Holy deliciousness, guys! Creamy kale gnocchi is everything we’re looking for in a cozy weeknight dinner. It’s creamy from mascarpone cheese, Pecorino Romano, and a homemade kale sauce, spicy from a healthy sprinkling of red pepper flakes, all with the perfect crunch from crushed walnuts and crispy pancetta.
It’s texturally amazing (my goodness, we are just crazy about light, pillowy gnocchi!) and exactly the kind of meal we crave on a cool fall or winter evening.
What Is Gnocchi?
Gnocchi are traditional Italian potato dumplings. They’re meant to be light and airy — like a pillow! Some gnocchi have a tendency to be dense and weighed down, so once you master homemade gnocchi or even find a store brand that you’re crazy about, stock up! I buy gnocchi from our local Italian deli: Rosario’s. These little cuties are sourced straight from Italy and cook up in 2 minutes flat. Can’t beat that!
What are gnocchi made out of? A simple mix of mashed potatoes, flour, eggs, and sometimes cheese. Super delicious, cook up quickly, and can be paired with any sauce that you’d traditionally use with pasta!
The trick to soft, light gnocchi? Don’t overcook them! Too much water makes potato gnocchi water logged and gummy. But that ain’t gonna happen here, no way, no how!
If you love gnocchi as much as we do, be sure to try these recipes next: Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina and Pesto Gnocchi.
Ingredients For Creamy Kale Gnocchi
- Gnocchi, store-bought or homemade
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Red pepper flakes
- Lacinato kale
- Walnuts
- Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano
- Heavy cream or mascarpone cheese
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh herbs or micro greens, for serving
How To Make Kale Gnocchi
Cook the kale. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp Kosher salt, then add ripped kale leaves. Cook for 5 minutes, then use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer cooked kale to a blender or food processor. Reserve cooking water.
Make the creamy kale sauce. To the blender add ½ cup reserved cooking water, ¼ cup walnuts, 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp Kosher salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Blend or process until very smooth. If needed, add additional olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, to help loosen the sauce. Set aside.
Crisp the pancetta. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add cubed pancetta then cook for 3-5 minutes (cook time depends on the size of the pancetta cubes, see note), until golden brown and lightly crispy. Drain on a paper towel.
Cook the gnocchi. Return the pot of water the kale cooked in to a rapid boil. Add the gnocchi and cook according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of cooking liquid, then drain gnocchi.
Assemble kale gnocchi. Heat 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. When melted, add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant, then pour drained gnocchi on top. Pour kale sauce, mascarpone, and grated Pecorino on top, then stir to thoroughly combine. Return crispy pancetta to the pan, then toss one final time. Divide creamy kale gnocchi into serving bowls.
Serve immediately. Garnish potato gnocchi with additional grated Pecorino cheese, crushed walnuts, and a drizzle of a high quality finishing olive oil, and a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt, if using.
Creamy kale gnocchi is best enjoyed right away.
Tips For The Best Gnocchi
- Don’t overcook gnocchi! Most gnocchi cook in a matter of minutes! If you cook them too long, they become water logged, which turns into gummy, dense gnocchi. Avoid at all costs!
- Same as when cooking pasta, you want to reserve about ½ cup of cooking water to add to the sauce later. It makes the kale sauce extra luscious and creamy!
- When you add the cooked gnocchi to the pan, allow them to crisp up for a bit before stirring. You want to see a little color on them!
- If you can’t find Lacinato kale, use other variety of kale or other leafy greens.
- Parmigiano Reggiano is a great substitution for Pecorino Romano!
- If you can find or buy a chunk of pancetta and cube it yourself, cut the pieces into a ¼” dice. If you buy pre-cut pancetta, they will likely be smaller (and require less time to cook).
- No pancetta? This would be delicious with sausage too!
Part of the beauty of gnocchi is that you can treat them just like pasta! Serve them with bolognese sauce, lamb ragu, arugula pesto or any other sauce that you love to mix with pasta!
If you make this Kale Gnocchi recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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For more vegetarian recipes, check out the following:
- Butternut squash risotto
- Stuffed artichokes
- Lentil salad
- Stuffed portobello mushrooms
- Roasted golden beets
Creamy Kale Gnocchi Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Lacinato kale stems discarded, leaves torn into 1" pieces
- ¼ cup walnuts plus 2 Tbsp crushed walnuts for serving
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil divided
- 5 oz pancetta cubed
- 17.6 oz package of gnocchi
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes ¼ tsp if you want it less spicy!
- ⅓ cup mascarpone cheese
- ½ cup Pecorino Romano grated
- 2 tsp Kosher salt divided
- ¼ tsp Freshly ground black pepper
- High quality extra virgin olive oil for serving
- Flaky sea salt for serving
Instructions
- Cook the kale. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp Kosher salt, then add ripped kale leaves. Cook for 5 minutes, then use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer cooked kale to a blender or food processor. Reserve cooking water.
- Make the kale sauce. To the blender add ½ cup reserved cooking water, ¼ cup walnuts, 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 1 tsp Kosher salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Blend or process until very smooth. If needed, add additional olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, to help loosen the sauce. Set aside.
- Crisp the pancetta. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 5 oz cubed pancetta then cook for 3-5 minutes (cook time depends on the size of the pancetta cubes, see note), until golden brown and lightly crispy. Drain on a paper towel.
- Cook the gnocchi. Return the pot of water the kale cooked in to a rapid boil. Add the gnocchi and cook according to package directions. Reserve ½ cup of cooking liquid, then drain gnocchi.
- Assemble kale gnocchi. Heat 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. When melted, add garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant, then pour drained gnocchi on top. Allow gnocchi to cook for a minute before stirring so they get light golden brown. Pour kale sauce, mascarpone, grated Pecorino, and ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water on top, then stir to thoroughly combine. If you want more of a sauce, add remaining ¼ cup reserved water. Return crispy pancetta to the pan, then toss one final time. Divide gnocchi into serving bowls.
- Finish gnocchi. Garnish gnocchi with additional grated Pecorino cheese, crushed walnuts, and a drizzle of a high quality finishing olive oil and a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt, if using.
Notes
- If you can’t find Lacinato kale, use other variety of kale or other leafy greens.
- Parmigiano Reggiano is a great substitution for Pecorino Romano!
- If you can find or buy a chunk of pancetta and cube it yourself, cut the pieces into a ¼” dice. If you buy pre-cut pancetta, they will likely be smaller (and require less time to cook).
- No pancetta? This would be delicious with sausage too!
The ingredient list calls for 1/2 cup walnut plus 2 tbls. the directions say to put 1/4 walnuts in food processor to make kale sauce & then at the end to sprinkle with crushed walnuts. Inconsistency is hard when a person is trying a recipe for the first time. I did appreciate the advice on substitutions, so I was not afraid to try substituting cashews for the walnuts, italian sausage for the pancetta & I had regular curly kale, no lacinto handy. Also did not have marcopone cheese so heavy cream was used. My sauce was thin enough that I withheld the 1/4 pasta water at the end. This recipe is definitely a keeper but I do recommend, if you can, to make sure the ingredient list is consistent with the directions with respect to measurements. (Sorry I did not remember to take a pic.)
Virginia, thank you SO much for pointing out this discrepancy! I’ve cross checked my written recipe and updated the ingredients to reflect the correct amount (it’s ¼ cup, as was written in the individual instructions). I am, most of the time, a one woman show and as hard as I try to catch every mistake, I miss things. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know so I can make sure it’s clear for future readers making this recipe at home. And I love that you went for it with the substitutions — sounds like it came out great! Appreciate you!! xo, Ari