Looking for a new and different gnocchi dishes? This creamy lemon spinach gnocchi combines gnocchi with peas, spinach and lovely lemon cream sauce. A perfect, fresh Spring dish and a great meatless meal!

creamy lemon gnocchi with peas and spinach in bowls

This easy creamy lemon gnocchi recipe requires only a few ingredients and begins with always easy, store-bought gnocchi. After boiling the gnocchi for just 2 minutes, it heads to a skillet, where it joins peas, spinach, a bit of Red pepper flakes, to spice things up a little and a handful of Parmesan. It’s all cooked up together in an easy, creamy lemon sauce.

This is the perfect dish for those nights when you want a nice dinner, but want it quickly and easily. Starting with store-bought gnocchi and frozen peas takes care of that.

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Ingredients and substitutions

A few notes about the key ingredients …

Gnocchi – use fresh, shelf-stable, frozen or homemade gnocchi.

Peas – you can use fresh or frozen peas here.

Spinach – fresh baby spinach is the best option, but frozen spinach will also work here.

Heavy Cream – While you can use a lower fat cream here, keep in mind that the lower fat the cream, the more likely it will “break” or curdle when combined with an acid, such as the lemon juice used here. The result will be a sauce that will have flecks of curdled cream in a less creamy overall sauce.

Recipe tips!

  • Instead of boiling a large, tall pot of water to boil the gnocchi, like you would typically do for pasta, use a low, wide pot, such as a high-sided skillet type pot. The wider, shallower pot will boil the water much more quickly and you can get the gnocchi in and out without sitting and waiting for a large pot of water to boil.
  • Seasoning well is important with this dish. Be sure to salt the water you boil the gnocchi in well. Season the finished dish well with salt and freshly ground pepper, to really bring the flavours together.
gnocchi with peas, spinach and lemon in a bowl

Making ahead, storing and freezing

This gnocchi is at its best freshly made. Store leftover in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Freezing isn’t recommended as the creamy sauce can become grainy after freezing and thawing.

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creamy lemon gnocchi with peas and spinach in bowls

Get the Recipe: Creamy Lemon Gnocchi with Spinach

Easy and delicious, this creamy spinach lemon gnocchi starts with store-bought gnocchi and adds frozen peas and spinach, so it's ready in less that 30 minutes!
4.91 stars from 11 ratings
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Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 cup baby peas, frozen, unthawed
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream
  • 1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
  • 1 garlic clove, smashed
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups baby spinach, packed
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, plus more, to taste
  • 1 lb gnocchi, shelf-stable or dried
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

Instructions
 

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously.
  • While waiting for the water to boil: In a large skillet, bring the frozen peas, cream, red pepper flakes garlic and salt to a simmer over medium heat. Cover skillet, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until peas are tender, about 5 minutes. *If your skillet doesn’t have a lid, place a large baking sheet over-top of the skillet to cover. Be careful removing. It gets hot!
  • Remove lid from the skillet and add the spinach. Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat, until the spinach is wilted. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and juice.
  • When water is boiling, add gnocchi and boil until gnocchi floats to the top, about 2 minutes. Remove gnocchi to skillet with a large slotted spoon (reserving the gnocchi cooking water). Add Parmesan to the skillet as well as splash of the gnocchi cooking water. Return the skillet to the heat and cook, stirring, until just re-warmed through, adding a bit more gnocchi cooking water if necessary to thin out the sauce.
  • Spoon into bowls. Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper and garnish with a bit more lemon zest, if you like.

Notes

Tips!
Instead of boiling a large, tall pot of water to boil the gnocchi, like you would typically do for pasta, use a low, wide pot, such as a high-sided skillet-type pot. The wider, shallower pot will boil the water much more quickly, and you can get the gnocchi in and out without sitting and waiting for a large pot of water to boil.
Seasoning well is important with this dish. Be sure to salt the water you boil the gnocchi in well. Season the finished dish well with salt and freshly ground pepper, to really bring the flavours together.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, where I share some valuable tips, options, substitutions and variations for this recipe!
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Course: Main Course
Author: Jennifer Maloney
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 462kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 60mg, Sodium: 881mg, Potassium: 315mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 3830IU, Vitamin C: 29.9mg, Calcium: 197mg, Iron: 7mg
Tried this recipe?Leaving a review is always helpful and appreciated by fellow cooks!

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