Spinach Gnocchi with Butter Sage Sauce

Spinach gnocchi with butter sage sauce, a delicious twist on traditional potato gnocchi. Follow my step by step instructions and tips for the perfect spinach gnocchi!

Gnocchi, especially potato gnocchi is my favorite pasta dish in the world. This is the dish I grew up eating and making alongside my mother as a child. In fact, it’s the recipe that launched my new career teaching cooking workshops! You can read all about that in my potato gnocchi post.

The first time I taught a group how to make potato gnocchi, I introduced this spinach variation.  I added spinach to the dough and served them with an easy gnocchi sauce recipe which basically consists of melted butter and sage totally transforms basic potato gnocchi.  In fact, most participants at my workshop said they preferred these to classic gnocchi served with tomato sauce!

I’ll admit that the dough for spinach gnocchi is a bit more challenging to handle.  The introduction of spinach brings more moisture to the dough and therefore I tend to add more flour than I usually would. But then again, I like my gnocchi with a little more bite to them.

In this post I’m sharing with you my step by step instructions and lots of tips and suggestions to help you make the perfect spinach gnocchi!

Ingredient list 

• Russet potatoes: this is my potato of choice for making gnocchi as they don’t absorb much water during cooking
• Eggs
• All-purpose flour
• Spinach: I like the convenience of frozen spinach in cubes.  Defrost and squeeze out all of the water. You don’t want to add excess moisture to the gnocchi dough

Tools for making gnocchi

There are 2 tools that are a must for me when making gnocchi:

• Potato ricer: The potato ricer gives you fluffy and airy potatoes, the perfect texture for making gnocchi. It’s definitely worth investing in this handy tool!
• Wood gnocchi board: although it is not absolutely necessary to have a gnocchi board to roll the cut gnocchi, I find it makes the nicest looking gnocchi! Other alternatives include the back of a fork or even a cheese grater.

Let me walk you through the recipe. You’ll find the complete printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Step by Step Instructions

Begin by boiling the peeled potatoes in a large pot of salted water until tender. Drain well and allow to cool slightly.

Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer (1) or alternately mash with a fork.  The potatoes should be light and fluffy unlike the consistency of mashed potatoes. 

Make a well in the center of the mound, add the eggs (2). Squeeze the excess water from the spinach, chop finely and sprinkle over the eggs and potatoes (3).  

Add 3 cups of the flour around the edges of the potato mixture (4).Use a fork to lightly beat the eggs, combining them with the spinach and potatoes. Gradually mix in the flour around the edges with your fingers, using only what is needed to form a dough that is not sticky. Only if absolutely necessary, add extra flour. A dough scraper may come in handy at this point to help gather all the bits of dough. Do not over knead, the dough should be light and airy. This will take about 10 minutes.Divide the dough into 4 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a long rope of approximately 1/2 inch in diameter. Use the palms of your hands and your fingertips to exert a light pressure on the dough, rolling from the center outwards to form an even shaped rope. Use a sharp knife to cut into 1 inch pieces.Form an indentation in the gnocchi by pressing down lightly with your thumb to roll each gnocchi on the wood board. These grooves will help the sauce adhere to the gnocchi.  

Place gnocchi on a parchment covered baking sheet lightly dusted with flour to prevent from sticking.  Repeat with the remaining dough.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add gnocchi and stir.  When they have all risen to the surface, drain well and add to the butter sage sauce.  Serve hot topped with grated Parmigiano cheese.

For the butter sage sauce:

In a deep wide skillet large enough to pour the cooked gnocchi into, melt the butter on medium heat.  Add sage leaves. When the gnocchi are ready, add a ladle full or 2 of pasta water into the butter sage sauce to thicken it before adding the drained gnocchi to the pan. 

Tips and suggestions on handling gnocchi dough

• I like the marbled look of chopped spinach in the dough, however you may purée the spinach before adding it to the dough.
• Traditional pasta dough requires a resting period before rolling. Do not let gnocchi dough rest or place in the refrigerator before rolling, you will have a sticky, mushy dough on hand!
• The key to making gnocchi is to handle the dough with a light hand, as opposed to bread dough which requires vigorous kneading.
• Don’t fret! As you begin this process you will have a crumbly mess of potatoes and flour on your work surface that you think will never turn into dough. Patience is required!
• In order to test if the dough is ready for rolling, break off a small piece of dough and roll in the palm of your hands. If it doesn’t stick, it’s ready to roll.  Otherwise add more flour.
• Avoid adding too much flour to your work surface or hands when rolling the dough into ropes. This will make the dough slip on the work surface and make it very difficult to roll.
• When rolling the dough, if it becomes too difficult to handle as it lengthens, cut in half and continue rolling.
• Use the tines of a fork or even a cheese grater if you don’t have a gnocchi board.
• If the dough sticks when rolling onto the gnocchi board, dust the board with a bit of flour.

Storage

• You can make gnocchi ahead of time as they freeze well. As you shape the gnocchi, lay them flat on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper which has been lightly floured. Place in the freezer and once they are completely frozen, transfer to a freezer bag.
• Note that frozen gnocchi will take longer to cook. When you dump them in the boiling water, cover the pot until the water comes back to a boil.

Now that I’ve provided you with my step by step instructions and tips for making the perfect spinach gnocchi, let me know if you try out this recipe! Please rate it in the recipe card below and feel free to Pin it for later. Buon appetito!