Spicy Shrimp Pesto Gnocchi Bowls

A bowl of delicious and surprisingly healthy comfort food is only about 30 minutes away. That’s right, these healthy Spicy Shrimp Pesto Gnocchi Bowls are everything you want in a comfort food, minus the guilt.

Have you discovered Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi yet?? If not, you seriously need to try it ASAP! It’s so incredibly tasty and the texture is surprisingly good for something made from cauliflower, cassava flour, potato starch, extra virgin olive oil, and sea salt. Yep, and those are all of the ingredients! Pretty amazing if you ask me.

Now the cooking method for these babies is a little interesting. I like to add them completely frozen to a warmed skillet and basically sauté them until they are warmed through and have a crunchy golden brown crust. YUMMMM. Don’t follow the directions on the package. Just don’t. You’ll end up with a gooey, sticky mess that in no way resembles traditional gnocchi.

I hope you enjoy the recipe!!

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Spicy Shrimp Pesto Gnocchi Bowls

• Gluten-Free
• Dairy-Free
• Paleo
• Low Carb
• Whole30
• Pescatarian

5 from 1 vote

Print

These delicious dinner bowls are so easy to make and can be thrown together in less than 30 minutes! They are packed with flavor, gluten free, dairy free, low carb (about 20g carbs per serving), and paleo! 

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients 

Dairy Free Pesto

• 2 cups 70g gently-packed basil*
• 1/4 cup 25g walnut pieces
• 1/4 cup 35g pine nuts
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Spicy Shrimp & Cauliflower Gnocchi

• 1 lb 450g shrimp, peeled
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp grass-fed ghee or avocado oil
• 2 packages Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi
• 2 cups arugula
• 1 cup 85g extra moist sun-dried tomatoes**, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup 50g chopped walnuts
• Red pepper flakes for serving
• Extra basil leaves for garnish

Instructions

Dairy Free Pesto

• Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor and blend on high for about a minute or until it's a thick paste. You will need to scrape down the sides and bottom intermittently. 
• Slowly drizzle in olive oil with food processor still running and blend until the olive oil is incorporated, about 1 more minute.
• Transfer pesto to a bowl and set aside.

Spicy Shrimp & Cauliflower Gnocchi

• Dry and season shrimp. Pat shrimp dry with paper towels. Combine cayenne, sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small dish, then sprinkle over the shrimp, coating both sides. 
• Cook gnocchi. Heat 1 Tbsp of the ghee or avocado oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add cauliflower gnocchi (still frozen!!) and cook for about 12-15 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned on all sides. Toss or stir gently very occasionally. Too much stirring could cause them to break apart and not brown up and get crispy. If you have a very large skillet you can do both packages at once and the cook time will be closer to 15 minutes. If you have something around 12-inches in diameter you will likely need to do them in 2 batches so as not to crowd the pan. If cooking one bag at a time, your cook time will be right around 12 minutes. If you are making a single serving by quartering the recipe, the gnocchi will cook even faster and take around 10 minutes. Just remember, don't stir too much, be gentle with the gnocchi, allow them to get crispy and brown, and make sure your pan is nice and hot before adding the gnocchi! Plate the gnocchi, sprinkle with arugula and keep warm by draping with kitchen towels.
• Cook shrimp. Heat the remaining 1 Tbsp of the ghee or avocado oil in your large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the shrimp one by one to the pan. Cook for about 1 minute per side for large shrimp, or until opaque throughout and peachy-pink on the outside. Adjust cook time based on size of shrimp. Small shrimp could need as little as 30 seconds per side. Jumbo shrimp will need closer to 1.5 mins per side. Take care not to overcook. Set shrimp aside on a plate.
• Assemble bowls. Now it's time to put everything together! Sprinkle sun-dried tomatoes on top of the gnocchi and arugula, add shrimp and walnuts, drizzle on pesto, then garnish with red pepper flakes and basil leaves.
• Serve immediately so that the gnocchi stays crisp and doesn't start to stick together. 
• Enjoy!

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Notes

*Gently-packed is definitely not a precise measurement. It's somewhere between loosely packed and tightly packed. 

**Extra moist sun-dried tomatoes are sold in a bag and are nice and soft. They can be eaten as-is without having to rehydrate. If you can only find the dried kind, just make sure to rehydrate them and then pat dry before using in this recipe. 

Category:

• 25 minutes
• Comfort Foods
• Dairy-Free
• Date Night
• Dinner
• Fall
• Gluten-Free
• Italian
• Low Carb
• Main Dish
• Paleo
• Party Food
• Pasta & Pizza
• Pescatarian
• Quick Weeknight Dinners
• Shrimp
• Valentine's Day
• Whole30
• Winter

Author: Kit

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