Lemon gnocchi, or gnocchi al limone if you’re feeling fancy, is an easy-to-make weeknight dish that’s bright and creamy and perfectly lemony. Picture this: pillowy gnocchi swimming in a creamy sauce that’s loaded with freshly grated pecorino cheese and bursting with lemon. Oh, this is so good! The whole family will love it.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If this classic Italian sauce isn’t one of your favorites, it’s about to be. And what’s not to love? A luxurious lemon cream sauce paired with potato gnocchi, the whole thing is rich and comforting but also bright and beautiful. The best of both worlds, even if a better way to describe the experience is heavenly. This lusciously creamy gnocchi dish is minimalist and elegant – easy enough for an easy weeknight dinner but also a meal you can serve it at a dinner party. And for the grand finale? The whole dish can be ready and on the dinner table with just 7 staple ingredients!
Ingredients
- Pasta water: Some hot, starchy pasta water is used to help emulsify the cheese and butter and bring about more creaminess to the sauce.
- Heavy cream: This truly ensures you end up with the richest, creamiest lemon sauce.
- Oil: For this recipe, you can use extra virgin or just virgin olive oil.
- Butter: I usually use unsalted butter in my cooking and baking for control of the salt content.
- Lemon: You will need the zest and juice of a fresh lemon.
- Cheese: You can use Parmesan Reggiano or Pecorino Romano..
- Gnocchi: For a quick, weeknight meal, I opt for store-bought, shelf-stable gnocchi. If you’re feeling ambitious, homemade gnocchi are a real treat.
- Fresh basil: Optional, but basil or any fresh herbs will really take this dish from good to great.
- Seasoning: sea salt and black pepper.
How to Make It
- Cook gnocchi according to package instructions with heavily salted water. Drain, but reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid for the sauce.
- Let’s make the lemon cream sauce! Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds-1 minute until it starts smelling oh so good and the pan is dotted with little flecks of golden brown.. Add ¾ cup heavy cream to a rondeau with lemon zest and continue to cook, whisking often, until liquid is just beginning to simmer, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until melted and sauce is creamy and emulsified. Remove from heat.
- Congrats! You are more than halfway to dinner! Add ¾ cup pasta cooking liquid to cream sauce and return the pot or pan to medium heat.
- Add your cooked gnocchi and gently stir to combine. Add in your 3 ounces of grated parmesan cheese. I like to start by adding about half of it and then slowly stirring in the rest. Also, who are we kidding, feel free to grate cheese into your pan of gnocchi with reckless abandon. Remove from the heat and stir in your lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add additional broth if needed to keep the sauce nice and silky.
- Top the whole thing with basil and serve with (even) more freshly grated parmesan.
Tips & Tricks for Nailing This Lemon Gnocchi Recipe
- Salt your gnocchi water. Somewhere between a tablespoon and ‘salty like the sea’. But seriously, a teaspoon or two just doesn’t cut it most of the time. If this is new to you, I get it. I used to be salt shy. You can taste it after you add a tablespoon. You’re going for briny not salt bomb. Since we use this in our final sauce, it’s nice to have a base level of flavor to bring to the party.
- Add half of the pasta water at a time to get the perfect sauce to gnocchi ratio for you. If you’re a little heavy handed on the liquid and are worried it’s gone a little soupy – remember these little dumplings are absorbent little fellows. Simmer it for a couple of minutes and it should start to thicken up.
- If your sauce is too thin, you can also fix it with a little cornstarch slurry. To make the slurry, use a small bowl to dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in 1-2 tablespoons of warm water. Slowly pour into the pot and then stir until the sauce thickens.
- Accidentally tossed your gnocchi water? Swap for chicken broth and a cornstarch slurry.
Tools You’ll Need
- Cooking vessel for your gnocchi
- Rondeau or other large skillet, pot, or pan
- Sturdy spoon for stirring
- Microplane grater
What to Serve with Lemon Gnocchi
When dinner’s this easy to make, you have two options:
- Really lean into it. No fuss, no frills. Give yourself a pat on the back because you just got a delicious meal on the table in record time. Enjoy it!
- Pair it with something else! If you’re feeling the Mediterranean vibes this is giving. You could turn the whole thing into a creamy lemon chicken gnocchi if you have a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts on hand, or, make this to accompany these Tomates Farcies (a.k.a. French, Stuffed Tomatoes). And if you’re a fan of sous-vide cooking, try this Sous Vide Flank Steak – I finish it with an herby green caper sauce. Of course, you can opt to keep it simple (and vegetarian), with this Lemon Parmesan Swiss Chard Salad.
Make Ahead & Storage
Make-Ahead: This is meant to be eaten as soon as it’s made.
How to Store: Cover the gnocchi in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This will not freeze well.
How to Reheat on the Stovetop: Add the desired amount of gnocchi to a medium-sized saucepot, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, and heat over low to medium heat while continually gently stirring with a spoon until hot. Adjust seasonings and serve.
How to Reheat in the Microwave: Add the desired amount of gnocchi to a microwave-safe dish. Add a tablespoon or 2 of water, and heat for 2-2:30 minutes, stirring half-way through and again at the end. Heat in 30-second bursts if needed. Adjust seasonings and serve.
📖 Recipe
Creamy Lemon Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 2 16 ounce packages gnocchi
- 1 ½ cups of the gnocchi’s cooking liquid
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- Zest from one lemon – 1 teaspoon
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter divided: 2 tablespoons and 4 tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 oz. finely grated Parmesan approximately ¾ cup, plus more for garnish
- Optional: fresh basil leaves to garnish, cut into a chiffonade or loosely torn
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook gnocchi according to package instructions with heavily salted water. Drain, but reserve 1 ½ cups of the cooking liquid for the sauce.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add garlic and fry for 30 seconds-1 minute until fragrant and starting to turn golden brown. Add ¾ cup heavy cream to a rondeau with lemon zest and continue to cook, whisking often, until liquid is just beginning to simmer, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until melted and sauce is creamy and emulsified. Remove from heat.
- Add ¾ cup pasta cooking liquid to cream sauce and return the pot or pan to medium heat.
- Add your cooked gnocchi and gently stir to combine. Add in your 3 ounces of grated parmesan cheese; start by adding about half of it and then slowly stir in the rest. Remove from the heat and stir in your lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper; add additional broth if needed to keep the sauce nice and silky.
- Toss the cooked gnocchi in the sauce. Top with basil and serve with more freshly grated parmesan if desired.
