4 Ways to Serve Gnocchi – 4 Vegetarian Recipes

Updated on January 26th, 2023

I often browse recipes in magazines, and I ended up with quite a few recipes I wanted to try. I thought it would be fun to start a new series on my blog where I go through the various recipes and see if there are any I like or any changes I would make to them. To start off this series, I will be making gnocchi in 4 different ways.

What is Gnocchi?

Before I begin with the recipes, I want to briefly talk about gnocchi if you are unfamiliar with it. Gnocchi is a type of dumpling that is often made with potatoes. You can make homemade gnocchi with potatoes, flour, and egg or you can purchase a package of gnocchi from the grocery store in the pasta aisle, which I did the latter for these recipes. Gnocchi is one of my favorite pasta alternatives because I think it tastes good and it only takes a few minutes in boiling water to cook.

#1 Gnocchi with Peppers and Pesto

This recipe is based on one from the magazine Vegan Food and Living. The original recipe was meant for the grill, but instead, I used the oven on the grill setting.

Ingredients

• 1 package of gnocchi
• Mixed peppers (I used red peppers, but you can use yellow and green as well)
• Pesto (I used storebought but you can make your own as well)
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to boil
2. Once boiling, add the gnocchi
3. Boil the gnocchi for 2-3 minutes or until the gnocchi is floating in the water
4. Drain the water from the gnocchi
5. Cut the peppers into bite-sized pieces
6. Place the peppers on a baking tray with olive oil, salt, and pepper
7. Bake in the oven on the grill setting for approximately 10 minutes
8. Add the gnocchi onto the baking tray
9. Cover the gnocchi and peppers with pesto
10. Bake for an additional 5 minutes
11. Enjoy

My Thoughts

The gnocchi tasted very one-note because it was just gnocchi with red peppers and pesto. I would add some fresh basil and also parmesan cheese to give it more flavor. If you are sticking to the vegan version, you can use vegan cheese for more flavor. I would also add tomatoes because they would roast nicely in the oven with the peppers. You can add pine nuts for some crunch, and if you are making your own pesto, you would have pine nuts on hand. Overall, this is not a bad recipe, but it is a bit boring by itself. With some more ingredients and flavors, it would definitely taste better.

Rating: 6/10

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#2 Cheesy Gnocchi Bake

The cheesy gnocchi bake is another recipe from Vegan Food and Living, but since I am vegetarian and not vegan, I used regular cheese and I also used pasta sauce instead of tomato sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 package of gnocchi
• A handful of cherry tomatoes
• A jar of pasta sauce
• A cup of cheese of your choice (I used mozzarella and parmesan)
• Dried oregano
• Fresh basil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F
2. Bring a pot of water to boil
3. Once boiling, add the gnocchi
4. After 2-3 minutes or when the gnocchi is floating, drain the water
5. Add gnocchi to a baking dish
6. Chop the red onion and garlic and add to the baking dish
7. Add tomatoes, pasta sauce, cheese(s), and oregano to the baking dish and combine them
8. Bake for 15 minutes
9. Once the gnocchi is done baking, add fresh basil on top
10. Enjoy

My Thoughts

The cheesy gnocchi bake tasted delicious, but the cheese can be a bit heavy if you add too much. I liked the addition of red onion, garlic, and tomatoes because you did not just have one flavor like in the previous recipe. The original recipe also called for dried basil, but I used fresh basil and it did add some nice freshness and a new flavor since all the other ingredients are baked together. I would definitely make the gnocchi bake again and I have actually done so since making this recipe the first time.

Rate: 9/10

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#3 Gnocchi, Leek, and Butternut Bake

Since I liked the Cheesy Gnocchi Bake, I wanted to try another bake from Vegan Food and Living and this one uses leek and butternut squash.

