Soft fluffy pillows of gnocchi & tender, sautéed kale, tossed in a creamy, garlic-infused sauce. This Creamy Vegan Gnocchi with Garlic & Kale is dinner party worthy but incredibly easy to make, taking less than 15 minutes from start to finish and that includes prep time too!
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Ok. Compose yourselves. Are you ready for food heaven? Because it's happening right here, right now. And as far as effort versus output goes, we are onto a winner with this Creamy Vegan Gnocchi with Garlic & Kale.
It is out of this world delicious. The fluffy little gnocchi pillows are smothered in a creamy, garlic infused sauce and tossed with sautéed kale. The flavours and textures work so well together.
Bliss. THE only word to describe it.
And what makes it even better is that it is ready in under 15 minutes and that includes prep time.
Seriously, this dinner party worthy recipe is simple and easy enough to make mid-week after a long old day at work. You know those evenings when you just want to impress yourself?
.... Or you can keep it in your back pocket for times when you are entertaining and want to impress everyone!
Your call, but whichever way you cut it, I highly recommend serving it with a glass of red wine. The perfect combo!
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN GNOCCHI WITH GARLIC & KALE
It's so easy to make. Here's how:
- Sauté some garlic with bite sized pieces of kale.
- Blend the two sauce ingredients in a blender. If you don't have a high powered blender then I recommend soaking the cashews in water first to get a really smooth result. I have a Blendtec blender and it gets sauces silky smooth with no effort at all.
Cook the gnocchi in boiling water - it takes around 2 minutes - Scoop out the cooked gnocchi and add to the garlic and kale
- Add the sauce, stir well and serve immediately.
Serve with plenty of vegan parmesan cheese!
This is why I am loving this Creamy Vegan Gnocchi with Garlic & Kale:
- It's rich, creamy and indulgent!
- It's super fast and easy to make
- It's special enough for dinner parties but quick and easy enough for mid-week too
- The ingredients list is really short
- If you don't have gnocchi you can use pasta instead!
- It tastes like way more effort went into it than actually physically happened!
Ok are you ready to be wowed? Go grab yourself some gnocchi and let's do this!
Recipe
Creamy Vegan Gnocchi with Garlic & Kale
Author:Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil , use a few tablespoons of water for an oil-free option
- 6 cloves garlic , chopped finely
- 1 bunch kale , NOT curly kale, the flatter leaf varieties are better for this recipe. I particularly like Lacatino Kale (sometimes known as Cavolo Nero or Dino Kale)
- ½ cup (75 g) raw cashew pieces , soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes if you don't have a high powered blender *see recipe notes for a nut-free option
- ¼ cup (60 mls) water
- 1 x 500g package gnocchi , most are vegan but be sure to check the ingredients label just in case. Gluten-free varieties are also available. Again be sure to check labels.
- ¼ teaspoon salt , plus more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- chili flakes , OPTIONAL
INSTRUCTIONS
- Everything happens pretty fast so be sure to have all of your ingredients and equipment ready and within easy reach.
- Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil ready for cooking the gnocchi
- Remove the thick stems from the kale leaves. Discard the stems and chop the leafy parts into bite sized pieces.
- Warm the oil in a large saute pan then add the chopped garlic and cook over medium heat, moving constantly for about 2 minutes. Then add the kale pieces and a good grind of black pepper, then continue to sauté for about another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. If you want a little bit of heat add a sprinkle of chili flakes at this stage.
- While the kale is cooking, blend the cashews with the salt and water until completely smooth.
- After a couple of minutes, once the kale has been sautéing for about 3 minutes and is almost tender, add the gnocchi to the boiling water. Make sure to separate each piece of gnocchi before adding it to the water. Often they get a little clumped together in the pack. Have a slotted spoon ready to fish them out when done.
- As soon as the gnocchi start to float (after about 1-2 minutes), use slotted spoon to remove them (do not discard the water yet) and add the gnocchi into the pan with the kale and garlic.
- Spoon the creamy cashew sauce into the pan and stir to combine everything. Add a little of the water the gnocchi was cooking in to thin it out as needed and add more seasoning if desired.
- Serve immediately.
NOTES
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Batb says
This was delicious. I pan fried gnocchi because I love the little crunch. I wanted to double the sauce and add some protein so I added a can of white beans. Per others suggestions, I added some garlic, shallot that needed to be used, and some mooch to sauce.
Lance Robert says
So delicious! I replaced the water with low-sodium veggie broth and added two heaping tablespoons of nutritional yeast to make the sauce a little cheesier. I usually cook with curly kale, but after enjoying the dino kale in this recipe, I think I'm a convert. Thank you again, Mel! I'm adding this recipe to the rotation and look forward to enjoying it often.
Brooke says
I've been using this recipe of your for years and it's still one of my top favorites! Such an easy meal to make but it tastes like it took hours!
Hayley says
This was VERY good. I have trouble finding vegan recipes with enough flavor but the taste was excellent and the creaminess made it hard to believe it was vegan. I added a little lemon juice and nutritional yeast to the sauce. Will definitely have again!
Heidi says
This was so good and I felt like I was indulging. I only had gluten free cauliflower gnocchi and I added some wild mushrooms with the kale. It turned out perfect and super quick! I’m adding this to my rotation!
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you enjoyed it Heidi. Mushrooms are a great addition!
Dorothy Pittiglio says
This recipe exceeded all expectations...even my fussy non vegan husband loved it!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
That's awesome. I'm really pleased you both enjoyed it!
Hallie says
Fantastic. My son made homemade gnocchi for me as a gift and I decided to try out this recipe. It was a hit, my husband and my two teenagers loved it. The recipe is simple but bursting with flavor. It pairs well with the delicate potato gnocchi dumplings.
Courtney says
I just made this recipe two nights in a row. It’s perfect.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you're enjoying it Courtney and thanks so much for coming back to leave a review/rating. It's much appreciated!
Angela says
Loved this recipe & so did my husband!
I can't eat garlic so I swapped for garlic infused oil, I also added 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast for great colour, nutrients and thicken it up a little.
Christine says
Just made this and love it!!! It's rich, creamy and indulgent, like you said!
Love that it's just a few ingredients. I doubled the sauce (I like it saucey) and added a squeeze of lemon. It was so wonderful! I definitely recommend making this!
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you enjoyed it Christine!
Amy Kieffer says
Very good, I added too much red pepper flakes. I will add it later to recipe.
I doubled it for a family of 5 and it was perfect!
Kayla says
Super easy to make and very good. I added some garlic powder and a little creole too for spice. Definitely will make again.
Klaudia Wojciechowska says
This recipe came out rather bland and tasteless, even with the addition of red chili flakes. Additionally, the proportions of the cashew sauce were not enough for a bunch of kale - I would double it at least if I ever made this in the future.
HopefulPlantEater says
Wow. Just went more plant based, and this was outstanding. Thank you!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed it and thanks so much for stopping by to leave a review. It's much appreciated!
Becca says
Holy cow this was great! Even had to use curly kale because that's what was available, and it still turned out awesome. I was skeptical of the cashew sauce (we've been vegan for a whole week ?) but it was super creamy and rich, and even my leafy greens hating toddler asked for seconds.
Melanie McDonald says
That's awesome Becca! I'm so pleased you enjoyed it. Cashews are like a miracle ingredient for vegans. You can do so much with them. The sauce from this recipe is great tossed through freshly cooked pasta too, with or without the greens for a super quick dinner.
Thank you for trusting my recipe as one of your first and good luck with being vegan!
Aneta says
The sauce did not have much flavor. I added some lemon juice and nutritional yeast and made some difference.