Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Gnocchi

This creamy spinach and mushroom gnocchi is one of those dinners that feels indulgent but comes together in just 20 minutes, all in one pan. The gnocchi cooks right in the sauce, the spinach wilts in at the end, and somehow it tastes like something you’d order at a restaurant on a night out.

Why You’ll Love It

Ready in 20 minutes — one pan, minimal cleanup, no blanching anything separately
Gnocchi cooks right in the sauce — it absorbs the cream and broth and turns out soft and pillowy, no boiling a separate pot of water
Packed with vegetables — mushrooms and spinach make it a satisfying meatless meal on its own
The smoked paprika makes it — warm, slightly smoky depth that sets this apart from a basic cream sauce
Great leftovers — reheats beautifully on the stovetop with a splash of cream

A Few Notes on Ingredients

The gnocchi: use store-bought. I know, I know. Homemade gnocchi is wonderful, and I’ve made it, maybe four times in my life, and three of those times it fell apart in the sauce or got gluey or just… I don’t know, it was depressing. Store-bought potato gnocchi works perfectly here. The shelf-stable packaged kind, not the refrigerated. This is not me being lazy — the shelf-stable holds up better when you’re simmering it in liquid.
The mushrooms: I usually use crimini, which are sometimes labeled “baby bella” depending on the store. Don’t overthink it. I’ve also used shiitake when that’s what I had, and it was honestly great — a little earthier. What I’d avoid is using the big sliced portobello caps, just because they throw off a lot of water and can make the sauce watery.
Spinach: fresh is what I use. You want it to wilt down in the sauce at the end. You can use frozen if you need to — just make sure you squeeze out every bit of water, or the sauce gets thin.
Heavy cream: yes, actual heavy cream. Not half-and-half, not milk. I’ve tried both and the sauce doesn’t get where you want it to go. This isn’t an everyday dish anyway, so just commit.
The smoked paprika is not optional, in my opinion. I know some people see paprika and skip it, thinking it’s decorative. It’s not. It gives the whole dish this warm, slightly smoky depth that you’d miss if it weren’t there.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper
16 oz potato gnocchi (shelf-stable, like DeLallo)
½ cup chicken broth — or vegetable broth works fine too
1 cup heavy cream
4 cloves garlic, minced (I probably use 5, I’m not going to lie)
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon smoked paprika, plus more for finishing
5 oz fresh spinach (about half a bag, roughly — I eyeball it)
¼ teaspoon salt, more to taste
Coarsely ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes, to taste

Instructions

Start with a large skillet — high-sided, heavy-bottomed if you have one. I use a stainless steel pan that I’ve had since I don’t know when, probably a wedding gift from someone whose name I’ve completely forgotten. It’s held up better than most things.
Heat your olive oil over medium-high heat and add the mushrooms. Season them with salt and pepper right in the pan. Now here’s where some people go wrong: don’t crowd them. If your pan is too small, cook them in batches. You want them to brown a little, get some color, not just steam in their own moisture. That takes maybe a minute or two on high heat. When they’re done, scoop half of them out onto a plate and set them aside. You’ll need them at the end.
Leave the other half in the pan.
To that same pan — don’t wipe it out, don’t rinse it, you want those little browned bits on the bottom — add your uncooked gnocchi straight from the package. Pour in the broth and the heavy cream. Add the minced garlic, the Italian seasoning, the smoked paprika, and the salt. Give it a stir and bring it up to a boil over medium heat.
Once it’s boiling, put the lid on and let it cook for about five minutes. The gnocchi will cook through and the sauce will start to thicken. Stir it a couple times so nothing sticks to the bottom — especially important if your pan runs hot. Mine does. I’ve burned the bottom before, usually when I walk away to check my phone.
After five minutes, pull the lid off and add all of your fresh spinach. It’ll look like too much. It’s not. Stir it in and let it wilt down on medium heat, stirring pretty frequently, for another five minutes or so. The sauce will continue to thicken as this happens.
Taste it. Adjust the salt. Add black pepper. This is when I usually add a little more smoked paprika, just dusted across the top, and a pinch of red pepper flakes if anyone in the house can handle heat. (My husband can’t, really, but he tries.)
Take it off the heat and top with the mushrooms you set aside earlier. That’s it. That’s dinner.

Variations

Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to keep it fully vegetarian — works great, just slightly less rich.
I tried adding sun-dried tomatoes once. It was good but it felt like a different dish. Like it wanted to be something else.
If you want to add protein, shredded rotisserie chicken stirred in at the end works really well. Kale instead of spinach is fine, but let it cook longer. It stays tougher than spinach and you need to give it time.

Storage

It keeps in the fridge for about four days in a sealed container. The sauce thickens up considerably once it’s cold — almost to the point where it looks like it’s ruined, but it’s not. When you reheat it, do it on the stovetop over low heat and add a splash of cream or broth to loosen it back up. Don’t microwave it if you can avoid it. The texture gets strange.
I would not freeze this. I don’t love freezing cream sauces in general — something happens to the texture when it thaws and I’ve never made peace with it.