunches of kale. Rinsed, dried and chopped into bite sized pieces
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated fine plus the rind
  • 4 tablespoon olive oil
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
  • ½ lemon
  • ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees.
  • Cut the leaves of the kale off of the stem and cut into bite sized pieces.
    8 cups finely chopped curly kale
  • Add your chopped kale to a large sheet pan.
  • Drizzle 2 tablespoons of your olive oil over your kale.
    4 tablespoon olive oil
  • Now sprinkle ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and the garlic powder over the kale.
    ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
  • With your hands, rub the the kale until all the seasoning is coating the kale evenly.
  • Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the kale is cooked and just beginning to crisp up on the edges.
  • Remove the kale from the oven and squeeze the lemon over the top then set aside
    ½ lemon
  • In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add your remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
  • Now add your gnocchi to the pan making sure not to overlap them.
    16 ounces gnocchi
  • Let the gnocchi cook for about 5 minutes gently shaking the pan and tossing the gnocchi.
  • Once the gnocchi start to crisp up a little bit, remove from the pan and on to a plate. Set aside.
  • Scrape off any gnocchi bits left behind in the pan then place the pan back on the stove.
  • In the same sauté pan over medium low heat, add your cream and mix well.
    ¾ cup heavy cream
  • Now add the remaining ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt, half of your grated Parmesan and the Parmesan rind and mix again.
    ½ cup Parmesan cheese
  • Bring to a gentle simmer then reduce heat to low and cook for 2-3 minutes.
  • Taste the Parmesan cream for any additional salt needed.
  • Now add your gnocchi and kale into the Parmesan cream and turn off the heat.
  • Gently toss the gnocchi and kale into the sauce for about one minute until everything is evenly coated in the Parmesan cream.
  • Serve immediately with the additional Parmesan cheese for topping.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 1194mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 3604IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 246mg | Iron: 5mg

Nutrition Values are estimates only.

See full nutrition disclaimer here

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Course :Main Course

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I am so excited you are here. My name is Melissa and I started this recipe website to share easy recipes that I have been cooking for years. I have written hundreds of easy recipes that are tested and perfected. Some of the recipes I learned during my years of working in restaurants, some from owning my own food company, and others from friends and traveling.

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