Crispy gnocchi in brown butter

Pan fried crispy gnocchi in brown butter is pretty much heaven on a plate. Homemade potato gnocchi is taken to new delicious levels when crisped up in a pan and covered in a foamy brown butter with sage. It's a 10 minute sauce perfect for a cosy week night meal. Feel free to use store bought gnocchi if you don't feel like making it from scratch.

Hello! I am writing up this irresistible crispy gnocchi in brown butter as it's the perfect first recipe to make with my easy homemade potato gnocchi. Pan frying gnocchi really is my favourite way to eat it. It creates a lovely textural contrast between the crisp outside and soft pillowy inside.

This foamy brown butter is the same method as my 10 minute brown butter for pasta. The potato gnocchi, which is boiled and fried BEFORE making the butter sauce, is so easy to make from scratch so definitely give it a try!

Ingredients

• Potato gnocchi - I really recommend making it from scratch, it's so fun! Store bought is also great so if you don't feel like a project, buy your fave one to cook at home.
• Olive oil - I pan fry the gnocchi in olive oil (plus a little knob of butter)
• Butter - I normally recommend unsalted butter but I actually prefer salted here as the gnocchi can always use some salt.
• Sage - Nothing makes a brown butter better than some crispy sage. It really takes it up a level.

How to pan fry gnocchi

You might think you could add the gnocchi to the brown butter and it will crisp up in that but it actually needs longer. This is the reason you boil and pan fry the gnocchi BEFORE making the brown butter.

1. Boil the gnocchi in well salted boiling water. Do it in a couple of batches if cooking for four people.
2. When the gnocchi has floated to the top, give it another 30 seconds then pull them out. I like to use a spider strainer for this so I can keep the water boiling for more batches.
3. Place them on a tray while you finish the rest and heat up the oil to fry.
4. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a little knob of butter in a fry pan over medium - high heat.
5. Fry the gnocchi for 5 - 6 minutes, turning often until golden and crisp on the outside.
6. Turn the heat down if they get dark too quick.
7. You could make the brown butter at the same time so they are ready together.

What is brown butter?

It's simple! Brown butter is the result of melting butter until the milk solids in the butter seperate and brown. It also evaporates some of the water so you'll often end up with less than you started with. It's a really simple process and creates a rich, nutty taste that is PERFECT for pasta and gnocchi! Most commonly you might have browned butter when baking (The Cloudy Kitchen Brown Butter Choc Chip Cookies are a staple in my house). There are very clear stages when browning butter which you will get to know really well.

Firstly the butter will melt and then start to sizzle. It will get quite loud and crackly with bigger bubbles. Then it will quieten down considerably and that is when the top starts to foam. This is the stage you need to keep a really good eye on it. It's often quite hard to see what is going on under all that foam so swirl the pan or use a spatula to check those brown bits aren't getting too dark!

How to make the foamy brown butter

1. Cut your butter into cubes so it melts evenly. Pick your sage leaves, depending on the size of the leaves, I like to allow 6 - 8 per person.
2. Melt the butter in a frypan over medium heat and when it just starts to sizzle, throw your sage leaves in.
3. Continue cooking the butter, swirling the pan so it cooks evenly.
4. The butter will create big bubbles and crackle quite loudly. Feel free to turn the heat down if you think it is cooking too quickly.
5. The bubbles and noise will subside and then it will start to foam on the top.
6. Keep swirling the pan so you can see what is going on under the foam. We are looking for the specks on the bottom to be brown NOT black. Keep in mind it will continue to cook when you take it off the heat.
7. I find the butter stays the foamiest when you spoon it over the gnocchi on the plates.

Recipe FAQs

Want some other recipes to try?

If you loved this crispy gnocchi in a brown butter then check out my recipe section for all sorts of pasta guides and sauces. For more buttery goodness check out my Easy White Wine and Butter Pasta. For a spicy kick you could try my 3 Ingredient Nduja Butter Pasta or my Lemon Butter Pasta, both of these would be perfect with pan fried gnocchi too!

Made this recipe and loved it?

I would love love LOVE if you could leave me a review down below and let me know what you thought! I love to hear any changes or adaptions you have made too. Also if you put a photo on instagram, please tag me so I can see, it makes my day!

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