# Pesto Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes

Pesto Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes — a easy recipe with 4 main ingredients, ready in about 20 min and serving 3. Check which of its ingredients are on sale at grocery stores near you.

- **Time:** 20 min
- **Serves:** 3
- **Difficulty:** easy
- **Tags:** dinner, pasta, quick, italian, vegetarian
- **Source:** https://savingrecipes.com/recipes/pesto-gnocchi

## Ingredients

- 1 lb gnocchi
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- Fresh mozzarella or parmesan
- 2 tbsp olive oil _(pantry staple)_
- Salt & pepper _(pantry staple)_

## Instructions

1. Sear gnocchi in an oiled skillet until golden (no boiling needed), 6–8 min.
2. Add halved tomatoes to blister, 2 min.
3. Off heat, toss with pesto and top with cheese.

## Tips

- Don't boil the gnocchi. Straight from the packet into a hot oiled pan, undisturbed for 3 minutes, gives a crisp golden shell and a pillowy middle — boiled first, they go gluey.
- Add the pesto off the heat. Cooking it dulls and browns the basil and can turn the oil bitter.
- Let the tomatoes actually blister — two minutes over high heat until the skins split. That's when they release their juice and become a sauce rather than a garnish.

## Substitutions

- **Gnocchi:** Shelf-stable vacuum-packed gnocchi pan-fries best. Fresh chilled works. Cook frozen from frozen, adding a couple of minutes.
- **Pesto:** Rocket, sun-dried tomato, or pistachio pesto. Note that traditional Genovese pesto contains parmesan, often made with animal rennet — check the label for vegetarians.
- **Cherry tomatoes:** Sun-dried tomatoes, roasted peppers, or peas — something sweet and acidic against the rich pesto.
- **Fresh mozzarella:** Burrata, ricotta, or shaved parmesan.

## Storage & reheating

Best immediately — crisp gnocchi softens within about 20 minutes. Leftovers keep 2 days and revive best in a hot dry pan rather than a microwave. Don't freeze cooked gnocchi; the texture collapses.

## Common questions

### Do I really not need to boil the gnocchi?

Correct, for shelf-stable packet gnocchi. They hold enough moisture to cook through in the pan in 6–8 minutes, and the result is better than boiling.

### Is pesto vegetarian?

Usually but not always. Parmesan is traditionally made with animal rennet, so strict vegetarians should look for a labelled vegetarian pesto.

### Why is my pesto bitter?

Overheated, or the olive oil was blitzed too hard — both cause bitterness. Add it off the heat and stir gently.


_Photo: Postcrosser — CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gnocchi_al_pesto_01.jpg)_