Ingredients

• 1 package of gnocchi
• 1 butternut squash
• 1 leek
• A handful of sage leaves
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F
2. Prepare the butternut squash by peeling the skin, cutting the squash in half from the top stem to the bottom, and scooping out the seeds in the middle
3. Chop the butternut squash and leek into bite-sized pieces
4. Add the squash and leek onto a baking try
5. Chop the sage leaves
6. Cover the butternut squash and leek with olive oil and season with the sage leaves, salt, and pepper
7. Bake the squash and leek for 35 minutes
8. While the butternut squash and leek are baking, bring a pot of water to boil
9. Once boiling, add in the gnocchi and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the gnocchi is floating in the water
10. Drain the water from the gnocchi, but keep 1 cup of the boiled water for the sauce
11. Place the gnocchi in a separate bowl and put the cup of boiled water into the sauce
12. Add the butter, flour, dijon mustard, and garlic powder to the cup of water and stir together to make the sauce
13. Add the gnocchi back into the sauce
14. Once the butternut squash and leek are done baking, add them to the gnocchi and sauce and stir together
15. Enjoy

My Thoughts

This was a long recipe, and I did not do the final steps of the original recipe where you put the gnocchi and sauce in a baking dish with the butternut squash and leek then bake for an additional 10 minutes in the oven. Both the butternut squash and leek were done baking after the 35 minutes and some of the leek pieces were getting burnt, so I did not think another 10 minutes in the oven would be good unless I wanted super soft squash and burnt leek. So even though I did not do the “bake” part of this dish, it turned out well.

I was unsure what the sauce would taste like since it was only flavored with dijon mustard and garlic powder, but it tasted good. The butternut squash and leek also tasted good with the added sage and the sauce. The recipe takes a lot of time and work, but it was a tasty gnocchi dish. However, I do not think I would make it again because it does take so much time to prepare the butternut squash, roast the squash and leek, make the sauce, etc.

Rating: 7/10

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#4 Gnocchi with Butter Sauce and Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe is based on the recipe from the Danish magazine Spis Bedre. I normally do not use cauliflower in cooking, so it was something new to try.

Ingredients

• 1 package of gnocchi
• 1 cauliflower
• 1 onion
• A handful of sage
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F
2. Rinse the cauliflower and cut it into bite-sized pieces
3. Place the cauliflower onto a baking sheet and cover with olive oil, salt, and pepper
4. Bake the cauliflower for 25 minutes
5. Bring a pot of water to boil
6. Once boiling, add the gnocchi and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the gnocchi is floating in the water
7. Drain the water
8. In a new pot, melt the butter
9. Chop the onion and sage and add to the melted butter
10. Cook the onions for approximately 10 minutes
11. Add the white wine vinegar and maple syrup and season with salt and pepper
12. Once the sauce is heated, add the gnocchi to the sauce
13. Once the cauliflower is done baking, add it to the pot with the gnocchi and sauce
14. Enjoy

My Thoughts

Like with the previous recipe, I was unsure what the sauce would taste like because the main flavors are butter, onion, vinegar, and maple syrup, but I loved the sauce. The sauce also tasted good with the gnocchi and cauliflower. However, one ingredient that I could not find at the grocery stores near me is sage (for the previous recipe I was able to find sage at the big supermarket downtown). I do think the sage would have made a nice addition to help break up the heaviness of the butter sauce. It does take a while to make the dish because you have to roast the cauliflower, boil the gnocchi, and make the sauce, but it does not take as long as the Gnocchi, Leek, and Butternut Bake. This is a good dish, and I would make it again.

Rating: 8/10

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Final Thoughts

Out of these four recipes, my favorite was definitely the Cheesy Gnocchi Bake because I loved the combination of flavors and the cheese while my least favorite was the Gnocchi with Peppers and Pesto because it was very one-note. Even though the Gnocchi, Leek, and Butternut Bake tasted good, it personally took too much time and work to make. I also liked the Gnocchi with Butter Sauce and Roasted Cauliflower, and I would make it again.

For more vegetarian recipes, you can read my Danish Lunch Smorrebrod Recipe and Danish Dinner Frikadeller Recipe.

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Do you like gnocchi? What is your favorite gnocchi dish?