Two things I am passionate about when it comes to cooking! First, of course being, well balanced healthy meals that are indulgent and satisfying. The second, using what you got to minimize food waste by transforming leftovers, whether it be a leftover dinner or just leftover ingredients. Which helps save money and the environment. That is why this Veggie Loaded Parmesan Gnocchi with Citrus Garlic Pesto is one of my family’s favorite dishes!
Whoever said vegetation meals are expensive, take lots of time, is bland, and lacks in protein has never really made a vegetarian meal. Take this full of flavor, healthy, protein-packed Veggie Loaded Parmesan Gnocchi with Citrus Garlic Pesto for example. Made with leftover ingredients, only takes 40 minutes start to finish, loaded with protein, and flavor. Don’t believe me? I will prove it to you!
Like most moms, I am always trying to get my kids to eat more veggies. However, I must admit my kids are awesome foodies and have never fought me when it comes to what’s on their plates. Veggie Loaded Parmesan Gnocchi with Citrus Garlic Pesto has become one of their new favorite meals ever since I had a fridge full of halved veggies I had to use before they turned toxic.

This year I decided not only to do meatless Mondays but to attempt to eat 2-3 meatless meals a week.
Okay, I know what you are thinking! To tell you the truth the adjustment has not been too difficult and has saved me so much time because most meatless meals take less time to cook! Oh, and another bonus is this Veggie Loaded Parmesan Gnocchi with Citrus Garlic Pesto is it was made with leftovers and leftover ingredients which saved a trip to the grocery store and money!

Other than time and money, one of the biggest concerns I hear from people is what about the protein? There is no meat or beans in this recipe so wouldn’t you consider this a side dish? When I say there is protein in this dish, I get that look, you know, the one that says, “Your crazy lady.” So, here is the breakdown of all the proteins in Veggie Loaded Parmesan Gnocchi with Citrus Garlic Pesto.
- 1 cup chopped zucchini = 1.5 grams of protein
- 2 cups Mashed Potatoes = 8 grams of protein
- 2 egg = 12 grams protein
- 1 cup chopped yellow squash = 1.4 grams of protein
- 1 cup asparagus = 2.9 grams of protein
- 1 cup sliced almonds- 20 grams of protein
- ½ cup chopped red peppers =0.6 grams of protein
- 1 clove garlic =0.2 grams of protein
- 1 cup chopped parsley= 1.8 grams of protein
- ½ cup parmesan cheese = 19 grams of protein
Total Protein is an estimated 67.4 grams of protein in the entire dish. Divided by 4 servings is 16.85 grams protein proteins per serving. This does not include any parmesan cheese you may sprinkle on top of the dish.
It is roughly estimated that:
- Children 1-4-year-old need 14-16 grams of protein a day
- Children 5-18 years old need 20-45 grams of protein a day
- Adult women need 25-45 grams of protein a day
- Adult males need 30-55 grams of protein a day
Wondering exactly how much protein you should be consuming each day? The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), which is the minimum amount you need to be healthy, 0.36 grams per pound of body weight per day.
An example: I’m 113lb’s so 113 X 0.36 = 40.68 grams is my RDA of protein

Therefore, this Veggie Loaded Parmesan Gnocchi with Citrus Garlic Pesto has enough protein to help keep me on track to meeting my RDA of protein. Especially after you add in breakfast, lunch, snacks, and let’s not forget dessert!
So next time you hear vegetarian meal and get worried about the amount of protein you will be getting remember even vegetables have protein plus extra vitamins and minerals! You also don’t have to worry about breaking the bank, extra trips to the grocery store, or it is tasting bland and boring!
I hope you like this bright, flavorful, healthy, vegetarian, protein-packed Veggie Loaded Parmesan Gnocchi with Citrus Garlic Pesto. For more ways, you can use leftovers head over to the leftover tab at the top of the page, and remember, it is not only good for your pocketbook to use leftovers but also to the environment!

