Cauliflower Gnocchi in Creamy Basil Sauce

This Cauliflower Gnocchi recipe is a vibrant, delicious and easy way to put dinner on your table in under 30 minutes. 

We all have preconceived notions of what healthy food looks like, and sometimes fall into the trap of thinking you have to eat salads to eat healthy. Does this plate come to your mind? Well it’s filled with nourishment and nutrition. Added bonus: it’s a wildly flavorful, and very easy to make! Most importantly, it brings joy in how tasty it is. We tend to focus so much on what’s not good for us, on the negatives, that we forget to love and be inspired by what’s good.

Today’s recipe is crispy cauliflower gnocchi in a pool of fresh, herbaceous and creamy Scallion Basil Sauce. To add pops of freshness, tomatoes and edamame complete the meal.

Scallion Basil Sauce

It’s an easy to put together and no cook vegan sauce; and I mean, literally no cooking. Just add the ingredients, and blend. It makes for a delectable dipping sauce. Made made with basil, scallions, nutritional yeast, garlic and lemon.

When you have incredibly aromatic herbs and veggies, they do all the work in turning what seems like a few basic ingredients into a sauce so tasty that I’ve been eating it with everything! 

I have shared the recipe for the sauce before, which you can find by clicking here. 

Cauliflower Gnocchi

Cauliflower  gnocchis are honestly the best! They have become a staple in our home. While I do enjoy making them from scratch occasionally, I also use have the frozen ones from Trader Joe’s  as back up. And most days for a quick weeknight dinner like this one, they work perfectly.

After several iterations and versions of cooking them, here’s what I found: completely ignore the package instructions. For some reason using that much water as they recommend leaves the pasta mushy. So here is my foolproof go-to method for that crispy outside and soft and pillowy inside. It’s really simple to do, and works perfectly every time.

How to cook the perfect Cauliflower Gnocchi

Spread oil in a pan and preheat. Use a neutral oil, and just little will do. Place the frozen gnocchi separated and in one even layer. Give them room to cook. Do not thaw the pasta, make sure you add them directly from the bag frozen. When you thaw the pasta, or if it is at room temperature, it tends to break apart while cooking. 

At this stage, cover and cook them. Then flip the gnocchi over for an even crisp on the other side. Cover again and cook some more. While it’s technically done at this point, I highly recommend continuing to crisp for more time to achieve the ideal golden brown crisp. The longer they stay in the pan, the crispier they get. Just as you’re done crisping, right at the end, sprinkle 1 tbsp water and let them be absorbed completely and you’re done!

Putting the plate together:

For one portion, plate about 1/2 cup of sauce, a third of the bag of gnocchi, a generous handful of edamame simply steamed with a bit of salt, fresh cherry tomatoes halved, and a sprinkle of vegan parmesan, and there you have it, heaven on a plate!

If you like this recipe, also check out

Epic Easy Basil Sauce with Scallions (Vegan)

Delicious Zhoug Sauce Pasta with Tomato Relish

Best Vegan Cauliflower Soup – Valentine’s day edition!

Delicious Vegan Pesto Pasta with Crispy Mushrooms

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Also check out more of my creations on Instagram and Pinterest @supriyaramankitchen