Wes Ellis./ a personal notebook
Technology. Stories. Side projects.
A few things worth writing down.
SearchSubscribe
← Back to Short-Order Kitchen

Short-Order Kitchen

Air Fryer Sausage and Cauliflower Gnocchi

By Wes Ellis2 min read
Golden pan-crisped gnocchi with thyme being turned with a wooden spatula.
Recipe card
Servings
2
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
15 to 20 minutes
Method
Air fryer
Heat
400°F air fryer
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to ingredients & directions ↓

Part 12 of the thread Air fryer weeknights

THE SHORT VERSION4 points
  • Gnocchi go in straight from frozen. Don't thaw them.
  • Everything in one basket at 400°F for 15 to 20 minutes.
  • Shake halfway so the gnocchi brown on more than one side.
  • Use pre-cooked chicken sausage; it only needs to heat through.
THE RECIPE · AIR FRYER SAUSAGE AND CAULIFLOWER GNOCCHI

Ingredients

You'll need

  • Air fryer
  • Large bowl
  • Knife and cutting board

Directions

  1. Slice the sausage into rounds and chop the vegetables into bite-sized pieces.
  2. In a large bowl, toss the frozen gnocchi, sausage, vegetables and pesto until everything's coated. Add a light spray of oil for extra crisp, and a little Parmesan if you like.
  3. Heat the air fryer to 400°F.
  4. Spread the mix in the basket as evenly as you can; a little overlap is fine.
  5. Air fry 15 to 20 minutes, shaking halfway, until the gnocchi are golden and crisp in spots and the vegetables are tender.
  6. Serve hot, with more Parmesan on top.
Notes Leftovers keep 2 to 3 days in the fridge, though the gnocchi soften. Reheat in the air fryer at 375°F for a few minutes, or in the microwave. Roughly 400 calories and 40 g protein per serving, give or take.

wesellis.com/blog/air-fryer-sausage-gnocchi/

Frozen cauliflower gnocchi have a reputation for turning into paste when you boil them the way the bag suggests. The air fryer skips the water entirely. They come out crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, which is a lot closer to what you wanted in the first place.

Straight from the freezer

Don't thaw them. Thawed cauliflower gnocchi are soft and sticky, and they'll glue themselves to each other and the basket. Frozen ones hold their shape long enough for the outsides to set and brown.

Tossing them with the pesto before they go in does two jobs: the oil in the pesto helps them crisp, and the flavor bakes on instead of sitting on top.

Heads up

Shake the basket at the halfway point, and don't skip it. The pieces on the bottom will have browned while the top layer is still pale.

Picking the vegetables

Anything that roasts in about fifteen minutes works. Peppers, onions, zucchini and broccoli are the easy ones. Cut them about the size of the gnocchi so they cook at the same pace.

The sausage is already cooked, so it's there to brown and heat through. Chicken sausage keeps this lighter, but any pre-cooked link works.

Try this

Swap the pesto for Cajun seasoningA spicy Louisiana-style blend, mostly paprika, garlic, onion, pepper and salt, with some cayenne. Brands vary a lot in heat and salt, so taste before you pour.More: Cajun Air Fryer Salmon and it tastes a lot like the Sheet Pan Jambalaya.

The same pesto-forward idea runs through Air Fryer Chicken Bellagio, and if you like cauliflower standing in for the starch, the Greek Cauliflower Rice Skillet does the same trick on the stovetop.

Keep reading