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.
Super easy to make and DELICIOUS!!
I have never commented or rated a recipe before but I felt like I should give a glowing review as I’ve just had another successful evening hosting thanks to this recipe. Everyone loved it, as they always do, and it is so easy when cooking for multiple people. I absolutely love this gnocchi dish and keep coming back to it, time and time again. Thank you!
Thank you for taking time to share your stellar review and feedback! I absolutely love this recipe myself! I’m so happy it was a hit with you and your company! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora, Just like all of your recipes, this one does not disappoint! It is simple, yet deliciously comforting! Can’t wait to have the leftovers!
Thank you, Collette, for your wonderful review! This is one of my all time favorites, and it does make the best leftovers!
Hand down the quickest, easiest and most flavorful meal I’ve ever made out of a few simple ingredients I already had around. Love that!!!
I used Fieldroast apple smoked sausage (because it’s my favorite) and some arugula; it hardly needed any Parmesan or even proteins for that matter. The key here is the garlic+citrus+coconut milk+sun dried tomatoes
Hi Oliver. I’m totally in agreement! One of my favorites, and I’m thrilled that you love it! Thank you for sharing!
hi
could i use trader joes frozen gnochi or is it best to use the uncooked king and when do i add the shiitake mushrooms if i wanted to add them in this ? and how much would i need to make for a side dish for 18 people?
I would double the recipe for make a side dish for 18 people. You can use frozen gnocchi, that’s fine. You can saute the mushrooms with the garlic for a few minutes, if you want. Enjoy!
This was amazing! And even better – easy to make. I made this for some of my meat loving relatives – they all loved it! Thank you for the great recipe!
WOW! That was friggin’ delicious! I had to make myself stop eating all five servings. I chopped my spinach up a bit because that’s just how I like it. I also make my own vegan Parmesan cheese using pine nuts, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and sea salt.
Hi Diane. I know what you mean about having to stop yourself! This is one of my favorite meals! Thanks for your awesome review and feedback!
It was delicious! I’ve added cremini mushrooms and one diced onion for extra veggies. And I made vegan parmesan cheese with cashew nuts. Will definitely be making this again! Thanks!
You gnocchi sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
My absolute favorite!!!!
We skip the basil and use real bacon bits just before the spinach at the end. Soooo good!!
I’m thrilled you are loving the recipe! Thanks for your wonderful review!
What a delicious recipe, I didn’t have fresh spinach and basil so I added frozen spinach and dried basil and it was still yummy and easy to make! Thank you ❤️
You are welcome, Cristina! This is one of MY favorites! I’m glad you loved it! Thanks for your wonderful review!
I’m about to try
This is delicious! You have become one of my go to for various recipes!
This is one of my favorites! Thanks for your fabulous review! I appreciate you using my recipes!
I love how easy this recipe is to make and how delicious it tastes! adding it to my go-to recipes pile. Thanks Nora!
Tried this recipe for the first time tonight but I didn’t add sun dried tomatoes as couldn’t find any, but added some mushrooms instead. So easy to make and really tasty, will definately be making it again 😊
This is a go to week night last minutes dinner in our house!I use reduced fat coconut milk and keep the rest as written. Love that it has pantry staples and things we keep on hand.
Hi Marie. I’m so glad you are loving the gnocchi! I also love how easy and absolutely delicious it is! Thanks for your wonderful review and feedback! Happy cooking!
We just tried this recipe and it was INCREDIBLE! The whole family loved it. This was my first time cooking with gnocchi and it will now become a staple in our kitchen from now on. It was surprisingly easy. We used Beyond hot Italian sausage and it was so good! I doubled the batch and will be freezing half of that it for when our baby comes next month. Thanks Nora for another wonderful recipe.
I’m thrilled it was a hit, Mary! Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback and review!