Cheesy Vegetarian

Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella)

Ahh, gnocchi! Adorable little potato dumplings that taste like little pillowy clouds – soft and fluffy, like little hugs for your mouth. I adore gnocchi cooked with all sorts of flavours, and this easy air fryer recipe involves:

crispy gnocchi cooked in a creamy pesto sauce
roasted vegetables that are sweet and tender
gooey little pockets of mozzarella cheese
a layer of rich tomato sauce to bring it all together

Doesn’t it just sound irresistible?! It couldn’t be easier to make, and the classic Italian flavours are just incredible.

Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables with mozzarella and pesto.

If you’re a regular reader here on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian, you might know that I’m not a fan of boiling gnocchi, and I usually cook it in a frying pan (see my instructions for frying gnocchi!). However, lately I’ve been experimenting with different methods – like baked gnocchi, and oven-roasted gnocchi. This time, I thought I’d use the air fryer!

Why Cook Gnocchi in an Air Fryer?

I use my air fryer several times a week, and I love it. An air fryer is essentially just a mini oven, so whatever you can cook in an oven, you can cook in an air fryer instead (and vice versa) – but it’s a lot quicker when there’s a smaller space to heat up.

Cooking this pesto gnocchi in an air fryer means you can turn it on, leave it to do its thing for a while, and return to perfectly cooked gnocchi. It’s a lot less labour intensive than cooking the gnocchi in a frying pan, and it’s quicker than using the oven. Best of both worlds!

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

gnocchi – any shop-bought gnocchi will work. I haven’t tested this recipe using homemade gnocchi, but I imagine that would work well too (though you’ll probably need to boil the gnocchi first).
vegetables – I used mushrooms, red onion and a yellow pepper. Any similar Italian-style veggies will work well.
pesto – I used a creamy basil pesto, but use whatever you like the sound of.
fresh mozzarella cheese
tomato sauce – choose your favourite tomato-based pasta sauce, or use your own homemade tomato sauce! It’s worth choosing a good quality sauce for this recipe.

Becca’s Top Tip

If you don’t have an air fryer, you could cook this recipe in a regular oven instead, or in a frying pan on the stovetop.

Recipe Video

Equipment

My air fryer is the Ninja Foodi MAX air fryer, which I really love, and I use it several times a week. I love how it has two separate baskets, so you can cook small or large meals easily. One of the baskets was enough to cook this air fryer gnocchi.

Here’s the one I have on Amazon:

Ninja Dual Air Fryer

I love the two separate zones in this air fryer!

If you’re in the UK or Canada, click the link to see a local product.

A bowl of air fryer gnocchi on tomato sauce.

Printable Instructions

Air fryer gnocchi and vegetables on tomato sauce.

Air Fryer Gnocchi with Pesto and Mozzarella

Air fryer gnocchi, with creamy pesto sauce, gooey pockets of mozzarella, and roasted veggies. This vegetarian meal is so easy!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 22

Total Time 32

Servings people

Calories 663kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

2 Tbsp pesto (I used a creamy basil pesto)
2 Tbsp water
120 g mushrooms (~ 6 medium mushrooms)
1 bell pepper (I used yellow)
1 red onion
500 g (~1 lb) gnocchi
250 g (~ 9 oz) fresh mozzarella cheese, torn into pieces
340 g (~ 1 cup) good quality tomato pasta sauce

Instructions

Add the pesto and a splash of water to a mixing bowl, and mix well to thin out the pesto a little. This will help it to coat the gnocchi nicely.
Chop the mushrooms, pepper and red onion into bitesized pieces, and add them to the bowl, along with the gnocchi. Mix well to coat everything in the sauce.
Transfer the mixture to your air fryer, and cook at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes. Stir the gnocchi, and cook for a further 10 minutes.
When the gnocchi and vegetables are nicely crisped up, add the torn up mozzarella cheese to the air fryer, and cook for 2 more minutes, until the cheese has melted.
Heat up the tomato sauce – I warmed it in a bowl in the microwave, but you could use a pan on the stovetop instead, if you prefer. Serve the crispy air fried gnocchi on top of the hot tomato sauce.

Video

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare this recipe in advance?

You could easily mix up the gnocchi / vegetables / pesto in advance, then store the mixture in the fridge until you’re ready to air fry, just before serving.

How should I reheat any leftovers?

I generally reheat any leftovers in the microwave. If you don’t have a microwave, you could also reheat in the air fryer or in a frying pan, but bear in mind that the sauce will dry up a bit if using these methods, so you may need to mix in a little water to freshen it up.

How should I serve air fried gnocchi?

This recipe can be served on its own, without any additional side dishes. However, if you’d like to serve something on the side, a simple salad would be a great addition.

Other Gnocchi Recipes

Vegetarian Air Fryer Recipes

Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella)

Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Feta

Pizza baked gnocchi topped with peppers, mushrooms and black olives.

