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    Home » Vegetables

    Lemon Butter Gnocchi with Kale Chips

    Published: Sep 29, 2020 · Modified: May 7, 2021 by Genevieve

    Jump to Recipe

    Ever wanted to make your own gnocchi and thought 'nahh probs too hard'? Well, don't! It's actually really simple and quite a lot of fun 🙂 Adding some crispy kale chips absolutely completes this rich and yum lemon butter gnocchi. Not only does it add a great contrasting crunch, it'll also help up your fibre intake! Serve with a generous sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

    Plate full of cooked lemon butter gnocchi

    Get creative with what you use to get those creases in the gnocchi. The creases/fun shapes help the gnocchi catch all the delicious lemon butter thyme sauces. I used a fork to shape these as I don't have a gnocchi board.

    TIP: If you're short on time, just poke a deep dent in each gnocchi (with your index finger) and call it a day! Get's the job done 😉

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Making gnocchi from scratch
    • Cooking Method
    • Other delicious pasta recipes
    • 📖 Recipe

    Ingredients

    All ingredients required for this recipe, labeled

    Making gnocchi from scratch

    Making your own gnocchi is a super rewarding experience and definitely beats the store-bought ones! PLUS, it's an impressive dish to make that comes with loads of bragging rights 😉

    Can I make gnocchi without a potato ricer?

    YES! Unless you're going for restaurant-quality, just use the good old potato masher. You might end up with tiny little lumps of potatoes in your gnocchi but that's the beauty of home-cooking right!?

    Making the smoothest potato mash for gnocchi with a potato masher

    This is the way I've found works well to get the smoothest mashed potatoes possible for gnocchi:

    • Peel, cut potatoes as evenly in size as possible and boil in water until no resistance when pierced with a sharp knife. Boiling time is about 30-35 minutes. Getting the potatoes really soft is the key to smooth mash!
    • Once potatoes are nice and soft, tip cooking water out and spread potatoes onto the kitchen bench (clean!). Let it steam for about 3 minutes, drawing as much moisture out as possible.
    • Now, mash the potatoes with a potato masher and get it as smooth as you can.

    Kneading the gnocchi dough

    Good news: gnocchi doughs are one of those doughs that require minimal kneading! The less you knead your dough, the better. This is because the more you work the dough, the tougher it gets and so when boiled, it won't puff up as nicely and you end up with dense gnocchi. Nobody wants dense gnocchi. So knead just enough so that it forms a smooth dough - like image #2 below.

    • How to make potato gnocchi
    • how to make potato gnocchi
    • how to make potato gnocchi
    • how to make potato gnocchi
    • how to make potato gnocchi
    • shape your potato gnocchi

    STEP 1. Combine dough ingredients (mashed potatoes, flour, egg, salt and white pepper) on a heavily floured kitchen bench. If you have a dough scraper, perfect. If not, just use a fork and mix.

    STEP 2. Knead the dough with your hands until just smooth. Form dough into a rectangular block.

    STEP 3. With a knife (or dough scraper), cut the dough into even logs. The pictures above used double the ingredients required for this recipe as I was testing 🙂 This recipe will yield about 2 - 3 long logs.

    STEP 4. Roll each log out into really long sausages. You want it to be around 2cm thick. Like image #4 above.

    STEP 5. Heavily flour everywhere, cut the sausage doughs into little pillows. About 1.5cm wide, like image #5 above. If the knife/dough scraper starts to get a little sticky, just sprinkle flour on both sides and continue.

    STEP 6. Either shape the gnocchi with a fork (like the picture below) or poke a deep dent in it.

    shaped gnocchi ready to be cooked

    Cooking Method

    The cooking part is really quick. All the hard work (totally worth it) is now done and it's time to make it delicious!

    To ensure gnocchi is perfectly golden, cook in batches. About 300g at a time, depending on the size of your pan. You want each gnocchi to touch the bottom of the pan.

    STEP 1. Cook gnocchi in boiling water, once they float to the top they're are done. About 1 - 2 minutes. Drain gnocchi by scooping with a slotted spoon in a colander. Let it steam for about 30 seconds to draw moisture out.

    STEP 2. Saute gnocchi in a non-stick pan with a knob of butter and fresh lemon thyme leaves. Once the gnocchi is golden on both sides, add peas (if using frozen, thaw before cooking), lemon zest, salt and pepper. Saute for 1 more minute.

    • cooking lemon thyme butter gnocchi with kale chips!
    • lemon thyme butter gnocchi with kale chips

    Serve with crispy kale chips and as much parmesan cheese as you want!

