This easy creamy mushroom gnocchi is a cozy meal made with store-bought gnocchi simmered in a rich, velvety Parmesan sauce. A restaurant worthy dish made at home in 30 minutes!
Some more favorite pasta recipes include gouda mac and cheese, sheet pan gnocchi and creamy chicken pasta.
Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi
Tender potato gnocchi smothered in a rich parmesan mushroom cream sauce is the perfect combination. It is similar to homemade alfredo sauce, but with a little more earthiness from mushrooms.
This mushroom gnocchi is an easy vegetarian recipe that has the taste and feel of fine dining, but is easily made in the comfort of your own home. Just like my pesto gnocchi recipe it’s great side for Sunday dinner, or a fun main dish for a cozy date night in.
Serve with some homemade breadsticks or easy garlic bread for the ultimate Italian experience!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Flavorful. Heavy cream, broth and Parmesan make the mushroom cream sauce so rich and full of flavor.
- Easy. Store bought gnocchi makes this dish so simple to put together, you could make it homemade if you want, though!
- Versatile. Serve smaller portions as a side dish or make it your main meal.
Ingredients
You are going to love how incredible gnocchi and mushrooms taste together!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Mushrooms: I like to use several varieties of mushrooms because they really do have different flavors. Typically you can grab a package of baby bellas or button mushrooms in every store you go to. However, I love seeing the variety of wild mushrooms offered as well such as beech or enoki.
- Gnocchi: I use store-bought potato gnocchi. You can usually find gnocchi near the pasta aisle in the store.
- Cream sauce: Vegetable broth and a splash of heavy cream mixed with freshly grated Parmesan make an incredible and quick sauce that’s creamy, thick and has similar flavors as an alfredo.
- Finishers: I love to finish the dish off with a handful of fresh arugula, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and more fresh parmesan cheese. Fresh parsley and black pepper would be great, too.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use any type of mushroom in this recipe, such as baby bellas, enoki, button, beech, shiitake or cremini mushrooms.
- Add a dash of truffle oil to give the dish even more earthiness.
- Replace the arugula with fresh spinach, kale or your favorite greens.
- Mix in some crumbled bacon to add even more flavor to this dish.
How to Make Mushroom Gnocchi
The flavors, textures and colors work beautifully together in this easy pasta dish!
- Cook gnocchi: Cook your gnocchi according to package directions in a large pot of salted water.
- Saute mushrooms: Fry sliced mushrooms and shallots in butter and olive oil over medium high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are soft and almost all the liquid is gone. Add the beech mushrooms (if using) and salt. Cook 3 minutes more and transfer mixture to a bowl or plate and place skillet over heat again.
- Make sauce: Add the remaining olive oil and the cooked gnocchi. Move gnocchi around to cover bottom of skillet and let cook, without stirring, about 2 minutes to brown. Add broth, cream and Parmesan and let mixture simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
- Combine and serve: Add mushrooms back to skillet and stir to combine. Serve gnocchi immediately with a sprinkling of arugula and red pepper flakes if desired.
Tips for the Best Mushroom Gnocchi
- Even though the pan I call for is nonstick, mushrooms stick just a tad when all the liquid cooks out. I love that though! Then I have little caramelized brown bits that the sauce can simmer with. I sauté the baby bella mushrooms and shallots together first, then added my tender beech mushrooms toward the end.
- Store bought gnocchi just needs to be simmered a bit to cook it through, then I like to add it to the pan and crisp one side up. It makes it taste yummy and caramelized but also look pretty in the dish.
- Let the sauce simmer on low with the gnocchi until it thickens up and has a creamy consistency. It shouldn’t take long to thicken up, but removing it too soon can leave you with a thinner sauce with more a “soupy” texture.
- Give the sauce a flavor boost with truffle oil, fresh herbs, or even a bit of pesto.
FAQs
After the gnocchi cools completely you can store it an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a skillet with a splash of milk or cream to rehydrate the pasta. Do not freeze as texture will change.
Technically Parmesan cheese does contain an animal product called rennet. If you would like to make this vegetarian opt to use a Parmesan made without rennet or you can use a different cheese such as white cheddar, asiago or even gruyere.
Yes! Leftover baked chicken breast, shrimp or Italian sausage would be delicious. Bacon pairs well with mushrooms like in my recipe for stuffed mushrooms!
If you do not have access to gnocchi this sauce is delicious over any pasta or try it over this risotto recipe! Just follow the directions to make the mushroom sauce and serve over pasta, chicken or any other grain such as quinoa or rice.
Serving Suggestions
Here are a few side dish suggestions that pair well with mushroom gnocchi!
- Italian salad
- Roasted asparagus
- Green beans
- Roasted brussel sprouts with cranberries
- Roasted broccoli and cauliflower
If you love this elegant and easy meal try white chicken lasagna with pesto, Creamy tuscan chicken pasta and slow cooker risotto.
More Pasta Recipes
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Mushroom Gnocchi
Video
Ingredients
- 16 ounces store-bought gnocchi
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces baby bella or button mushrooms , stems removed and sliced
- 1 large shallot , sliced
- 2 ounces beech or enoki mushrooms , stems removed (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth , or chicken broth
- 3 Tablespoons heavy cream
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan , plus more for garnish
- 1 cup baby arugula
- red pepper flakes , for topping
Instructions
- Simmer a large pot of salted water and cook gnocchi until it floats, about 2 minutes. Remove and drain. Set aside.
- Meanwhile heat butter and 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add sliced mushrooms and shallots. Cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are soft and almost all the liquid is gone. Add the beech mushrooms (if using) and salt. Cook 3 minutes more just to heat beech mushrooms through. Transfer mixture to a bowl or plate and place skillet over heat again.
- Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons olive oil and the cooked gnocchi. Move gnocchi around to cover bottom of skillet and let cook, without stirring, about 2 minutes to brown. Add broth, cream and Parmesan and stir to move gnocchi from the bottom of the pan. Let mixture simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
- Add mushrooms back to skillet and stir to combine. Serve gnocchi immediately with a sprinkling of arugula and red pepper flakes if desired. Season to taste with extra salt and pepper.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe contributed by Tara Teaspoon
Categorized as: Dinner, Italian, Nut-Free, Pasta, Stovetop, Vegetarian, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
This is such a simple and easy recipe but delivers some awesome flavors! The only problem I ran into was getting my sauce the right consistency- even after simmering for several minutes, it was a little soupier than I would like. Next time I think I would do a little less chicken broth and heavy cream than it called for. Overall a great tasty and simple pasta dish!
These were super yummy – probably some of the best I’ve ever tried!
I need some of this right now!! Creamy, cheesy, & tastes so good!!
So delicious! Great flavors and easy to make!
Made this for dinner tonight. It was fabulous!! My husband wasn’t going to eat so I was looking for something easy to make for the kids. My little guy is lactose intolerant (parmesan is ok), which eliminates a lot of recipes. Saw this recipe right away and it looked so yummy. Wow, it did not disappoint. It was so good, my husband quickly forgot that he wasn’t hungry!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It will be a regular at my table.
Yum! This looks amazing! I need to give it a try.