Brown Butter Sage Gnocchi is the ultimate form of Italian comfort food. This dish is filled with toasted, nutty flavors from the browned butter, sage, parmesan and toasted almonds. It's absolutely incredible and it's ready to eat in under 30 minutes!
I'm a huge fan of making easy dinners look elegant and this is the perfect example. This recipe is so simple to make, as long as you keep an eye on the butter (it can go from brown to burnt bits real quick).
I'm obsessed with gnocchi because it cooks in 2 minutes and tastes amazing..like a glorious little potato dumpling. The sauce is also drool worthy, so let's make it...
For more of my favorite gnocchi dinners, try this Gnocchi Bolognese, Ground Beef Gnocchi, Creamy Pesto Gnocchi and Crockpot Chicken Gnocchi Soup.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Quick. Ready to eat in under 30 minutes with minimal prep work.
- Easy to Make. Simple to follow step by step instructions with photos.
- Big on Taste. Get your tastebuds ready...we're combining a lot of flavors and textures in this recipe (my favorite).
- Filling. A meatless dinner that's actually filling. You can also easily pair this gnocchi with a recipe like Chicken Romano, Sheet Pan Italian Sausage or Mini Meatballs.
- Date Night Favorite. A restaurant quality recipe for way less of the cost! Great for Valentine's Day ❤️❤️
Ingredients:
Potato Gnocchi: Use the package kind of gnocchi in the pasta isle for this recipe. The De Cecco brand is one of my favorites.
Salted Butter: I prefer a grass fed salted butter for this recipe. It has a higher fat content, which brings richer flavor and it browns really nicely. Kerrygold is always a great option.
Parmesan Cheese: Use a parmesan from the block and grate it yourself for the best melt. Bagged pre-shredded cheese aren't a good option for this recipe because they won't melt well in the sauce from the anti-caking agents used. Parmigiano Reggiano is always my cheese brand of choice for it's superior taste.
*Find the full recipe ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
- Sliced almonds can be substituted with slivered almonds. Chopped roasted pecans would also be amazing on top.
- This browned butter sage sauce also goes amazing over any pasta. Stuffed pastas like ravioli and tortellini are really yummy too.
- Don't substitute the heavy cream with milk or half and half. It will separate.
For more quick Italian recipes try this Pastina Soup, Italian Grinder Sliders, Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta, and Lazy Lasagna.
How to Make Browned Butter Gnocchi:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the almonds out into an even layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes until toasted to golden brown, giving them a shake half way through baking. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Step 2: Prepare a large pot with water for the gnocchi and bring to a boil, but don't add the gnocchi yet. In an enameled skillet or stainless steel skillet, melt the butter over medium low heat. It's really important to watch it the whole time. Once the color starts to darken, stir every 15 seconds or so and allow it to continue to brown. Once the color is a golden brown, add in the sage and toast in the browned butter. Reduce the heat to low once the butter reaches an Amber color. Immediately add in the heavy cream and continue to stir to warm up.
Step 3: Once the heavy cream goes into the sauce, add the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender.
Step 4: While the gnocchi is cooking, sprinkle the black pepper and toss the cheese into the sage butter sauce and stir to melt.
Expert Tips:
- Enameled skillets or stainless steel skillets are the best for browning butter.
- Keep an eye on the butter at all times. It stays yellow for a while, then will quickly burn. It's important to keep stirring once it starts to brown in color. Depending on the heat and the pan, it should take somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes to get to an amber color and a nutty smell.
- The gnocchi only takes a few minutes (2-3) to boil in the water. Don't overcook it.
- Once the gnocchi goes into the sauce, immediately serve. The brown butter and cream sauce loves to start to separate quickly.
- Shred the parmesan cheese from the block or it won't melt as well.
Looking for more quick dinner recipes? Try this Prosciutto Chicken, Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry, Mushroom Couscous, and Spaghetti Alfredo.
Serving Suggestion:
This recipe serves 2 people for a full meal. If you want it as a side dish paired with a meat, it's excellent for 4 people.
More Italian Recipes to Try:
If you tried this Brown Butter Gnocchi Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
PrintRecipe
Brown Butter Sage Gnocchi
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: (2) 1 cup servings
Description
Brown Butter Sage Gnocchi is the ultimate form of Italian comfort food. This dish is filled with toasted, nutty flavors from the browned butter, sage, parmesan and toasted almonds. It's absolutely incredible and it's ready to eat in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ½ cup salted butter (preference for grass fed like Kerrygold)
- 8 fresh sage leaves, washed, dried then cut into a chiffonade or thin slices
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, shredded fine from the block + (optional) additional ¼ cup for serving
- 17 ounce potato gnocchi *in the package in pasta isle, not frozen
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the almonds out into an even layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 5 to 8 minutes until toasted to golden brown, giving them a shake half way through baking. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Prepare a large pot with water on the stovetop for the gnocchi and bring to a boil, but don't add the gnocchi yet. In an enameled skillet or stainless steel skillet on the stovetop, melt the butter over medium low heat. It's really important to watch it the whole time. Once the color starts to darken, stir every 15 seconds or so and allow it to continue to brown. Once the color is a golden brown, add in the sage and toast in the browned butter. Reduce the heat to low once the butter reaches an Amber color. Immediately add in the heavy cream and continue to stir to warm up.
- Once the heavy cream goes into the sauce, add the gnocchi into the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- While the gnocchi is cooking, toss in the black pepper and cheese into the sage butter sauce and stir to melt.
- Drain the gnocchi water and transfer the gnocchi to the browned butter sage sauce. Stir to combine and serve immediately topped with the toasted almonds. Optional: Garnish with additional parmesan cheese and a few sage leaves. Enjoy!
Notes
- Enameled skillets or stainless steel skillets are the best for browning butter.
- Keep an eye on the butter at all times. It stays yellow for a while, then will quickly burn. It's important to keep stirring once it starts to brown in color. Depending on the heat and the pan, it should take somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes to get to an amber color and a nutty smell.
- The gnocchi only takes a few minutes (2-3) to boil in the water. Don't overcook it.
- Once the gnocchi goes into the sauce, immediately serve. The brown butter and cream sauce loves to start to separate over time.
- Shred the parmesan cheese from the block or it won't melt as well.
- Servings: This is enough for 2 people to eat as a meal or 4 people to eat as a side dish.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: dinner
- Method: stovetop/bake
- Cuisine: Italian
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