creamy vegan pesto cauliflower gnocchi

As I’m preparing to leave for college, something I’ve been trying to is clean out our fridge, as my parents barely cook. And so this means finally using my last bad of the treasured Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi. Seriously, every time I try to go to trader joe’s these days, there is a massive line.

Anyways, I knew I had to use this precious resource was by tossing it in creamy pesto sauce. In fact, I had a revelation the night before about making vegan creamy pesto. Turns out, if you whip tofu in a food processor and add it to a sauce, you won’t even be able to tell that the sauce has no dairy. An exciting, yet very obvious revelation, especially since I’ve been trying to eat less dairy recently since I think I may be mildly lactose intolerant.

And when you add some broccoli, blistered tomatoes, and sausage, you create an amazingly delicious meal that comes together so quickly, it’ll be done before you even know it.

creamy vegan pesto cauliflower gnocchi

serves: 2

cooking time: 20 minutes

• one large bunch of basil

• 1/4 cup pine nuts

• 1/4 block soft tofu

• 3 tbs. nutritional yeast

• 1 head of broccoli, chopped into small pieces

• 1 package cauliflower gnocchi

• two links of chicken(or vegan) sausage of your choice, sliced

• two cups spinach

• one cup cherry tomatoes, halved

• one tbs. balsamic vinegar

• olive oil

• garlic salt

• pepper

1. Prepare the pesto: blend together basil and pine nuts together in food processor until finely chopped, then add in tofu, nutritional yeast, and blend until smooth, creamy sauce forms. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Heat in saute pan one tbs. of oil over medium high heat, then add in halved tomatoes, and cook until soft and blistered, then add balsamic vinegar.

3. Add in sliced sausage, and cook until sausage achieves slight crispy sear, then add in cauliflower gnocchi and broccoli, and cook until gnocchi is fully defrosted.

4. Turn heat off, then add sauce into pan, and toss until pasta is fully coated, adding water to thin out the sauce if necessary.

5. Split pasta into two bowls and enjoy!