This delicous creamy cheesey Butternut Squash Gnocchi bake is the one you want to make on a chilly day when you crave comfort. With the warming spices of harissa to keep the bake from being boring and a secretly healthy higher protein cheesy vegan sauce!
If you're craving comfort food for when the weather gets chilly, then this cheesy vegan casserole is for you. It's packed with flavor, has a good boost of protein from the silken tofu cheese sauce, and is perfect for serving up to guests.
If you love a comforting bake and gnocchi, why not check out this Cheesy Gnocchi Broccoli Bake. Also if you're a fan of harissa, then this Harissa Roasted Chickpea & Tomato Salad is bright and delicious.
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🧀Ingredients
Here are the simple ingredients you'll need to make this cozy butternut squash casserole.
- Butternut Squash- Choose a small to medium butternut squash, then peel and chop it. Alternatively if you're not up for chopping, choose pre-cubed squash from the
- Gnocchi: Choose the kind of pre-packed gnocchi that takes 2-3 minutes to cook.
- Silken Tofu: This forms the basis of the cheesy sauce and is high in protein and low in fat. It comes in tetra packs that keep for ages in the cupboard so is good to have on standby for easy meals like this.
- Whole Head of Garlic: The garlic gets roasted whole along with the gnocchi, then squished into the cheesy sauce to deepen the flavor.
- Miso Paste: a generous teaspoon of miso adds umami flavor to the cheese sauce.
- Nutritional Yeast: This has a great nutty flavor a bit like parmesan cheese.
- Harissa Paste: this spicy, tangy red pepper paste from Tunisia is rich and packed with spices. It's great for adding depth of flavor, a little heat and spice to dishes and pairs particularly well with sweet butternut squash.
- Grated Vegan Cheese: to top the casserole with.
- Olive Oil: Just a dash of olive oil to roast the squash and help the breadcrumbs get toasty.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: or anyother breadcrumbs. These get sprinkled on top of the casserole for a lovely crunchy topping.
- Flakey Sea Salt : to taste.
See recipe card for quantities.
👩🍳Instructions
Follow these steps for the perfect cheesy gnocchi bake!
1. Peel and chop the butternut squash. Chop the top off a whole bulb of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and optional smoked paprika. Roast in a shallow casserole dish until the squash is softened and the garlic squishy.
2. & 3. Put a few pieces of the roasted squash, the tofu, half the harissa paste, miso and nutritional yeast into a blender. Squeeze out the roasted garlic.
4. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add a little water if needed so you have a thick pourable creamy sauce.
5. Add the gnocchi to the casserole dish along with the roasted squash.
6. Add grated vegan cheese and the tofu-cheese sauce to the gnocchi and squash. Mix well. Top with more vegan cheese.
7. Top with more vegan cheese, panko breadcrumbs and dab harissa over the bake for pops of colour and extra tangy heat. Bake until golden and the gnocchi is tender (about 20 minutes)
Hint: Make sure the cheese sauce is thick but pourable. You need it to have enough moisture to help cook the gnocchi.
🌶️Substitutions & Variations
Here are some easy swaps you can make to make this recipe to your own tastes!
- Gluten-Free- Make sure to purchase gluten-free gnocchi and swap the panko breadcrumbs for gluten-free breadcrumbs (or just leave them out)
- Different Spicy - replace the harissa with chipotle paste or gochugang paste. Both are spicy but work well with the cheesy flavors.
- Not Spicy - Omit the harissa paste and add some sundried tomato paste or cherry tomatoes.
🔪Equipment
You'll need a good sharp knife for cutting the squash, a blender to blend up the sauce and a wide but shallow casserole dish to bake the squash and then the gnocchi casserole in.
🫙Storage
Make this vegan casserole ahead of time to the piont of the final bake, then cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 days then finish baking.
If you have leftovers, keep in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat thoroughly.
Top tip
Make sure the gnochhi are fully cooked before serving. Add a little extra water or sauce and pop back into the oven if they are not fully cooked. (You want them to be soft and slightly chewy, not chalky and hard!)
❓FAQ
Gnocchi can easily be made vegan. It is traditionally made with mashed potato, flour and a little water, sometimes an egg is added. Pre-made gnocchi is not always vegan but it often is, so check the label before purchasing.
More Cozy Casseroles
Looking for more oven-baked savoury dishes? Try these!
Side Salads
Here are some delicious side salads you could serve with this gnocchi recipe!
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Butternut Squash Gnocchi Bake with Harissa
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 500 g (17 ⅔ oz) gnocchi (1 packet )
- 500 g (4 ¼ cups) butternut Squash (1 small squash.)
- 300 g (1 ⅗ cups) silken (the kind that comes in long life tetra packs and you can keep in the cupboard)
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- 1 tbps harissa paste
- 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 bulb whole bulb garlic
- 100 g vegan cheese (grated)
- 2 tablespoon panko breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and de-seed the butternut squash. Cut into 3cm chunks. Season with salt and olive oil. Chop the top off the garlic and drizzle oil into the tops of the garlic cloves.500 g butternut Squash, Salt and Pepper to taste
- Place the squash and the garlic in the casserole dish you are cooking the recipe in and put in the oven at 180℃/356℉ for 15-20 minutes or until the squash is soft and the garlic is squishable. Remove from the oven.
- Make the cheese sauce by combining the around ⅛ of the now cooked squash pieces, and squeeze out all the garlic into the a blender. Add the tofu, nutritional yeast, miso and around 1 teaspoon of harissa (more if you want it spicier)300 g silken, 1 tablespoon miso paste, 1 tbps harissa paste, 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast, 1 bulb whole bulb garlic
- Grate the cheese.100 g vegan cheese
- Add the uncooked gnochhi to the casserole that already has the cooked butternut squash in it.
- Then pour over all the tofu cheesy sauce and mix well along with most of the vegan cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Scrunch a little olive oil with the panko breadcrumbs to help them get golden when they're baking.
- Remove the butternut gnocchi from the oven and top with the panko and more grated vegan cheese.2 tablespoon panko breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Return the dish to the oven and bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until the top is golden and the gnocchi are pillowy and soft.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
-
- Other Veggies -Choose any other root vegetable, or try broccoli or cauliflower.
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- No Gnocchi- swap the gnocchi for white beans , or add them to the gnocchi to extend the recipe!
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- Spicy- mix a generous amount of gochujang sauce in with the cheese sauce, or just add an extra sprinkle of chili flakes.
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- Gluten Free- Choose gluten-free gnocchi (or make your own) in place of regular gnocchi which although made with potatoes, often contains wheat flour. (also choose gluten free breadcrumbs to go on top!)
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