Pesto Kale Gnocchi with Mixed Veggies and Vegan Chicken Nuggets

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Gnocchi in the traditional form is great but of course Trader Joe’s had to come up with a cauliflower and kale version in the frozen section. Personally, I find the cauliflower one’s taste gummy in the center no matter how I cook them. I love the kale ones though and they are great air fried or pan sautéed. I always air fry them because it’s easy to clean and I love how crispy they taste with little work.

On a really lazy night, I’ll just air fry the kale gnocchi and toss it in the pesto with a little nutritional yeast and call it a night. When I am feeling fancy and have a little extra time, I’ll make the version below. You don’t need the vegan chicken nuggets, but they add a different texture that I like. Feel free to omit these if you aren’t a fan of vegan chicken or vegan meat replacements. Baked or fried tofu would also be great in this. I’ll need to try that one time.

Another staple in my freezer is TJ’s Organic Green Vegetable Foursome. This is a great way to get a delicious addition to a meal that is packed with vitamins and nutrients. I don’t like peas but for some reason I can tolerate them in this. I always add shelled edamame to the foursome because I prefer them over peas, and they help mask them.

I use the vegan kale pesto in this recipe all the time because I don’t have the energy to make pesto from scratch as often as I eat it. I really need to get better about it, but TJ’s makes it hard by making such a bomb pesto. Non-vegans seem to love it just as much as vegans and I recommend everyone try and not let the words “vegan” and “kale” scary you away.

I love Trader Joe’s vegan shredded mozzarella to the point where I have been known to eat it straight up out of the bag in the fridge. Don’t judge me. 😊 You can skip this and go cheese-less or you can add nutritional yeast to make it taste cheesy. Nutritional yeast aka “nooch” is a great source of B-12 and is a great way to get that vitamin and add a cheesiness to any meal.

This meal can easily be made for one or a group and it wouldn’t be much of a difference in prep and cooking. These make for okay leftovers as long as you cook the vegan nuggets to order. I’ll make extra but only make enough nuggs for one serving. I’ll make the nuggets fresh every time I heat up the rest of the leftovers.

Have you had gnocchi before? Was it traditional or made from kale or cauliflower? Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Jessica

Kale Gnocchi with Mixed Veggies and Vegan Chicken Nuggets tossed in Vegan Kale Pesto

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Yield: 2

Author: Jessica Morton

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 20 Min

Ingredients

• 6 Trader Joe’s Chickenless crispy tenders (frozen)
• 1 12 ounce bag Trader Joe’s frozen kale gnocchi
• 2 sprays olive oil spray or a drizzle of regular olive oil
• Sprinkle of garlic powder, TJ’s 21 seasoning salute, Mushroom Umami seasoning, and Cuban Style Citrus Garlic seasoning
• 2 cups TJ’s organic green vegetable foursome
• 1 cup shelled edamame (frozen or fresh works)
• 8 TBSP TJ’s Vegan Kale, Cashew and Basil Pesto
• 4 TBSP TJ’s Herbed Tahini Sauce
• Garnish with TJ’s Vegan Mozzarella shreds and shredded Violife parmesan
• Diced asparagus (optional)

Instructions

1. Toss frozen gnocchi in the olive oil and seasoning in a bowl. Add gnocchi and vegan nuggets to the air fryer. I do 370-375 for about 13-15 minutes, turning halfway. If you don’t have an air fryer, bake the nuggets per bag instructions and cook the seasoned gnocchi in a skillet per bag instructions.
2. Do a quick bowl or steam of the frozen vegetable foursome and edamame and drain. In a large pan, add the pesto and herbed tahini dip and turn to medium heat. Drop in the steam veggies and stir well. Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan when done cooking and gently stir well. You don’t want to crush the gnocchi, but you do want it evenly coated.
3. Dice up the chickenless nuggets and plate up the pesto mixture in bowls. Top each bowl with the diced nuggets and shredded cheese. You can omit the cheese or just do one kind if you want. I had both on hand, so I went all in.
4. This makes good leftovers; I would recommend cooking the chickenless nuggets to order though. They don’t reheat as well as everything else does. They are also optional, I only recently started adding them to this dish. Keep covered in the fridge for up to a week.

Notes:

Goes great with my garlic cheese toast you can find here.

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