20-Minute Vegan Baked Gnocchi is made on a sheet pan with 8 ingredients! Plus, it's healthy and delicious, easy, and cheap to make. Use an air fryer or oven. No saucepan is required.
Make this yummy crispy gnocchi, with burst tomatoes and green pesto, in under 20 minutes with 8 ingredients! It's kid-friendly, and perfect for weeknights.
The cashew pesto is versatile and can be made nut-free. Therefore, make sure to keep this recipe in your arsenal for roasted or raw veggies, potatoes, and pasta.
This baked gnocchi recipe was inspired by my Orzo Salad with Oil-Free Pesto on this site, as well as this Vegan Pasta Bake with Mushrooms.
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👩🏼🌾 Ingredients
- Cashews
- Cherry or grape tomatoes
- Garlic
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Frozen gnocchi
- Basil
- Lemon juice
- Vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
See the recipe card for quantities.
🥜 Substitutions
- Cashews - Instead of cashews, you can use almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts for making the pesto. Or use sunflower seeds for nut-free.
- Tomatoes - use mini Roma tomatoes instead if you prefer
- Gnocchi - the gnocchi can be replaced with cooked pasta of your choice
- Vegan parmesan - nutritional yeast can be substituted for the vegan parmesan to add B12
See this high-protein Vegan Ragu on my website! For more easy pasta recipes, visit my Vegan Pasta Recipes page.
📖 How to Make Vegan Baked Gnocchi
For the full recipe with quantities, scroll down to the bottom of the post. This is an overview.
Step 1. Drizzle the tomatoes and unpeeled garlic with olive oil, or spray with cooking oil. Roast them in an air-fryer or an oven until the tomatoes burst.
Step 2. Use frozen gnocchi to make this recipe. No thawing is required. Drizzle the frozen gnocchi with olive oil, or spray with cooking oil.
Step 3. Use an air-fryer or oven to roast the frozen gnocchi. Roast the gnocchi until crispy and golden brown.
Step 4. Make the cashew pesto using the roasted garlic. Squeeze the garlic from their skins, and discard the skins. Add more olive oil or water as desired when blending the pesto.
✔️ Expert Tips
- If you are not using a high-speed blender, soak the cashews in boiled water for 20 minutes before making the pesto. This way, the pesto will be smooth and creamy.
- Double the pesto recipe and use it on all your pasta dishes throughout the week. This versatile cashew pesto is good with roasted veggies, pasta, and potatoes.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftover Vegan Baked Gnocchi in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The pesto and tomatoes are good for up to 4 days, but check the package of the gnocchi for additional storage instructions.
🙋🏽♀️ Recipe FAQs
The basic ingredient of store-bought gnocchi is typically potatoes, which are precooked. However, they may also contain various raw flours and/or starches, such as rice, wheat, corn, and potato. These should be cooked from the standpoint of both digestibility and safety.
This sheet pan gnocchi recipe requires no boiling. If you've never made sheet pan gnocchi before, prepare yourself! Once you try it, I guarantee it will be on your weeknight rotation.
Do not thaw frozen gnocchi before baking or boiling them. To cook the gnocchi, place the frozen gnocchi directly onto the baking sheet or into the saucepan without thawing.
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📖 Recipe
20-Minute Vegan Baked Gnocchi
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Ingredients
- ⅔ cup cashews
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes or grape (about 1 ½ pounds)
- 4 garlic cloves unpeeled
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 24 ounces gnocchi (2 packets) frozen
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves packed
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup vegan parmesan or nutritional yeast
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Soak cashews: If you don’t own a high-speed blender, soak the cashews in boiled water for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF if you are not using an air-fryer.
- Roast tomatoes and garlic: Spray or drizzle the tomatoes and garlic with olive oil. Air-fry at 400º for about 5 minutes, or roast on a large rimmed baking sheet for 15 minutes, until the tomatoes burst.
- Roast gnocchi: Spray or drizzle the frozen gnocchi with olive oil. Roast at 400ºF in the air-fryer for about 7 minutes, or until golden brown, tossing halfway. Or roast on a large rimmed baking sheet at the same time as the tomatoes for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Remove the skins from the roasted garlic cloves and discard.
- Make the pesto: Transfer the cashews, basil, garlic, olive oil, parmesan, and lemon juice to a blender. Add 2 tablespoons water. Blend on high until smooth, adding more olive oil or water until the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
- Optional: Transfer the pesto and tomatoes to a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, mixing the tomatoes into the pesto, until warmed through.
- Serve the gnocchi with the tomatoes and pesto.
Notes
- Double the pesto recipe and use it on all your pasta dishes throughout the week. This versatile cashew pesto is good with roasted veggies, pasta, and potatoes.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The pesto and tomatoes are good for up to 4 days, but check the package of the gnocchi for additional storage instructions.
Nutrition
This information is provided as a courtesy and is an ESTIMATE only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe.
Catherine
You always make all the best recipes. This was absolutely delicious!