This easy sheet pan dinner is made with just four ingredients, all sourced from your friendly neighborhood Trader Joe’s: salmon fillets, pesto, kale, and Trader Joe’s famed frozen cauliflower gnocchi.
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Four ingredients + one pan = a dinner formula for success.
If there’s one thing I love, it’s an excuse to shop at Trader Joe’s. I walk through the doors under the premise of stocking up on essentials, then leave with a cart full of surprises.
One product I always have in my freezer is Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi. It’s surprisingly versatile, and if you bake it in the oven like this recipe does, it cooks up soft inside and golden outside.
I relish eating gnocchi (I mean, who doesn’t?!) but it’s a rare night that I have the time (or the willpower) to make Sweet Potato Gnocchi from scratch. Frozen gnocchi to the rescue!
To turn the cauliflower gnocchi into a complete meal, I baked it on a sheet pan with salmon, chopped kale, and pesto, all of which I also purchased at T.J.’s.
This meal is simple to make, but its stellar line up of fancy-feeling ingredients—gnocchi, salmon, and pesto—make it taste special-occasion worthy. The pesto is vibrant, the gnocchi is pillowy soft, and the kale turns delightfully dark and crispy in the oven.
Switching It Up
Feel free to play around here, either by swapping out the kale with something else or adding another veggie to the mix. (Just don’t crowd the pan too much or the veggies will steam instead of caramelizing and crisping.)
Cherry tomatoes would be a fun summertime addition, just like I use in my Pesto Salmon, or you could do another seasonal vegetable like Roasted Butternut Squash.
If you use harder vegetables that need longer to roast, simply give them a head start before adding the gnocchi to the pan.
More Easy, Elegant Salmon Recipes
- For the absolute CLASSIC, Salmon 101 recipe, this Baked Salmon is a great place to start. It never disappoints!
- Honey Garlic Salmon will even convince the die-hard seafood haters in your family that salmon isn’t terrible—and it might even be delicious!
- For a date-night-in dinner, this Stuffed Salmon recipe is hard to beat.
- Want another fancy option? Try this Salmon Wellington, which is baked in crisp, buttery puffy pastry. YES!
Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi with Pesto Salmon
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Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce bag frozen Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Gnocchi do not thaw
- 5 ounces Trader Joe’s Chopped Tuscan Kale
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt divided
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 6-ounce salmon fillets or 3 (8-ounce fillets)
- ¼ cup Trader Joe's Kale Cashew & Basil Pesto or Pesto Genovese, plus additional for serving
Instructions
- Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 400°F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, then place the gnocchi and kale in the center. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and the ground pepper. Toss to coat then spread into an even layer. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven.
- Toss the gnocchi and kale, then clear a space in the center for the salmon. Pat the salmon dry, then carefully nestle into open space, rearranging as needed so everything stays in an even layer and the salmon is not on top of the gnocchi. Brush the salmon with 1 tablespoon pesto per fillet, then sprinkle lightly with the remaining salt (you may not need the full amount remaining; just make sure each piece has a nice sprinkle).
- Return to the oven and continue cooking until the gnocchi is lightly browned and the salmon reaches 140°F on an instant read thermometer, about 10 to 15 minutes more (salmon is done when it reaches 145°F, but its temperature will continue to rise as it rests, so I remove at 140°F). If the salmon finishes up before the gnocchi is done, remove the salmon to a plate, cover, and continue baking until the gnocchi is done.
- Drizzle the salmon and gnocchi with additional pesto. Enjoy immediately
Notes
- This is best enjoyed the day it is made, as the gnocchi will soften up quite a bit as it rests. If absolutely necessary, you can rewarm it in a skillet on the stove.
Nutrition
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