Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Pesto Sauce

Gnocchi lovers! I recently tried pan-frying my gnocchi for the first time for the recipe I am sharing with you, and I am not kicking myself for not trying this sooner. There is a restaurant in my city that serves pan-fried gnocchi as a side dish with their sandwiches as an alternate choice to french fries. They are so delicious, and I wanted to use them in a main dish.  Since tomatoes and basil are plentiful right now I made a creamy tomato pesto sauce to toss my pan-fried gnocchi in. A little Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of fresh pesto, and it was absolutely delicious!

Searing the gnocchi is pretty simple, but it requires you to be attentive to your pan because once you need to start flipping you move a little quickly to avoid burning the gnocchi. 

Check out that brown sear. The gnocchi get a crispy texture on the outside, but are soft and light in the middle. 

I recommend making the sauce in before you start you gnocchi so you can toss the crispy bites in your tomato pesto sauce. If you make to gnocchi your first preparation you might end up with it a bit to crisp. Plus you want to give the pasta and sauce a little time to cook together before your drizzle with pesto and sprinkle a touch of parm to your dish. 

This dish a perfect as a main meal, but I prefer it served with a protein. I made a honey balsamic pork tenderloin I will share later this week to complete your plate. 

I am in denial that we are into mid-August at this point. I am planning to soak up the last few weeks before my big boy is officially a kindergartner. I am sure my fellow parent readers can identify how intimidating, exciting, and intense this milestone. I am sure that with each child the impact is a little less, but since it is my first to go to kindergarten I am feeling unprepared and nostalgic about it. Kellen is of course oblivious because I want him to be excited and not feel my nervousness because I am sure his little mind has already gone there.  So, the remainder of the summer we have a few fun this planned: grabbing creative fair offerings and riding the rides next weekend at the local fair, another trip to our cottage in Door County, and a trip to the Wisconsin Dells to round off the summer. 

Thanks to all of you who entered the giveaway! I have one more products post to share next week so stay tuned! Also, I am going to share a few of my favorite back to school recipes next week to get you ready and prepped for Back to School! 

Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Pesto Sauce

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 28 ounces whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
• ¼ cup pesto, plus extra for topping
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping
• salt, to taste
• 16 ounce packaged uncooked gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

 

• In a sauce pan, simmer tomatoes and pesto for 10 minutes. 
• Add cream and simmer an additional 3-5 minutes.
• Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce. Add cheese and lightly simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. 
• While sauce is simmering, cook gnocchi according to package instructions. Remove from water and pat dry. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large rimmed skillet and add gnocchi and spread them into a single layer. At this time you can remove the sauce from heat and set it aside. 
• Allow gnocchi to cook for about 2 minutes and then begin to flip them. Allow more time if the are not starting to brown. Once all gnocchi have been flipped, turn heat to low and ladle in the tomato sauce. Allow gnocchi to simmer lightly in the sauce for about 10 minutes. Salt, if needed. 
• Serve and top with Parmesan cheese and pesto. 

Notes

If you do not have an immersion blender a traditional blender or food processor can be used. 

Tried this recipe? I'd love to see it! Mention @CheeseCurdInParadise or tag #cheesecurdinparadise on Instagram!