Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto With Vegan Gnocchi

Vegan and gluten-free cauliflower gnocchi tossed in homemade sun-dried tomato pesto sauce is a very quick and delicious meatless weeknight meal!

Course Main Course, pasta

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Servings people

Calories 732.48kcal

Author Priya Lakshminarayan

Equipment

Ingredients

To make the pesto sauce

4 lettuce leaves
12 garlic cloves
½ cup pine nuts
3 oz sun-dried tomatoes
⅓ cup vegan parmesan
2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon tahini or miso paste
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

To prep the gnocchi

16 oz gnocchi
½ tablespoon olive oil

To prepare the pesto pasta

½ tablespoon olive oil
1 cup green peas and edamame mixed
salt
2 tablespoon cilantro

Instructions

To make the pesto sauce

Grill lettuce leaves along with garlic. Also, lightly toast the pine nuts. This will give the pesto a nice aromatic smoky flavor. You can also use them raw.
Transfer the grilled lettuce leaves to a food processor.
Then add the sun-dried tomatoes.
Add the toasted pine nuts and grilled garlic cloves to the food processor.
Now add the vegan parmesan, red pepper flakes, tahini, salt, and pepper.
Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and blitz to make a creamy pesto.
Transfer to a bowl and use as needed. Store the remaining in the fridge or freezer and use as needed.

To prep the gnocchi

Boil water and add salt. Then drop in the gnocchi and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Once the gnocchi begins to float, strain it. Do not overcook.
Transfer the cooked gnocchi to a plate and let it dry completely. You can use gnocchi at this stage to make your pesto pasta. However, if you saute it a bit, it will give it an additional flavor and texture.
Now, pan-fry gnocchi in olive oil till they brown a bit on all sides. Transfer to a plate.

To prepare the pesto pasta

Heat olive oil in the same pan and fry green peas and edamame. Fry for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
Then add ½ cup of lettuce pesto to the pan. Mix and saute for a minute.
Next add the fried gnocchi to the pan and mix. Cook for another 2 minutes.
Adjust the seasonings as needed. Garnish with chopped cilantro and take it off the flame.
Garnish with some vegan parmesan. Serve Gnocchi al Pesto with some garlic bread on the side or Parmesan Bread Fries.

Notes

Use miso paste instead of tahini if you want. If the pesto is thick, add some pasta water (water reserved from cooking pasta) to dilute it a bit. Use basil instead of lettuce leaves as an option.

Instead of vegan parmesan, you can also use nutritional yeast or regular parmesan. Add some ricotta, cream, or dairy-free whipping cream if you like your pasta creamier.

Pine nuts can be substituted with any other nuts like walnuts, almonds, or pecans. Feel free to add more cheese, protein, and veggies to your pasta to make it more hearty and cheesy.

Skip the pan-fry part and use the gnocchi after boiling them if you want. You can also prepare the same recipe using ravioli or tortellini instead of gluten-free gnocchi.

If you plan to pan-fry, ensure that the boiled gnocchi is completely dry first. You can also roast it in the oven for 10 minutes.

You can definitely add more veggies like mushrooms, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, and/or bell peppers to this pasta to make it more hearty.

Nutrition