Baked Spinach Gnocchi in Cream Sauce – Lighter Version

Baked Spinach Gnocchi in Cream Sauce: absolutely easy, delicious and comforting recipe made using potato gnocchi, spinach, cashew milk, Italian seasoning and topped with crunchy almonds. Perfect to surprise your loved one with a cozy  Restaurant style Valentine meal at home.

We are almost in the middle of January and this ‘Baked Spinach Gnocchi in Cream Sauce’ is my Treat Meal for us for following up on our New Year Resolution ….eating healthy…ish 😉

We have both been craving something creamy, baked and a pasta dish but still wanted to keep things under control and low carb.

So, here I’m with this baked gnocchi version which is Super Yummm but also makes a great Valentine’s meal for two!

The reason for us craving this was also as we passed a particular restaurant in Bay Area which serves this popular creamy Italian gnocchi dish but ofcourse we stayed true to our diet and skipped it.

Hence, I decided to try my own healthiest version of the dish and instead of using ‘full cream’ for the base, I’m making the sauce using Cashew Milk and Cheese (just enough to make it count).

Ingredients for Baked Spinach Gnocchi in Cream Sauce:

Before you go ahead and grab the ingredients, I’m also adding some broccoli to make it even greener n healthy. So what we need are:

Gnocchi – I’m using potato gnocchi but you can use ricotta gnocchi or even cauliflower gnocchi

Cashew Milk – if you want, you can use cream or almond milk (coconut milk and soy milk doesn’t taste that good here).

Spinach – can use frozen or fresh.

Broccoli – optional but adds a nice crunch and taste to the dish

Flour – for the cream sauce

Butter – for the cream sauce

Cheese – I’m using a mix of mozzarella and parmesan

Italian Seasoning 

Garlic Powder

Chili Flakes – optional 

Almonds – slivered 

(Picture of ALL the Ingredients Given Below)

How to Make Gnocchi

As cute as the gnocchi looks, to some of my friends it’s really intimidating to cook. I’ve even had someone ask me if I boil it will it turn into a slurry?

So, my dear friend, Gnocchi is really easy to cook and most come with package instructions for the same (no matter the kind of gnocchi you are using):

1. Start by Boiling Water in a Large Pot.
2. Add Gnocchi, stir and let this simmer on medium flame (remember, gnocchi is dense when you start cooking and sink to the bottom of the pot).
3. After 2-3 minutes, you’d see the gnocchi floating on top and that means they are ready to be used in a recipe.
4. Turn off the heat and strain the excess water. 
5. Keep the cooked gnocchi aside and let’s get to the next step.

 

Blanching or Sauteeing the Spinach:

We can definitely have a debate here as some like the greens blanched and some like it sauteed. So there’s no hard n fast rule, you can use whichever technique to cook the greens.

I like them ‘Blanched’ because of 2 reasons:

1. Blanching retains the bright green color of the veggies.
2. Uses less oil or time 🙂

To Blanch the Greens, here’s what I do:

Boil water in a large pot.

1. As soon as it starts to bubble, add broccoli and blanch/cook for 2 minutes. Then remove from water.
2. In the same pot, add spinach and stir for a minute. Remove the blanched spinach and keep aside.
3. You can chop the broccoli and spinach slightly to make them similar to the size of the gnocchi. 

Making the Cream Sauce :

Now the heart of this dish is the ‘Cream Sauce’ !!! It binds everything together and adds such delicious creamy flavor that you’d literally remember this dish for days.

1. We start by heating some butter and roasting flour in it for a minute (lowest flame).
2. Then add cashew milk and stir the sauce. It takes a minute or a half for it to thicken.

 

Making the Dish:

1. Add grated cheese, seasoning, garlic powder, chili flakes, slivered almonds along with chopped broccoli, spinach and gnocchi.
2. Stir everything lightly to cream and quote everything.
3. Transfer to a buttered baking dish and add some more slivered almonds on top (+ chili flakes and cheese)
4. Bake for 15 minutes and let the top bubble for a minute.
5. Turn off the oven and remove the dish.
6. Serve hot and enjoy

 

That’s it the dish get’s ready in 15-20 minutes and trust me your whole kitchen would smell amazing!!!

I usually add some more chili flakes on top but that’s totally optional.

 

 

 

So here we go dear, the dish is ready to be devoured and would make a perfect special meal for two 🙂 or a great weeknight meal for 4.

 

 

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Tried Our Recipe – AWESOME!!!

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