Skillet Red Pepper White Bean Gnocchi

Store-bought, readymade ingredients make this skillet red pepper white bean gnocchi an easy 15-minute vegetarian weeknight dinner.

There are only three of us under one roof, but on many nights we all eat something different for dinner.

It is always a challenge to get those individual orders on the table at once. I am not a restaurant.

There is a big difference between chef and home cook.

Dinner would be so much easier if we would agree on the same meal.

That pretty much only happens when we have pizza because of our 7-year-old.

I chat with other moms and dads who tell me that they serve only one thing, and the whole family eats it.

There are no other options.

Clearly, I have gone wrong with my parenting offering up choices for meals. 

For now, I am not going to tackle the impossible task of one dinner for three. Instead I am trying to do better, at least making dinner for my husband and me, and then of course, something else for our son.

Pasta is always a favorite at our house. And that includes store-bought gnocchi.

When I have the time, I love making classic potato gnocchi or sweet potato gnocchi from scratch, but there is no way that happens during the week.

Also, using shelf-stable readymade gnocchi gives me the chance to focus on what goes with it and not just those dumplings.

Often times I will reach for a sheet pan to cook gnocchi with a mix of vegetables.

But there are other moments when I decide not to turn on the oven, and I just stick with the stovetop.

For this skillet red pepper white bean gnocchi, I use a big pot of boiling water to simmer the gnocchi and a skillet to sauté the rest of the ingredients.

It ends up being a simple and filling dinner that doesn’t involve much prep.

Ways To Cook Gnocchi

As I mentioned, I am a big fan of sheet pan gnocchi recipes where you combine gnocchi with vegetables and roast them together on the same pan.

When it comes to skillet gnocchi, I take two approaches. If the recipe involves simmering the gnocchi in sauce or stock, I don’t bother cooking it in boiling water in first.

Since this recipe doesn’t have sauce and is more about garlicky olive oil, I do cook it in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes before it makes it into the skillet.

How To Make Skillet Red Pepper White Bean Gnocchi

First, I boil the gnocchi, which only takes a few minutes.

Then I heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté the onions.

When they are soft and translucent, I add plenty of minced garlic, chopped roasted red peppers and kale.

Using jarred roasted red peppers is a great shortcut for lots of dishes including this one.

Usually, I wait for pepper season in the summer to roast them. I use peppers that we either grow in our container garden or that I buy at the farmers market.

Once the kale has wilted, I stir in the gnocchi, white beans, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. With a little sautéing, everything is warm.

Finally, I fold in grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.

I spoon the gnocchi onto plates or into bowls, and then crumble shaved Parmesan on top to finish.

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