If you know anything about me, you probably know I love mac and cheese. Vegan of course! This vegan herbed gnocchi mac and cheese is next freaking level. Comfort food at its best! This decadent, creamy vegan cheese sauce is flavored with herbs, garlic and shallots. This is a great sauce to go on lots of things. Pasta, broccoli, potatoes. However, throw some gnocchi into the sauce and it is magical. Perfect as the side for your thanksgiving (and frankly any holiday) meal. It is also so easy, you may want to make it your main dish for dinner one night!
You can make your own gnocchi, check out my homemade gnocchi recipe HERE! A lot of store bought gnocchi is also vegan. So if you want to save yourself some time, I recommend finding a store brand you really like. I have used Rana brand and Gia Russa brand. Both of which are vegan. The Gia Russa brand is even certified vegan and can be found pretty easily in most grocery stores.
The sauce for this gnocchi mac and cheese is made from vegetable broth and vegan cream cheese. I recommend using a vegan cream cheese you enjoy eating on its own since you will be able to taste it a bit. It is flavored with some really great stuff and is super flavorful! You can pan fry the gnocchi, or just boil it, whichever you prefer. Then stir it into the simple sauce and serve.
If you are using packaged gnocchi, this dish can be ready in just 10-15 minutes! It’s a great weeknight meal, or awesome if you are creating a large feast. I promise, even non-vegans will love this fancy plant-based version of macaroni and cheese. You can also switch up the herbs based on the season. I made this for fall, so it has some of my favorite fall herbs!
Vegan Herbed Gnocchi Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 Ounces Gnocchi, vegan I used Gia Russa brand
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Shallot, diced
- 4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Rosemary, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh thyme, just the leaves
- 1 1/4 Cups Vegetable broth
- 8 Ounces Vegan cream cheese, I used Kite Hill
- 2 Tablespoons Nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric, optional
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the gnocchi according to package directions. Set aside when done.
- In the meantime, heat the olive oil on medium high in a large non-stick skillet.
- Then add the shallot and garlic. Sauté, reducing heat as needed until the shallot is translucent. 2-3 minutes.
- Now add the rosemary and thyme. Sauté for another minute.
- Next, pour the broth into the skillet and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium low.
- Then add the vegan cream cheese, nutritional yeast, Dijon, lemon juice, turmeric and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Whisk to combine, and continue whisking until the cream cheese has completely melted and dissolved into the broth. Simmer for 3-5 more minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, then add the gnocchi to the skillet with the sauce and toss. Let cook for another minute to make sure the gnocchi is nice and hot.
- Serve immediately with extra herbs if desired.
Nutrition
Can we use dried thyme ? If so how much ?
How do I cook the dish and take it to someone’s house for Thanksgiving and re-heat it there? Also, can you re-heat the leftovers the next day without losing any flavor? What’s the best way to re-heat?
Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!
This is so delicious and very quick to put together. I used Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi because it’s what I had. Really yummy. But I definitely want to make it again with potato gnocchi. The sauce is so good.
a new favorite at our house thank you for sharing!
Absolutely delicious! We loved the flavour, the texture, how comforting it is. And on top of that it’s highly nutritious! Woo hoo! This will be a new staple for us!
This was indescribably good!
Really delicious spin on mac and cheese! I adapted it a bit because the cream cheese inspired me to put chopped jalapeno in there instead of the herbs so that it could be like jalapeno popper mac and cheese! Everything else I kept the same. I will definitely make this again.