Crispy Gnocchi with Basil Pesto
Updated March 26, 2019
After I graduated college, I traveled to Italy with my brother and his best friend. I fell in love with the country…and gnocchi. Gnocchi is now one of my all-time favorite meals. We like to make homemade gnocchi at home, but sometimes there just isn’t enough time to make gnocchi from scratch. On busy nights, we like to make Crispy Gnocchi with Pesto, which is a quick and easy meal that still gives me my gnocchi fix. And it is a great recipe for this week because it is green and would be a fantastic dish to serve on St. Patrick’s Day.
First, I made a simple basil pesto sauce to go with our crispy gnocchi. You can also use our Spinach Basil Pesto. Both are great with this recipe!
To make the gnocchi, I used a package of store bought gnocchi. You can find gnocchi in the pasta aisle-we like DeLallo brand. To make the gnocchi crispy, you pan fry it in olive oil until the outsides are golden brown and crispy.
Josh likes to eat the gnocchi plain from the pan. Yes, he burns his fingers and mouth, but he never learns:) I try to keep him out of the pan, but it is hard. The gnocchi is delicious so I don’t blame him. We garnished the Crispy Gnocchi with Basil Pesto with a little Parmesan cheese and served bread on the side. We were in carb heaven!
If you are looking for a simple and tasty meal, give Crispy Gnocchi with Basil Pesto a try. And you probably should add it to your St. Paddy’s Day menu! It is the perfect green dish to serve up!
Crispy Gnocchi with Basil Pesto
Ingredients
To make the basil pesto:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Gnocchi:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb package potato gnocchi
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Combine the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil and process until smooth. Add the cheese and pulse until combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
- Cook the gnocchi according to package instructions. Drain completely. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until golden and crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Turn the gnocchi and cook, turning occasionally, until golden and crisp, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in ¼ to ⅓ cup of the pesto. You might have leftover pesto. Serve warm and garnish with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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If you like this Crispy Gnocchi with Pesto, you might also like:
- Pan-Fried Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi from Steamy Kitchen
- Crispy Gnocchi with Green Beans and Peas from Eats Well With Others
- Gnocchi with Mushroom Sauce from Dana Treat
The pesto was great and the crispy gnocchi was a great addition! We had it with meatballs and a bit of spinach.
Hi!
Just found your recipe and was wondering how many people it serves?
I would like to make it for a dinner party for 6 as a side dish.
Thank you!:)
Nicole
4 main dishes, you can maybe get away with 6 if it is a side.
We loved this! The gnocchi took much longer than four minutes to brown for me for some strange reason, but otherwise the recipe went off without a hitch. I used a commercially prepared pesto, which made for a super easy prep. Thanks so much.
Wow. I can barely read the recipe through the popup advertisements.
You need AdBlock Plus. I did not see any pop ups.
This recipe looks so quick and delicious! I can’t wait to try it.
Yes, they can be very annoying! Just click on the “View Recipe” tab at the top right of the recipe, then click on the “Print” tab, and you will have a new page with no more wretched ads!
Maria, Have you ever tried this with tortellini? That’s all I have, and my kids are begging for this recipe- we haven’t had in over a year now!
So good!
Update to my question- I went with the tortellini I had on hand and it worked! Happy kids! Thanks for a yummy recipe!
Oh awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Tried it last night with fried sliced King mushrooms and roasted brussel sprouts. Delicious Thank you!
One of my family favorite dishes! I make this often!
Can this recipe be made the night before?
Love!
An ingredient is really missing: the Genoese pesto recipe includes two cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano (or Grana Padano, depending on personal tastes) and grated pecorino FIORE SARDO (which is a sheep’s cheese) which is missing.
And please, use the pepper only for carbonara and cacio & pepe. Pepper has nothing to do with pesto.
Delish ! I pulsed the basil last in my blender so it wouldn’t be over-worked
My 1st time making pesto was a success !!
Next time I will try it with fresh boiled gnocchi as I found the pan-fried didn’t hold the fresh pesto
Luved it !
Glad you loved it!
This is my previously vegetarian and now pescatarian son’s favorite meal. My whole family enjoys it, even the carnivores. I had a large crowd come in over the holidays and my son had requested this. There was no way one package of gnocchi was going to cut it. So I subbed by air frying in my oven three packages of the gnocchi (instead of the boil and pan fry method) and then mixing it with the pesto and it was just as good but so much easier for a big crowd. Thanks for this recipe that has become a family favorite.
That same son (who incidentally is a grad student) will even cook it for himself but with store bought pesto since he doesn’t usually have much time to cook. It’s a great recipe for beginners at cooking
This makes me so happy!