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Spinach artichoke gnocchi combines the delicious flavors and textures of creamy spinach artichoke dip with pillowy gnocchi! This easy 1-pan meal is packed with protein and veggies! (gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free options)
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Gnocchi seems to be having a moment on social media, so I got a bunch of refrigerated gnocchi and decided to use it in a creamy sauce. And what better creamy sauce to use than spinach artichoke sauce? It’s like a spinach artichoke dip elevated with crispy, pillowy gnocchi.
The dip is super creamy from tofu and cashews, there are two sources of protein in there. And there’s nutritional yeast for even more. You can also add in seeds, like hemp seeds, for additional protein.
Spinach artichoke gnocchi is an amazing dinner by itself, and you can also pair it with some crisped-up tofu, soy curls, vegan chicken, or even the bacon-y lentils from my smoky skillet lasagna.
This recipe is also super easy. You make it in just one pan in about 30 minutes. Just prep everything, chop up your aromatics, get the spinach and seasonings ready, and you’ll be on your way to making this easy, delicious, and creamy spinach artichoke gnocchi!
Serve this dish hot and creamy on its own, or with toasted sourdough, garlic bread, or a fresh side salad.
Why You’ll Love Spinach Artichoke Gnocchi
- crispy, pillowy gnocchi
- creamy spinach artichoke sauce
- 30-minute, 1-pan meal
- easy to make gluten-free, soy-free, and/or nut-free
More 1-Pan Dinners
Creamy Spinach Artichoke Gnocchi (1 pan, 30 minutes)
Ingredients
For the Cream Sauce
- 4 ounces firm or silken tofu
- 1/4 cup raw cashews, or a mix of cashews and hemp seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard, or ½ teaspoon prepared natural mustard
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon miso, (use chickpea miso for soyfree)
- 1 teaspoon dried basil, or a mix of basil and oregano
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water, or stock
For the Gnocchi
- 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup chopped red or white onion
- 8 ounces refrigerated potato gnocchi
- 7 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 5 ounces baby spinach, or chopped spinach
- 3 to 4 tablespoons vegan mozzarella, optional
- fresh basil, torn, for topping, as needed
- red pepper flakes, for topping
Instructions
Make the cream sauce.
- Add all the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend for 1 minute. Let that sit for about 5 minutes to rehydrate the cashews or seeds. Then blend again for 30 seconds. If the mixture isn’t smooth yet, blend for another 30 seconds. Set the cream sauce aside.
Make the spinach artichoke gnocchi.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low and mix in the minced garlic. Stir for 10–15 seconds, then mix in the red pepper flakes and mix. Next, add the chopped onion and a generous dash of salt. Increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring every 2 minutes, until the onions are translucent. (Total 6 mins). You can add a splash of water around the 3 minute mark to help the onions brown and cook evenly.
- Once the onions are translucent, add the gnocchi and the remaining teaspoon of olive oil. Cook 2 to 4 minutes until the gnocchi starts turning toasty and golden. Fold the artichokes and cream sauce into the skillet and mix well. Rinse out the blender with about ½ cup of water, then pour that into the skillet. Mix everything well, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, 3-4 mins, then mix in the spinach. It might not all fit at once, so add as much as you can and cover the skillet with a lid. Let the spinach steam and wilt for a minute or two, then open the lid and fold it into the sauce.
- Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add more salt or tang, if needed. Adjust consistency, add more water or stock for thinner sauce if needed or to make it a creamy soup. Top the creamy gnocchi with vegan mozzarella and fresh basil. Cover the skillet again and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes until the mozzarella melts. If your skillet is oven-safe, you can also place it under the broiler for a minute or so to melt and slightly brown the cheese. Garnish with fresh basil and pepper flakes. Serve creamy and hot with a side of side salad or crisp garlic bread.
Video
Notes
For soy-free, replace the tofu with an extra ¼ cup cashews or hemp seeds and make sure that you are using soy-free vegan cheese. For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free gnocchi. For the best texture, toast the gnocchi before adding any liquid to the pan. It improves the flavor and makes it soft and pillowy instead of chewy. You can also mix in other greens, like chopped Swiss chard, mustard greens, amaranth greens, or any leafy greens you like.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients
- silken tofu – or firm tofu. Silken tofu has a softer texture and makes such a velvety cream sauce! Replace with more cashews for soy-free.
- raw cashews – Soaked cashews make the sauce so creamy! Replace with hemp seeds for nut-free.
- ground spices/herbs – Onion powder, ground mustard (or prepared, natural mustard), nutritional yeast, and dried basil and/or oregano season the cream sauce. For the gnocchi, you will be toasting up pepper flakes to infuse the sauce even more!
- miso – Adds umami to the sauce. Use chickpea miso or omit for soyfree
- lemon juice – For tang. You can finish with extra lemon juice, if you like.
- olive oil – To sauté and add depth to the sauce.
- aromatics – Garlic and onion add bulk and umami to the sauce.
- gnocchi – Use refrigerated or shelf stable gnocchi for this recipe. I use potato gnocchi
💡Tips
- For the best texture, toast the gnocchi before adding any liquid to the pan. It improves the flavor and makes it soft and pillowy instead of chewy.