Veggie Loaded Parmesan Gnocchi with Citrus Garlic Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp butter
- ½ medium onion chopped
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ½ tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- ¼ tbsp vegetable stock base
- 2 mini red bell pepper sliced
- ½ yellow squash cut inch 1/2 inch chunks
- ½ zucchini cut inch 1/2 inch chunks
- ½ lb Asparagus cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Gnocchi
- 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes
- 2 small eggs
- 1 ½ cup flour plus some for rolling
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Citrus Garlic Pesto
- 1 cup fresh Italian Parsley
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 ½ tbsp orange zest
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- salt to taste
Instructions
Make the Gnocchi
- Place leftover mashed potatoes, eggs, flour, and parmesan in a food processor and mix until a ball is formed. If the dough is sticky add a little more flour, until ball forms.
- Shape small portions of the dough into long "snakes". On a floured surface, cut snakes into half-inch pieces.
- Bring a big pot of water with salt to a boil. Drop in gnocchi and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until gnocchi have risen to the top. Use a slotted spoon to remove gnocchi. Set aside on wax paper if you are not ready to add them to the skillet if you are ready just add them to the skillet.
Make Citrus Garlic Pesto
- Place fresh Italian Parsley, lemon juice, garlic, orange zest, grated Parmesan cheese, olive oil, almonds, and salt into food processor and blend until everything is finely chopped and incorporated. If mixture appears too thick feel free to add more olive oil.
Everything Comes Together
- Heat up water in microwave safe bowl, stir in and dissolve vegetable base in the water.
- In cast iron skillet saute the onions in 1/2 tablespoon butter over medium-low heat until slightly translucent. Add in almonds and let them toast and turn a light brown for a few minutes.
- Place remaining 1 tablespoon butter into the skillet with onions and almonds. Once melted add in the gnocchi. Allow the gnocchi to fry for 5 minutes, stirring and flipping occasionally.
- Add in tomato paste and water with the vegetable base. Stir until well combined.
- Add in chopped red pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, and asparagus. Allow all ingredients to cook together for 2 minutes.
- Remove cast iron skillet from heat and stir in citrus pesto.
- Top with parmesan cheese and sliced almonds and serve.
Notes
- Cut up all veggies, juice a lemon, and zest the orange
- Get the water boiling for the gnocchi
- Chop the onions and add them to skillet with the butter (do not turn the stove on yet)
- Make gnocchi dough and roll out and cut half the gnocchi
- Turn on stove to get onions going
- Finish rolling out and cutting gnocchi
- Add almonds to the onions and butter
- Add gnocchi to the boiling salt water
- Once gnocchi rises to the top I add remaining butter to the skillet and using a slotted spoon place the gnocchi immediately into the skillet and allow to fry up
- Make Garlic Citrus Pesto
- Add Tomato paste along with water and veggie base mixture to the gnocchi.
- Add veggies allow them to cook for 3-5 minutes
- Remove from heat and add pesto
- Top with parmesan and sliced almonds and serve
This looks delicious and I love that it has a decent amount of protein in it! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you!
It looks and sounds so yummy. I’ll have to try this one day. And your right, we don’t think about the fact that the veggies can have some awesome protein in them. Thanks.
Thank you!
Oh wow this looks amazing. I must admit i have never really tried gnocchi. Maybe i should give this a go but i have a really small food processor. Would that work?
I love gnocchi it is like potato dumpling meets pasta! It depends how small it is. If it is the size of a chopper then that is too small perfect for the pesto though. If you don’t have a big enough food processor that is okay too you just need to mix everything in a bowl then knead it until everything comes together just like you would bread. The other option is to use store bought gnocchi!
Oh my gosh! That looks amazing! I need to try that! I bet my whole family will love it!
Belle | http://www.OneAwesomeMomma.com
My kids love it!! Even my meat loving husband went back for seconds! It is truly the perfect Meatless Monday dish!
I couldn’t even get past the title without swooning at the thought of eating it! This recipe looks soooo amazing. I am 110% going to be making this dish this week!
Thank you so much!! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
One of my biggest issues with gnocchi is that they can be so heavy. I love the idea of pairing gnocchi with so many vegetables and a pesto to keep things on the lighter side. Yum!
