Sheet-Pan Sourdough Gnocchi with Crispy Cabbage, Brown-Butter Miso & Lemon
January makes me crave food that feels like a café lunch—golden, crunchy, saucy—but I’m not suffering for brunch on a Tuesday. This sheet-pan sourdough gnocchi is my answer: pillowy inside, crisp at the edges, and tangy in that quiet, fermented way.
The inspiration is a mash-up of two obsessions: Paris-style browned butter (beurre noisette—“hazelnut butter,” because of the nutty aroma) and Bay Area sourdough. Add miso for depth, cabbage for winter sweetness, lemon for lift. High impact, low fuss.
I first made a version of this after a cold, foggy market run—just a lonely half head of cabbage, a jar of miso, and a starter begging to be used. I roasted everything on one tray, tossed it in brown butter, and ate it standing at the counter. It tasted like I’d planned my life.
Why it works: roasting gnocchi dries the surface fast, so you get crisp edges without boiling water or extra dishes.
Cami’s shortcut note: Start the cabbage 10 minutes before the gnocchi so it caramelizes instead of steaming.
Don’t skip this: a real preheat. Timid ovens make tight gnocchi—like a bad alibi.
Make it yours: swap cabbage for Brussels sprouts, add chili crisp, or finish with grated Parm or toasted sesame. Butter is not a garnish.
Featured Recipe
Sheet-Pan Sourdough Gnocchi with Crispy Cabbage, Brown-Butter Miso & Lemon
This is my January comfort move: pillowy, tangy sourdough gnocchi that you don’t boil—just roast until the edges go crisp, then gloss in nutty brown butter miso. Add winter-sweet cabbage and a hit of lemon for lift. It eats like café food (golden, crunchy, saucy) but it’s weeknight-simple and wildly satisfying.
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Ingredients
- 900 g Russet potatoes (about 2 medium)(starchy potatoes = lighter gnocchi)
- 12 g Fine sea salt(divided, plus more to taste)
- 150 g Mature sourdough starter (100% hydration)(active or unfed; either works)
- 180 g All-purpose flour(plus extra for dusting)
- 1 Egg yolk(optional but helpful for beginners)
- 350 g Savoy cabbage(or green cabbage; sliced into 2 cm ribbons)
- 35 g Extra-virgin olive oil(about 2 1/2 tbsp)
- 90 g Unsalted European-style butter(Butter is not a garnish.)
- 20 g White miso(about 1 tbsp; adjust to taste)
- 30 g Hot water(to loosen miso into a sauce)
- 2 cloves Garlic(finely grated or minced)
- 1 Lemon(zest + 2 tbsp juice)
- 2 g Black pepper(freshly cracked, to taste)
- 40 g Parmigiano-Reggiano(finely grated; optional but excellent)
- 1 pinch Flaky sea salt(to finish)
- 1 lemon zest (from 1 lemon) Lemon zest(Called for in the brown-butter miso step; zest is not listed in the ingredient list.)
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice(Used in miso and to finish; remaining lemon juice to taste; lemon juice not listed separately in ingredients.)
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F. Put a rimmed sheet pan in the oven to preheat too—hot metal = better browning.
10 min
Tip: Don’t skip the preheat. A timid oven gives you gnocchi that’s tight like a bad alibi.
- 2
Bake the 900 g Russet potatoes (about 2 medium) (whole, unpeeled) directly on the rack until very tender and the skins feel papery: a knife should slide in with zero resistance.
55 min
Tip: If you’re in a rush: microwave until mostly soft, then finish 15–20 min in the oven to dry them out.
- 3
While the potatoes bake, toss the 350 g Savoy cabbage with 35 g Extra-virgin olive oil and 3 g fine salt. Spread on a second sheet pan (or a large roasting dish) in a thin layer.
5 min
Tip: Cabbage needs space. Crowd it and it steams; give it air and it gets sweet, crisp edges.
- 4
Roast the cabbage until browned at the tips and tender in the middle, tossing once halfway.