- Adding small splashes of water helps the onions cook more quickly and evenly.
- Smaller pieces of spinach will wilt more easily into the sauce, so either use baby spinach or chop your spinach into small pieces, if you’re using larger spinach leaves.
How to Make Spinach Artichoke Gnocchi
Add all the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend for 1 minute. Let that sit for about 5 minutes to rehydrate the cashews or seeds. Then blend again for 30 seconds. If the mixture isn’t smooth yet, blend for another 30 seconds. Set the cream sauce aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 teaspoons of the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low and mix in the minced garlic. Stir for 10–15 seconds, then mix in the red pepper flakes and mix. Next, add the chopped onion and a generous dash of salt. Increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring every 2 minutes, until the onions are translucent. About 6 minutes You can add a splash of water around the 3 to 4 minute mark to help the onions brown and cook evenly.
Once the onions are translucent, add the gnocchi and the remaining teaspoon of olive oil. Cook 2 to 4 minutes until the gnocchi starts turning toasty and golden.
Fold the artichokes and cream sauce into the skillet and mix well. Rinse out the blender with about ½ cup of water, then pour that into the skillet. Mix everything well, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then mix in the spinach. It might not all fit at once, so add as much as you can and cover the skillet with a lid. Let the spinach steam and wilt for a minute, then open the lid and fold it into the sauce. Taste and adjust salt and flavor. Add more salt or tang, if needed. Check if the gnocchi is pillowy and cooked.
Top the gnocchi with vegan mozzarella and fresh basil.
Cover the skillet again and cook for another minute until the mozzarella melts. If your skillet is oven-safe, you can also place it under the broiler for a minute or so to melt and slightly brown the cheese. Garnish with fresh basil and pepper flakes.
For a crispy topping, you can add breadcrumbs along with the mozzarella before broiling. If your skillet isn’t heat-proof, toast the breadcrumbs separately in a small pan with olive oil until golden, then sprinkle on top just before serving.
What to Serve with Spinach Artichoke Gnocchi
Serve this dish hot and creamy on its own, or with toasted sourdough, garlic bread, or a fresh side salad. You can also pair it with some crisped-up tofu, crisped soy curls, vegan chicken, or even the bacon-y lentils from my smoky skillet lasagna.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can easily make this gluten-free, soy-free, and/or nut-free.
To make this nut-free, replace the cashews with hemp seeds and make sure your cheese is nut-free.
For soy-free, replace the tofu with an extra ¼ cup cashews or hemp seeds and make sure that you are using soy-free vegan cheese. For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free gnocchi.
Absolutely delicious! I used the whole pound of gnocchi, as there was more than enough sauce to accommodate that amount, but made everything else exactly as written. The sauce is very creamy (I would say “decadent,” but with no dairy, it just seems that way!), the flavor is wonderful. I will definitely add this to my regular rotation.
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing.
Have been thinking about this recipe for a few weeks and finally made it today! It’s a showstopper and highly nutritious, I could see making this for dinner parties. It’s very filling so will be sharing with two other vegan friends. I used follow your heart vegan feta crumbles as our coop was out of the miyoko mozzarella that I usually buy. I used frozen Cappellos gluten free gnocchis and they produced a tender result, but wished I could have gotten more crispiness on outside, maybe due to high slightly lower than needed. I used a homemade spice blend with nutritional yeast and included other spices listed and it was flavorful. Thank you, Richa, I’m really appreciating your talents, and my friends are also!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This is an absolutely stellar recipe. Super quick and easy and everyone loved it, including the non-vegans. It’s definitely company worthy.
Yay!! Creamy spinach artichoke gnocchi for the win!
Loved this recipe 😍😍😍
Yay!!
Made this last night, the sauce is so creamy. Added the Vegan Mozzarella to top it off. Such a wonderful dish, bonus of minimal cleanup also😋😋😋
Love Richa’s recipes, have the one pot cook book 🙏
So glad you liked it!
This soup came out delicious!!! My kids loved it too. You are an amazing vegan chef. I been making your recipes for many years and they are all always so amazing. Thank you!!
Awesome!!
I have followed you for several years and have all your cookbooks. I’m fairly self-assured as a plant-based cook (20 yrs experience) so I often rewrite my Mom’s German-Irish-American recipes. I have never quite accomplished the Indian cuisine in which you are so skilled. Your spice combinations and uses are so richly flavorful and often warmly spiced but not starkly hot spicey with no detectable flavors. I love most of the recipes you’ve developed. However, I LOVE your fast meals and your spinach-artichoke sauce with gnocchi is pure delight. I love it on basmati extra long grain rice or with my plant-made Polish dumplings (kopytka).
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you for this wonderful note!!
Oh my goodness, this looks amazing!! thank you for wonderful recipe idea, and will be making this very soon, I know it will taste incredible!! Also love the idea of using potato gnocchi, as I try to avoid too much gluten in my diet, thank you again!
Report back!
I made it tonight! It reminds me of the non-vegan spinach and artichoke dip my Mom used to make for parties, but a bit less heavy on the stomach. I feel like it does need some garlic bread or something crunchy to serve it with so I’m glad you suggested that. Thanks for your recipe!
Awesome!! Thanks for reporting back.