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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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.
Dollyz says
Watt too much garlic for me, even though I reduced the quality to four.. Overpowdered what could have been a lovely dish....
Angel Jester says
We just made this tonight and it's definitely a repeat recipe. In the future, we would add sliced mushroom and onion to "beef" it up a bit. We would also add garlic and a bit more salt to the cashew cream. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Lindsay says
WOW! This was amazing. It's so true - tastes way more complex and fancy than you'd think from the simple ingredients. I used fresh gnocchi from the local farmers' market and a little nutritional yeast in the cashew sauce to give it that extra cheesy flavor... Delicious!! Thanks for sharing.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm glad you enjoyed it Lindsay!
Emily says
Loved this! I added an ear of fresh corn and an anaheim pepper because I had them, and added a pinch of nutritional yeast to the sauce. I never imagined gnocchi not drowning in parmesan, but I didn't even miss it!
Tony says
Just Great!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!
Anna says
I love this recipe. I used curly kale because that's what I have in my garden and it's still delicious. Keeper.
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great Anna. Thank you!
Paula says
This was absolutely delicious! Creamy sauce. Would have made homemade gnocchi but didn't have time. We bought them at a good Italian store. I added a chiffonade of basil on top... Yum!
A Virtual Vegan says
Sounds lovely. I'm so glad you enjoyed it Paula!
Theresa says
Made this for dinner tonight, delicious! Made my gnocchi from scratch using GF flour. (First time making gnocchi but followed directions closely). Wasn’t sure I was going to like, thought it may not have enough flavor...I was wrong because it was really good. Thank you for the great recipe. Definitely a keeper
A Virtual Vegan says
Good on you for making your own gnocchi and I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you Theresa!
Kate says
These really look like heaven! However, there is a bit too much sodium in it, so I'd like to make the adjustments to it. Do you have any ideas how to do it? What are the most sodium rich ingredients here?
Andrea says
This dish was delicious! The flavours were a real hit. With store bought gnocchi, any suggestions on how to avoid them being gummy? I boiled them in salted water for about 2 min and immediately added to the pan with garlic and kale, but found that they clumped together quite a bit. The stickiness of the cashew sauce may add to the tendency for these little pillows to stick together. If I can tweak my technique slightly this recipe will be perfect! Appreciate any tips you can offer!
A Virtual Vegan says
So glad you enjoyed it Andrea. I find that gnocchi tends to go gummy when overcooked. You need to put them in water with a rolling boil, then literally as soon as they float you need to be super quick and get them right out. If you leave them hanging around in the water any longer they overcook. For this recipe I remove them with a slotted spoon and toss them right in the pan with the kale. I never have problems with clumping when I do that. Of course, it could be that the gnocchi you used isn't great too. Try another brand maybe next time just in case. Hope that helps!
Artemisia says
Not to butt in but I’ve found that just sautéing with olive oil makes them so delicious! I skip boiling and just sauté! Takes a bit longer but yum!
Grace says
Made this for dinner tonight, super tasty and easy! I did end up having to make my own gnocchi because I couldn't find any at the store (seriously, I swear I just saw it there). I did add extra garlic, and instead of kale I used spinach/baby greens mix, which cooks a lot faster, so if anyone tries that make sure you have your water boiling for the gnocchi before you even start.
A Virtual Vegan says
Wow, I bet it was even better with homemade gnocchi. Good for you. I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to come back to leave feedback!
Kathy says
Hi Mel, I love this recipe and I have shared your website as one of my favorites for vegan cooking!
DJ HIXSON says
I have a question... Aren`t raw cashews toxic?
A Virtual Vegan says
Properly raw straight off the plant I believe they are, but the ones labelled 'raw' in the grocery store aren't toxic. Unless someone works in a cashew plant or picks cashew apples, it’s highly unlikely they will ever encounter completely raw cashews. The so-called raw cashews sold in stores are not exactly raw, but instead are steamed. I call them raw because that's what it says on the packet. If I didn't no-one would know what to buy.
Monica says
This is so delicious! Thank you for the amazing recipe. My husband loved it.
Phyllis says
We made this for dinner last night. I liked it very much except for it really needed more seasoning. I didn't use the same gnocchi in the past so that didn't help. Please tell me about the different kales. My store only had one type. Next time I will chop it up more also.
Corinna says
Made this for supper tonight. It was delicious !
A Virtual Vegan says
That's great! I'm so glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!