One pan Tuscan Vegan Gnocchi features pillowy soft gnocchi, a flavorful creamy sauce, garlic, vegan sausage, fresh spinach and sun dried tomatoes. A fancy dinner ready in 20 minutes!
If you love gnocchi as much as I do, make sure to try this Creamy Pesto Gnocchi as well.
Gnocchi is the ultimate comfort food that couldn’t be easier to make! For years, I assumed those little pillowy delights contained dairy, eggs or both. But I was wrong! I picked up a box of dried gnocchi (right next to all the other dried pasta) and was thrilled to see the only ingredients were basically potato and wheat.
Now, this recipe is super quick and easy, so we aren’t making our gnocchi from scratch. If you want to though, try this recipe for Easy Homemade Vegan Gnocchi or this gluten free version.
How to make vegan gnocchi
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
It will go very quickly, so before you begin have everything ready near the stovetop. There isn’t much prep work involved, simply slicing a few vegan sausages and chopping garlic and fresh basil.
Sauté vegan sausages in a large skillet until browned. Add the garlic.
Pour in vegetable broth, coconut milk, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, sun dried tomatoes and uncooked gnocchi. Stir. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add salt + pepper, to taste. Stir in the spinach.
Add the vegan parmesan and stir in, if using. I like Violife and Follow Your Heart brands.
Serve immediately, garnished with more vegan parmesan and fresh basil.
Tips & substitutions
- Serve immediately for best results. The sauce will thicken as it cools, so if you do make it ahead of time, thin it out with a little more coconut milk, broth or even water.
- Gluten free? Use gluten free gnocchi, either store bought or homemade. And leave out the vegan sausages, unless you can find a gluten free version.
- Coconut milk substitutions – I used full fat coconut milk, but you could use light if desired. Homemade almond milk or cashew milk would also work quite well for the creamy sauce.
More fancy vegan dinners
- Vegan Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Mushroom Bourguignon
- Favorite Vegan Bolognese
- Creamy Vegan Carbonara
- Vegan Stuffed Jumbo Shells
Tuscan Vegan Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 vegan Italian sausages (7-8 ounces), sliced I used Field Roast
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 13.5 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced if whole
- 1 pound uncooked gnocchi the dry packaged kind
- salt + pepper, to taste
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
- 1/2 cup Vegan Parmesan, + more for garnish, optional I used Violife
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- In a large skillet, sauté the vegan sausage in the olive oil over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until browned.
- Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the vegetable broth, coconut milk, lemon juice, Italian seasoning, sun-dried tomatoes and gnocchi. Give everything a good stir.
- Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and cook, uncovered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add salt + pepper to taste, and stir in the spinach. Cook for another 2 minutes, until the spinach has wilted.
- If using, stir in the vegan parmesan. At this point, the gnocchi should be cooked through but not mushy, and the sauce thickened somewhat. Cook an additional minute or two if necessary.
- Serve immediately garnished with vegan parmesan and fresh basil. Enjoy immediately for best results. Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Add a little extra broth or water when re-heating, as the sauce will thicken as it cools. It can be frozen if needed.
Video
Notes
- May leave out the vegan sausage, if needed. I used Field Roast Italian sausages.
- If desired, you can substitute light coconut milk for full fat. You could likely also use homemade almond milk or cashew milk instead.
- I used sun dried tomatoes in oil, but you can also use the kind that come dry in a package. Slice them if they are whole.
- Gluten free? Try this gluten free homemade gnocchi from ElaVegan. And omit the vegan sausage.
This was so good! My meat-eating husband and I made it for dinner. He kept saying how skeptical he was about it the whole time it was cooking, but then he ate it and said how good it was and that we need to remember this recipe for the future!
That is amazing, Lucy! I’m so happy to hear this recipe was a hit, even for a meat eater 😉 Thank you for the wonderful review!
This was delicious and your tip to have everything prepped and ready to go was a good one because it cooks very quickly. I used the low-fat coconut milk and it still got very thick. I think the only tweak I would make next time is a bit less lemon (or maybe leave it out). I used a Meyer lemon and they are usually sweeter than regular lemons and it still was a bit too ‘sharp’ for my taste. But honestly, this was an excellent recipe. Thank you!
Hi Lori. You are welcome! I’m thrilled that you loved the gnocchi recipe! Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous feedback and review!
I’ve made this recipe several times and absolutely love it. It also impressed my very skeptical father!
That’s fantastic! Thanks so much for your wonderful review!
Thank you for sharing this recipe!! This was so deliciously thick and creamy. Hard to believe the sauce is mostly just coconut milk and veggie broth (didn’t taste the coconut at all, and the amount of lemon was just right) The recipe was so easy and everything came together exactly as described. We used mild Beyond Meat sausage which was great — might brown for longer than 5 mins if using that one again, and might try their spicy Italian to mix it up 🙂
Deeeelish!
Hi Lauren. I’m so glad you loved gnocchi. I love this delicious and easy meal as well! Thanks for your awesome feedback and ideas!
I made this for my daughter on Christmas and she absolutely loved it! I was nervous at first by the soft texture of the vegan sausage (I used Beyond hot Italian sausage) but it fried up nicely.
I was also skeptical when adding a full can of coconut milk (the coconut smell was overpowering) but once it simmered through and the remaining ingredients were added, the coconut smell dissipated. It was so easy to make while cooking for the rest of my non-vegan family. My daughter & her boyfriend actually said it tasted like vodka sauce. I’d definitely recommend making this based on its ease of cooking and positive feedback I received.
Hi Mia. I’m really glad that this was loved by your daughter for Christmas! I’ve never heard anyone say it tasted like vodka sauce, but that sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing your wonderful feedback!
Love this recipe with gnocchi! Do you think it would work the same if I used a regular pasta like bow tie?
Hi Blair. I’m so glad you are loving the recipe! I think it would work with pasta. The consistency might not be exactly the same, however, I think it would be delicious! Happy cooking!
What’s the best way to reheat? I’d like to make this a day or two in advance of a potluck
My favorite way to reheat is on the stove on low heat.
Hi Nora – when do you incorporate the 2 tablespoons olive oil that is mentioned in the ingredients? I don’t see it mentioned in the recipe card instructions or in the recipe video. Thanks!
Sorry about that, you use it to saute the vegan sausage at the beginning. I’ll update the instructions now. Enjoy!
This was an amazing recipe!! I modified just a smidge but this is a, “make when we have company” type of meal! Olive Garden potential!!
Delicious! We made it with Yves Mediterranean Sausage which shifted the colour a bit, but it was still amazing. I would probably make a double batch next time seeing as it doesn’t make very much, and I would like to include this recipe in my meal prepping.
Thanks so much for your feedback! 🙂
Very good. Fast and easy to boot. Might try it with penne or linguini next time.
Mmmm…sounds good with penne! Thanks or your great feedback and ideas! I’m glad you loved the recipe!