Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa

This Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa uses store-bought gnocchi as an alternative to traditional potato salad. And the green beans and quinoa provide a healthy twist on the traditional summer staple. It’s vegan and naturally gluten-free!

Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa

Yesterday was pretty much a perfect spring day here in Sydney, Australia. It was 22C and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky in the afternoon. After walking about 6k around the city, and then going for a 5k run/walk in the beautiful Centennial Park, my man and I were looking forward to eating a nice dinner out on the balcony. The warm weather screamed for potato salad, but when I looked through the pantry and came across a package of gnocchi, I decided to try something new: Gnocchi Potato Salad!

Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa

I love gnocchi. They’re potato dumplings that think they’re pasta. Potato pasta! To a carb-lover like me, that’s perfection. (The only other thing that might come close are pierogies. But I digress…) Once your water is boiling, the gnocchi are ready in just 2 minutes and they have a great soft pillowy texture.

Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa

I was going to serve green beans on the side anyway, so I decided to toss them right into the salad. Quinoa was added in as a means to justify the carbs. See? There’s a healthy girl in me somewhere!

For the dressing, I went with my mom’s Creamy Dijon Dressing. I’m not sure where she got it from, but she’s been making it for years. The original calls for regular mayo, so I always just substitute it with vegan mayo, and I use maple syrup for the teaspoon of sugar. Agave should work too.

Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa

Notes – Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa

  • Dark (red/brown) quinoa makes the biggest impact, so try to seek it out if you can.
  • You can substitute 4 cups of boiled cubed potatoes for the gnocchi – this is a great option if you’re celiac and can’t find gluten-free gnocchi in your area.
  • I tried the cold leftovers, and I have to say: this one of those salads that is better served warm (and fresh). The gnocchi lose their pillow-soft texture when cold. So while it’s better fresh, you can just zap leftovers in the microwave for a couple minutes to bring the gnocchi back to life.
  • You can substitute the quinoa with a canned lentils. Just drain the lentils and pop them into the salad. There’s no need to cook them as they’re already cooked if they’re canned.
Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa
Gnocchi
Green Beans
Brown & Red Quinoa
Creamy Dijon Dressing

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Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa

This warm salad uses store-bought gnocchi as an alternative to traditional potato salad. The green beans & quinoa give it a healthy twist on the traditional summer staple. Vegan & gluten-free!

  • Author: Angela @ Vegangela.com
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: 46 sides 1x
  • Category: Main, Side, Salad
  • Cuisine: Italian, Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup red/brown quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 500g gnocchi (make sure it’s vegan) (or 4 cups of cubed, boiled potatoes)
  • 2 cups green beans, de-stemmed and cut in half
  • 1/3 cup green onions, sliced
  • 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

Creamy Dijon Dressing

  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the Creamy Dijon Dressing. Set asside.
  2. Add quinoa to a saucepan with 1 cup water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and cook, covered for about 20 minutes.
  3. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop in the gnocchi and cook until they rise to the surface, about 2-3 minutes. Leaving the water boiling, use a slotted spoon to remove the gnocchi from the surface and into a medium bowl. Drain the gnocchi of any excess water and place them into the bowl with the dressing.
  4. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until tender but still crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain beans and add them to the gnocchi.
  5. Add the quinoa to the gnocchi. Stir in the green onions and dill and serve.

Keywords: bean, dijon, dill, favorite, kid-friendly, maple syrup, original, potato, quinoa, summer, gnocchi, vegan, salad

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Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa
Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa

28 thoughts on “Gnocchi Potato Salad with Green Beans & Quinoa”

  1. I love having people over and serving this dish. It’s so unexpected but everyone loves it. I often double the recipe because everyone always wants seconds!!

    Reply
  2. FANTASTIC! I made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit with the entire family. We loved the creamy dressing and fresh dill.

    Reply
  3. Firstly, I’d just like to say that I absolutely adore your blog and have made many of your amazing recipes! However, I made this recipe tonight and found the dill really overpowering. Do you think it would work to substitute it for parsley or maybe even coriander? Thanks in advance for your advice 🙂

    Reply
  4. I made this tonight with garlic and basil gnocchi. The dressing was spot on. A lovely combination with the quinoa, green beans and fresh herbs. Thanks for the recipe. I will be following!

    Reply
  5. Thank you! Your recipe inspired (using what we had already) the following, AMAZING, version, loved by one and alll, including some VERY picky children. I would never, ever, have come up with this combination on my own.

    Combine:

    8 medium golden potatos, peeled and quartered, cooked in salted water until cooked through, but not mealy, and still holding together
    1/4 cup finely chopped fresh dill fronds, no stems
    1/4 cup finely chopped chives
    1/2 cup quinoa cooked in lightly salted water, drained, and cooled until grains don’t clump together
    1 pound haricots vert, cooked until still a little crispy, seasoned

    Mix lightly with enough lemon vinaigrette, to taste, not dripping. Yummm!

    Lemon vinaigrette: 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon agave syrup, 1/4 cup lemon balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup light canola oil, mix until thickened and well blended.

    Reply
  6. Just made this- followed recipe exactly. So yummy! Haven’t had gnocchi forever and have recently been going thru a green bean kick, so this is perfect. Loved the quinoa too! Beautiful and tasty dish- the dill and Dijon mustard are a great combo too! Thanks!

    Reply
  7. OMG Our family recently made a huge change in eating this was the third healthy meal I made and my kids loved it they ask for seconds. Thank you so much for the pictures and the recipe

    Reply
  8. Fan-TAST-imacal idea! I thought at first that the quinoa was a health dollop of wholegrain mustard, which I thought was awesome. But the quinoa works too 😉

    Reply
    • Thanks so much Hannah! You’re right, it does look like wholegrain mustard (and that would be great to use for the Dijon mustard), but no, it’s quinoa… you know, to health-i-fy all that gnocchi 🙂

      Reply
    • Thanks Heather. I hadn’t had gnocchi in a long time either, so I thought we deserved a treat after our active day. I agree with you on the dark quinoa. It looks prettier too!

      Reply

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