20 min
Tip: Aim for caramelized edges, not blackened shreds.
- 5
As soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, split and rice or mash the flesh onto a clean work surface (or into a wide bowl). Sprinkle with 6 g fine salt and let steam off for 2 minutes—dry potato is the secret.
5 min
Tip: If you mash into a compact bowl while hot, you trap steam and you’ll need more flour. That’s how gnocchi turn heavy.
- 6
Add the 150 g Mature sourdough starter (100% hydration) and (if using) the Egg yolk. Fold gently to combine. Sprinkle in the 180 g All-purpose flour and mix just until you have a soft, slightly tacky dough that holds together. Add 20 g extra flour only if it’s truly unmanageable.
6 min
Tip: Non-negotiable: don’t knead like bread. Overworked gnocchi goes chewy.
- 7
Dust the counter with flour. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll each into a rope about 2 cm thick, then cut into 2 cm pillows. No fork ridges needed—this is weeknight gnocchi.
10 min
Tip: If the dough sticks, dust your hands, not the dough. Too much bench flour makes a pasty coating.
- 8
Carefully remove the preheated sheet pan from the oven. Add 35 g Extra-virgin olive oil and swirl. Scatter the gnocchi in a single layer. Roast until deeply golden on the bottom and crisp at the edges, shaking the pan once.
18 min
Tip: Listen: they should sound a little dry and toasty when you shake the pan.
- 9
Make the brown-butter miso: In a small saucepan, melt 90 g Unsalted European-style butter over medium heat and cook until it smells nutty and the milk solids turn deep golden. Take off the heat. Whisk in 20 g White miso, 30 g Hot water, 2 cloves Garlic, lemon zest (from 1 lemon) Lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon Lemon juice.
6 min
Tip: Why it works: miso amplifies the brown butter’s nuttiness, and the lemon keeps it clean instead of heavy.
- 10
Add the roasted cabbage to the gnocchi pan. Drizzle with the brown-butter miso. Toss gently right on the pan. Return to the oven for 3–5 minutes to set the gloss and crisp the edges again.
5 min
Tip: If the sauce looks tight, add a spoon of hot water and toss. You want sheen, not sludge.
- 11
Finish with 2 g Black pepper, the remaining 1 lemon zest (from 1 lemon) Lemon zest and 1 tablespoon Lemon juice to taste, 40 g Parmigiano-Reggiano if using, and 1 pinch Flaky sea salt. Serve immediately—this is peak texture territory.
2 min
Tip: Don’t wait for the table to be ready. Gnocchi loves an audience, not a holding pattern.
Chef's Notes
Schedule snapshot: Bake potatoes (hands-off) 55 min • Roast cabbage 20 min • Mix/shape gnocchi 15 min • Roast gnocchi 18–20 min • Sauce 6 min. Cami’s shortcut note: This is my favorite way to use sourdough starter without committing to a full bread timeline. The oven does the work—no boiling water, no fragile dumplings falling apart. Don’t skip this: preheating the sheet pan. It’s the difference between crisp-edged gnocchi and pale pillows.
Camille Roux
Café-level bakes, weeknight methods, zero compromise.
Camille “Cami” Roux was born in Paris with flour in her hair and a healthy skepticism of culinary dogma. She grew up around neighborhood boulangeries that treated crust and crumb like religion—but what stuck with her wasn’t rigid tradition. It was the quiet precision: good butter that actually tastes like milk, patient fermentation that builds flavor for free, and desserts that know when to stop before they get cloying. After moving to the Bay Area, Cami trained in a bread-and-pastry scene obsessed with texture, naturally leavened doughs, and seasonal fruit—Tartine energy, minus the martyrdom. She became known for loaves that sing when they cool, jammy tarts with clean edges, and “how is this so good?” weeknight pastries made with a few smart shortcuts. Her motto is high impact, low fuss: splurge where it counts (butter, salt, time), streamline the rest (sheet pans, one bowl, cold-proofing). If it doesn’t improve flavor or structure, it doesn’t earn a step.