This gnocchi salad is made with peppery arugula, juicy cherry tomatoes, and avocado chunks, along with pan-fried gnocchi in a zippy lemon vinaigrette! It makes a delicious vegan show-stopping side, or you can double up the servings and enjoy it as a main.
There's something that's been missing from your salads. Yeah, if you read the title of this post, you know what I'm talking about... it's gnocchi!
I can't believe it took me this long to put gnocchi in a salad. But just recently, I started thinking I wanted to create a different kind of pasta salad. I love my classic vegan pasta salad and all, but I thought gnocchi might take it to a whole new level, and boy oh boy did it ever.
This gnocchi salad isn't really like traditional pasta salad, though. For this salad, you'll be pan-frying the gnocchi, making them delightfully crispy. Think of them like extra awesome, potatoey croutons. Yeah, they're REALLY GOOD.
This salad is also super easy to throw together. Whip it up and serve it at your next get together — it'll definitely impress your guests!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Olive oil. Since this will go in the dressing, you'll definitely want to use extra-virgin olive oil.
- Gnocchi. You'll need shelf-stable potato gnocchi. Most varieties are vegan, but check the ingredients just to be safe!
- Arugula. I love the peppery flavor of arugula with lemon vinaigrette, but feel free to swap it out with another green, like baby spinach or spring mix.
- Fresh basil.
- Cherry tomatoes.
- Avocado.
- Vegan Parmesan cheese. This is totally optional! It adds some wonderful flavor and texture, but the salad will still be delicious without it. You can use my vegan Parmesan cheese recipe, or just buy it at the store.
- Salt and pepper.
- Lemon juice. This is for your dressing, and it's the star flavor, so make sure it's freshly squeezed (not bottled!).
- Lemon zest.
- Shallot.
- Garlic.
- Dijon mustard.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start by cooking your gnocchi. Heat your olive oil in a skillet, then add the gnocchi in a nice even layer. Cook them for a few minutes on each side.
After a few minutes the gnocchi will become golden and crisp. They're done! Let them cool for a bit.
To make the dressing, combine olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, minced shallot, garlic, Dijon mustard, and salt in a small container and shake it up. Place the remaining salad ingredients into a large bowl.
Once the gnocchi are cool, add them to the salad, then drizzle it with the dressing and toss it. Add some vegan Parm, salt and pepper.
Your gnocchi salad is all ready! Divide it onto plates and dig in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yep! Just use a vegan and gluten-free gnocchi. DeLallo makes one.
You can prepare most of the components in advance, but I recommend holding off on combining them until just before serving. You'll also want to wait to cut your avocado until you assemble the salad, since it will turn brown once cut.
Leftover gnocchi salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days. The avocado will probably turn brown, but it will still be fine to eat.
More Salad Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Gnocchi Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (16 ounce/454 gram) package shelf-stable potato gnocchi
- 4 ounces arugula
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- 4 tablespoons vegan Parmesan cheese (optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Dressing
- â…“ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large nonstick skillet with the oil and place it over medium heat. Give the oil a minute to heat up, then add the gnocchi. Arrange the pieces in an even layer and cook them for about 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove the gnocchi from the skillet and transfer them to a plate.
- Make the dressing while the gnocchi cools. Place all ingredients into a mason jar or similar small container with a lid. Shake until fully mixed. Taste-test the dressing and adjust any seasonings to your liking.
- Place the arugula into a bowl, along with the basil, cherry tomatoes, and diced avocado. Add the gnocchi once they are cool (Note 1).
- Drizzle the salad with dressing, using as much as you'd like (Note 2), and sprinkle it with vegan Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste. Toss the salad to distribute the ingredients.
- Serve.
Notes
- You can add the gnocchi to the salad warm if you'd like to serve it that way. Just be aware that it may wilt the arugula, which isn't necessarily a bad thing — just different.
- Leftover dressing will keep for about five days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
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The flavors were seriously delightful! I got a little scared to try baking the gnocchi given the previous comments (plus didn't want to turn on the oven) so I also boiled it and then sauteed. I also had to make modifications due to availability at the store (spring mix instead of straight arugula, heirloom tomatoes in place of cherry, green onion in place of shallot, also just 4 tbsp lemon juice out of 6). Since I made it as a main for 4 servings, I upped the bar to 16 as suggested, and these proved a hearty 4 servings. All this to say that even with modifications, it was tasty and I definitely plan to make this one again!
This salad was a good idea, but it didn't turn out like I'd hoped. The roasted gnocchi were hard as little rocks. I had another package and tried boiling them until they floated. Then I sauteed them in olive oil until they were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Much better. The dressing was too tart for me. I think much less lemon would have been fine, but since I'd already made the dressing, I added agave until it was slightly sweet and sour. That was better. I added spring greens to the arugula to make eating the greens easier--not so many strings of greens. All in all, I'd make the salad again, but I'd cook the gnocchi and tame down the dressing.
Unfortunately the baked gnocchi didn’t really work for me - I think it must depend on the brand and how dry they are to start with. Mine looked good halfway through cooking but I had to pull them out at 25mins as they were browning. After cooling they were incredibly hard and not pleasant to eat. Perhaps some brands are softer even if they are shelf-stable.