Yes gnocchi can be very heavy a lot of dishes have it smothered in cream sauce too so I don’t eat much of it. But like you said with this recipe it is almost 50/50 gnocchi veggies so it is filling but hopefully you don’t feel so weighed down, ya know!
I am obsessed with pesto.. this sounds amazing! I love the combination of flavors and everything you put into this.
Thank you so much!! I can’t wait till my parsley and basil grow in the garden then I will be making pestos like crazy!!
It looks sooo good!
I tried homemade gnocchi once and they turned out HUGE. When do you know it’s time to stop adding flour? I think I got too excited and I added too much.
The best way I can describe it is you want the dough moist but not sticky and you want it to form a ball the texture is like soft fresh playdough. Then you want the ropes to only be about a 1/2 inch thick then cut the pieces only 1/2 inch big as well. They will cook up to be about 3/4 inch big. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
I get lost at “moist, but not sticky” part. I will give them a try again, maybe it will go better this time. Thanks for the tips!
Okay, the trick to moist but not sticky is you want the dough to all stick together but when you grab it you don’t want a bunch to stick to your hands. If you have to wash your hands every time you touch the dough it is too sticky and too moist. So if you do need to add flour add it only 1/8 cup at a time so you don’t end up making dry gnocchi. I hope that helps a bit more! Anything thing else you need just ask!
This looks incredible! I’ve never made my own gnocchi dough, but I’ve always wanted to.
You should!! It is fun and a lot easier than most people think!
Wow! All of your recipes look amazing. This reminds me of a dish I made with my kindergarten class called “veggie confetti” at the free library. We used noodles instead of gnocchi. It was so delicious, and your pictures are making me hungry now! Lol
LOL Thanks, mission accomplished, I think I would fail as a food blogger if I didn’t make people hungry!! And yes I love veggie confetti it is one of my kids and my favorite summer lunches!! Thank you so much for all your kind words!
You hooked me with the pictures and the name but sold me when you said it takes about 40 minutes to make. I don’t like cooking anything for longer than 45 minutes to an hour (at most). Plus, there are a lot of flavors working in this dish, I bet it’s deliciously yummy!
Honestly who has time to cook for more than 45 minutes? I love to cook but time is always against me lol! I am glad this recipe will work for you and I hope you enjoy it!! Have a wonderful week!
Great photos! Great and easy to follow directions! VERY well written!
Thank you
I enjoy reading leftover transformations! Kudos for not wasting food. I’d love to try your recipe this weekend. I hope my family will like it.
Thank you!!
So cool that you made your own gnocchi into this delicious dish. The hubs tried to make me gnocchi once but it didn’t turn out too great. Since then, I have not been into gnocchi at all, lol. But maybe I should give it another shot.
Aww that is sweet he attempted to make you guys homemade gnocchi! As I always say you learn from experience, give it another shot what do you have to lose?
And now I know what we’re having for dinner tonight! Yummy! We love gnocchi but I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t even thought to add veggies to it!
I never added veggies until I made this recipe for the first time. Then I made it and loaded the veggies and my kids ate every bite, so now I add veggies everytime LOL
Umm this looks amazing! I guess I didn’t realize how ‘easy’ gnocchi was to make!! I’ll have to try it!
I didn’t make it for a long time thinking it was difficult too!! But one day I had spare time and thought why not, and then I thought wow that was actually really simple!
Omg this looks delicious, thank you for sharing this recipe, I cant wait to try it!
~xo Sheree
poshclassymom.com
Thank you so much!
Oh my! This looks so delicious. I just may have to do a keto version of this for dinner this week.
xx Tatyanna
http://www.apopoflife.com
Awesome!! Let me know how it turns out! Are you going to make Keto Gnocchi?
Gnocchi is my FAVORITE and this recipe looks delish! Can’t wait to try!
Thank you!! Gnocchi is one of my favorite dishes too!
OMG this looks so delicious! You had me at gnocchi!
Thank you so much!
This looks so good! I’m always looking for healthy meals to keep this baby growing strong!
You are always welcome!! Healthy Happy Babies are always a great goal, glad I could help!!!
This looks SO good! What a fun dinner idea!