    To make the kale chips, toss kale with a little salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake in the oven at 200°C/390°F (fan-forced) for about 10 minutes or until crispy.

    oven cooked crispy kale chips in a tray

    Look at these lovely golden pillows of joy! Buttery, crispy, lemon and thyme infused gnocchi! So good. Definitely give this recipe a go!

    close up of the finished dish with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top

    Other delicious pasta recipes

    • Vegetarian bolognese ft. roast pumpkin - budget friendly, vegan and absolutely delicious
    • Easy garlic prawn pasta - dinner done in 15 minutes! simple and tasty.
    • Spaghetti bolognese - classic bolognese and secret to perfectly tender mince? milk! Game changer for days when you don't have 2 or 3 hours to slow simmer your bolognese.
    • Creamy mushroom pasta (no cream) - healthy version of a creamy pasta. Instead of using milk to achieve creaminess, use bechamel!

    Thank you for checking out my recipes! Let me know what you think and/or if you have any questions, drop me a note in the comments section below. 🙂

    Happy cooking!

    📖 Recipe

    Lemon thyme butter gnocchi with kale chips

    Lemon thyme butter gnocchi with kale chips

    Delicious buttery, lemon and thyme infused gnocchi - this is what life is all about. Give this recipe a go and you'll find the effort of making your own gnocchi is totally worth it!
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
    Prep Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 387kcal

    Equipment

    • optional: potato ricer

    Ingredients

    Gnocchi ingredients

    • 500 g /1.1lbs potatoes about 2 large, peeled and cut in similar sizes
    • 1 egg lightly whisked
    • 100 g /3.5oz flour
    • 1 teaspoon sea salt
    • white pepper or black pepper

    Lemon thyme butter sauce (use in 2 - 3 batches)

    • 3 tablespoon unsalted butter
    • 1 cup peas if frozen, thaw before cooking
    • 2 sprigs fresh lemon thyme leaves only
    • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

    Kale chips

    • 3 cups kale leaves washed
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • salt and pepper

    Serve with

    • freshly grated parmesan cheese
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    Instructions

    Making gnocchi

    • Peel, wash and cut potatoes into similar sizes. Boil potatoes until soft, about 30-35 minutes. (see note 1)
    • Drain and allow potatoes to steam on a kitchen bench for 3 minutes. (see note 2)
    • Mash potatoes with a potato masher (or a potato ricer if you have one) on kitchen bench until as smooth as possible.
    • Mix in remaining gnocchi ingredients with a fork or a dough scraper. Once a rough dough is formed, knead lightly until smooth. About 2 minutes. Do not overwork the dough. (see note 3)
    • Form dough into a couple of long thin sausages. About 2-3 cm thick. Ensure the kitchen bench is heavily floured.
    • Cut dough sausages into little pillows, about 1.5cm wide. Shape gnocchi with a fork/gnocchi board or poke a deep dent with a finger.

    Cooking gnocchi (cook in 2 - 3 batches, see note 4)

    • Cook gnocchi in boiling water. It's done when it floats to the top, about 1-2 minutes.
    • Drain and allow the gnocchi to steam in colander for about 1 minute. (see note 2)
    • In a hot, non-stick pan, saute gnocchi with butter and lemon thyme leaves. Once golden on both sides, add peas, lemon zest and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
    • Serve with kale chips and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

    Kale chips

    • Whilst potatoes are boiling, toss all kale chips ingredients in a baking tray and bake at 200°C/390°F (fan-forced) for about 10 minutes or until crispy.

    Notes

    Note 1. Cook potatoes till really soft make sure the potatoes are cooked to the point where there is no resistance when pierced with a sharp knife. This will ensure they can be easily mashed when using a potato masher. If potatoes are not soft enough they will not mash as well and you'll end up with chunky mash. 
    Note 2. Allowing potatoes and cooked gnocchi to steam helps drawing out as much moisture as possible. This will ensure a) gnocchi dough is not watery/thus avoid using more flour than desired (more flour in gnocchi means less fluffy and dense) and b) cooked gnocchi can be sauteed to golden. 
    Note 3. Do not overwork the dough kneading the dough too much will result in gluten from the flour forming. Gluten means gnocchi toughens and gets rubbery and we dont want that!
    Note 4. Boil and saute gnocchi in batches depending on the size of your pan, you want to saute gnocchi in batches of 2 - 3. Aim to have each gnocchi touching the frying pan when sauteing to achieve the lovely golden colour. Also, depending on the size of your boiling pot, don't overcrowd the pot when boiling gnocchi. Overcrowding the pot increases the risk of gnocchi turning into mush! 
    Tried this recipe?Mention @Casuallypeckish or tag #casuallypeckish!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 387kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.9g | Protein: 9.8g | Fat: 17.3g | Saturated Fat: 8.6g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Potassium: 846mg | Fiber: 6.7g | Sugar: 3.5g | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 3mg

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jackie

      October 05, 2020 at 5:26 pm

      5 stars
      I love this!!!

      Reply
      • Genevieve

        October 06, 2020 at 12:38 pm

        Thank you so much Jackie!

        Reply

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