Post sponsored by La Crema. See below for more details.
At least once a week, I shoot for having a date-night-in type of dinner. Most evenings we eat with Mack but occasionally I wait until he's in bed and cook a non-toddler friendly recipe. I pour myself a glass of wine (in this case, La Crema Monterey Chardonnay) and start to unwind. Typically I choose something that is also fairly hands on like homemade pasta or pizza. This white bean gnocchi is also on the rotation. I love a comforting bowl of gnocchi and while I typically use a ricotta version, this white bean is a fun way to sneak protein into a meal. Plus, the flavor isn't too bean-heavy which means it's great for even those who aren't a big fan of beans.
A perfect date-night in meal with white bean gnocchi (made from pureed white beans and flour) topped with an easy cauliflower pan-sauce with chili flakes.
Tips & Tricks: Getting the right consistency for the gnocchi is key- extra flour means a denser bite. You want the dough to come together but still have a bit stickiness to it.
Look for vegetarian-friendly parmesan that uses microbial or vegetarian rennet.
Stock up: get the pantry ingredients you will need: white beans, wheat flour, cauliflower
Nutrition: see the information.
I love this white bean gnocchi because the core of the recipe is a few simple ingredients. From there you can switch up the sauce and the vegetables and have endless meal combinations. A few of my favorite include roasted brussels sprouts and a cream sauce, a homemade roasted tomato sauce, or a butter sauce with grilled zucchini.
Mushrooms: I’m not a big mushroom eater but my husband loves them. So I created a mushroom variation for the La Crema blog. You can pop over to their site to see the mushroom sauce.
Vegan: A bit tricky but could be done. Leave the egg out of the beans and simple use the bean mix with flour- the result will be a bit denser gnocchi. For the sauce, I recommend roasting the cauliflower and making this almond sauce.
Gluten-free: Use your favorite blend of flours or a pre-mixed 1:1 flour blend.
Since moving to California, learning about wine has been a hobby of mine. The entire process fascinates me because there is so much variation from variety to vintages. I'm still getting the hand of tastings and pairings but I'm excited to start sharing these pairings a little more on the site. I tend to drink whites but am not afraid of reds when pairing with vegetarian recipes. This white bean gnocchi with spicy cauliflower pairs wonderfully with the citrusy notes of the La Crema Chardonnay while the Pinot Noir is lovely with the mushroom cream sauce. A few other dishes I think would work well with the chardonnay:
Spinach Fennel Pizza
Turmeric Sweet Potato Soup
Halloumi Salad with Spinach and Quinoa
Disclosure: This recipe was created in partnership with La Crema. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It’s content like this that helps me keep this site running to provide the vegetarian recipes you see every week. |
This white bean gnocchi dish sounds mouth watering. I would love to try it with the brussels sprouts with cream sauce.
I am so happy to see this recipe. I will need to tweek it a bit, as I have a gluten allergy. Not shade allergies are hard to deal with. I love gnocchi, seems like everything I love has potatoes, tomatoes or a green pepper in it.
Can't wait to make this...going to try it tonight=)
Completely delish! Gotta try this!
Oh my !!! I love gnocchi and would have never even thought about using white beans! I absolutely love it. Can't wait to try this out!
This looks like a fabulous way to sneak in some beans. Could you suggest an alternative to the heavy cream?
If you were still okay with cheese, I might recommend a mascarpone or goat cheese sauce. Or you can check out the vegan variation- I love a vegan almond cream sauce.
Such a different take on gnocchi! Looking forward to trying it out!
Looks amazing! Will the gnocchi dough hold overnight in the refrigerator?
★★★★★
I think it should- you might want to cover it with a damp cloth so that the dough will not dry out.
Thank you!!
Hi, this looks great! Can you explain what you mean by only cooking half the gnocchi? Are they meant to be cooked in batches?
Correct- I updated the wording a bit to lessen confusion!
This is absolutely AMAZING. I have been following you for a few years now and this may be my favorite thing I have made thus far. Delicious, easy to make, and affordable ingredients. Perfect. Thank you!