Easy Vegan Bowl w/ Herbed Cauliflower Gnocchi

This Vegan Bowl with Crispy Herbed Gnocchi & Tomato Bell Pepper Salad is easy, healthy and packed with flavor!

Most common questions I get about vegan recipes are how to keep them simple yet make it taste good, and this vegan bowl is your answer! Perfect for a lunch or dinner, this recipe comes together in under 30 minutes. With a few basic veggies and herbs, they can be put together in a way that makes all the plant ingredients shine.

If you’re new to my blog, you might not know that the food I create is always focused on flavor and nourishment. Eating wholesome food that’s good for you does not have to be boring. I’m all about those colors, textures & flavor! A plant-based life is about abundance in every way, and not restriction!

This recipe is such a simple way to put a wholesome easy vegan meal on the table.

Plant-based butter crisped fluffy cauliflower gnocchis generously herbed along with a bright tomato & bell pepper salad; full of flavor, refreshingly light yet comforting and as beautiful to eat as it is to look at.

I’ve used a store bought cauliflower gnocchi (mine is from Trader Joe’s). And if you’ve tried them before you know those package instructions in the back are quite misleading. Step one: throw that away! Here’s the best way to cook them, get them all crispy on the outside and fluffy and tender on the inside.

How to cook the perfect Cauliflower Gnocchi:

1. Keep the gnocchi frozen. Do not thaw them beforehand.
2. Use a large non stick pan. Spread the gnocchi in one even layer with enough room to crisp.
3. Use a little neutral oil to help with the cripsing.
4. Flip them around one in between while cooking to make sure they’re evenly crisp on all sides.

Check out the full instructions in the recipe below. Once you have the gnocchi ready, it’s only a matter of putting together the salad and keeping all the herbs ready to toss in. The herbs I’ve used for the gnocchi are basil, cilantro, mint and dill. The combination of these provide phenomenal taste. You could absolutely adjust which ones you use based on your preference. Not a cilantro fan, use parsley. Can’t find dill, double up on basil. Truly up to you. My recommendation would be to use all of them for the perfect combination of flavors!

In addition to the herbs, this is a great recipe to add other veggies in too, if you’d like. Sautè up some onions, spinach and zucchini to make it a fresh summer gnocchi, or even add in lentils or chickpeas to make it heariter; the options are endless!

Special self appreciation nod to our amatuer gardening skills; all the veggies and herbs for this meal came from our little home garden! ❤️

Making the salad for this vegan bowl:

I’ve used a combination of sweet red tomatoes, along with slightly tangy and firm green tomatoes. Also to complement the texture are refreshingly crunchy bell peppers. I adore the combination of these three. Here too, be as creative as you need. This is perfect for using up all the veggies you need to use up, or prefer to add along with tomatoes and peppers! Some cucumbers or lettuce are great adds in here.

With how fresh these tomatoes from the garden were, it needs little else. Just some freshly squeezed lemon juice, good quality extra virgin olive oil and basil. This salad is perfect to make a day ahead, because they taste even better when they’ve had a little time to marinate  and for the flavors to sing together! So this salad make a great meal prep salad to eat with any meal during the week.

Vegan Bowl w/Herbed Cauliflower Gnocchi

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 2 voted )

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Ingredients

Herbed Butter gnocchi:
1 pack frozen cauliflower gnocchi (do not thaw)
2 thai red chillies
2 tbsp shredded basil
2 tbsp shredded cilantro
2 tbsp shredded mint
2 tbsp shredded dill
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp plant-based butter
2 tbsp oil

Tomato & Bell pepper salad:
2 organic ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 green tomato, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
juice from 1 lemon ~3 tbsp
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
a handful of fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Toss all the salad ingredients together in a bowl and set aside to rest for the flavors to meld. It's best served after 20 minutes at room temperature.

Crisping gnocchi:
Heat a non stick skillet with oil & plant-based butter over medium heat. Place frozen gnocchi evenly in one layer well distanced. Watch out for splatters. Let the gnocchi cook undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown on the bottom. Gently flip them all and cook the other side for another 4-5 minutes. Do not try to flip them before one side is fully golden brown and crisp or they’ll stick to each other. When fully crisped, they’ll also be perfectly cooked, soft and pillowy inside.
Now sprinkle 2 tbsp water into the pan and it will be absorbed into the pasta quickly, and it's done.

Putting it together:
To the pan with the cooked gnocchi, add chillies, salt, all the herbs and cook for a couple of minutes and it's done!

Plate them together with the salad and dig in!

If you liked this vegan bowl, also check out

Incredible Mediterranean Pilaf Bowl

Delicious Vegan Pesto Pasta with Crispy Mushrooms

Easy Mac and Cheese, Vegan (with Hidden Veggies!)