Cheesy Pizza Baked Gnocchi

Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

The post Air Fryer Gnocchi (with Pesto and Mozzarella) appeared first on Easy Cheesy Vegetarian.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Easy Tex-Mex Tortilla Roll-Ups

I usually plan out my dinners for the week, but lunch is often an afterthought – and it shouldn’t be! With these easy tortilla roll-ups, lunch will be something you look forward to all through the morning. They’re quick and easy to make, and they make such a nice change from a plain old sandwich!

Vegetarian tortilla roll-ups on a plate.

Just add your chosen fillings in strips along your tortilla, and roll! Make sure you roll across the strips of ingredients, not along them, so that you get a bit of everything in each bite.

To be honest, you can stuff your tortilla roll-ups with whatever you like. Since I’m a huge fan of anything Tex-Mex (I have a huge collection of vegetarian Tex-Mex recipes!), I went for the classic combination of black beans, cheese, and guacamole – plus some jalapeños and black olives for an extra pop of flavour.

How to Serve Tortilla Roll-Ups

Just like a humble sandwich, these tortilla roll-ups are super versatile. They can be served in all sorts of ways:

Make them at home for a quick and easy lunch (sometimes I don’t even bother cutting them into pieces if I’m busy working!).
Pack them into a lunchbox to take to work or school (my kids love them, although I do adjust the fillings to their taste).
Cut them into bitesize pieces and serve them on a vegetarian platter for a party (they can easily be adapted to suit either kids or adults!). I would double or triple the recipe if you’re serving a crowd – you can easily prepare as many as you need.

Tortilla roll-ups in a lunchbox with fruit and crisps.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

tortillas – use flour tortillas, and go for the biggest ones you can find, as they will give neater slices.
black beans (canned, for convenience)
guacamole – to stick the roll-ups together. I used shop-bought guacamole for speed, but homemade would be even better.
grated cheese – I used cheddar
black olives
pickled jalapeños – I used red ones as they’re a little sweeter than green.

A close up image of Tex-Mex tortilla roll-ups.

Other Roll-Up Filling Ideas

These tortilla roll-ups can be customised however you like, depending on what you have in the fridge. I’d recommend choosing one ingredient from each of these categories:

A spread (I used guacamole) – this is important to help to ‘glue’ the roll-ups together. If you don’t like guacamole, you could use hummus, sour cream, pesto, or any other kind of spread.
A cheese (I used grated cheddar) – you could also use crumbled feta, soft goat cheese, thin strips of grilled halloumi, etc. Just avoid using huge pieces of cheese, as it might stop the roll-ups from holding together as well.
A lean protein (I used black beans) – you could swap these for any other kind of bean, or use chickpeas or lentils instead. Canned legumes are quick and convenient to use.
One or two ingredients for extra flavour (I used jalapeños and black olives). You could also use finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herbs, finely chopped peanuts or toasted pine nuts, or sliced spring onions.

Becca’s Top Tip

Avoid using any ingredients that are particularly wet (e.g. fresh tomatoes or cucumber), as they can make the tortillas a little soggy and can stop them from holding together properly. Or, if you really want to use these ingredients, remove the seeds first, as this is the wettest part.

Recipe Video

Overhead shot of tortilla roll-ups on a plate.

Printable Instructions

A plateful of vegetarian Tex-Mex tortilla roll-ups.

Easy Tex-Mex Tortilla Roll-Ups

Tortilla roll-ups are a quick and exciting lunch option, or to serve on a platter at parties. These cheesy Tex-Mex ones are so tasty!

Course Appetizer, Light lunch

Cuisine Mexican, Tex-Mex

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings people

Calories 464kcal

Author Becca Heyes

Ingredients

2 large flour tortillas
4 tbsp guacamole
75 g (~ 3/4 cup) grated cheddar cheese
120 g cooked black beans (1/2 a drained 400g tin, or ~ 2/3 cup)
Few pieces pickled jalapeños (I used red), finely chopped
2 tbsp sliced black olives

Instructions

Lay out the large tortillas, and spread them all over with guacamole.
Sprinkle grated cheese in a strip along the centre of each tortilla, as well as the black beans, finely chopped jalapeños, and black olives.
Roll each tortilla tightly, making sure you roll across your strips of filling, to ensure each ingredient appears in every piece. Cut the rolled tortillas into pieces. The curved end pieces can be a little messy, so if you need your tortilla roll-ups to be particularly neat, you can remove the ends first. I usually get 4-5 good pieces from each tortilla.
The roll-ups are best served straight away, but if needed you can store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours before serving.

Video

Nutrition

Recipe FAQs

Can I prepare these tortilla roll-ups in advance?

Ideally, you’ll prepare the roll-ups soon before serving. However, if you’re making them for a party and you want to be ready beforehand, they can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance, and stored in the fridge. They can get a little soggy if left for too long.

Can I make these tortilla roll-ups vegan / gluten-free?

Sure – just customise the ingredients to your own needs (e.g. use your favourite vegan cheese, or your favourite gluten-free tortillas).