diff --git a/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/serverless.yml b/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/serverless.yml
index c486b39d2..d2d2f3f0f 100644
--- a/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/serverless.yml
+++ b/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/serverless.yml
@@ -56,10 +56,11 @@ functions:
 #    The following are a few example events you can configure
 #    NOTE: Please make sure to change your handler code to work with those events
 #    Check the event documentation for details
-#    events:
-#      - http:
-#          path: users/create
-#          method: get
+    events:
+      - http:
+          path: hello
+          method: get
+          cors: true
 #      - s3: ${env:BUCKET}
 #      - schedule: rate(10 minutes)
 #      - sns: greeter-topic
diff --git a/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/ApiGatewayResponse.groovy b/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/ApiGatewayResponse.groovy
index bc687e20c..1f8db0097 100644
--- a/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/ApiGatewayResponse.groovy
+++ b/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/ApiGatewayResponse.groovy
@@ -7,6 +7,6 @@ import groovy.transform.builder.Builder
 @CompileStatic
 class ApiGatewayResponse {
   int statusCode
-  Response body
+  String body
   Map<String, String> headers
 }
diff --git a/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/Handler.groovy b/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/Handler.groovy
index 489d38ab6..5f58df664 100644
--- a/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/Handler.groovy
+++ b/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/Handler.groovy
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class Handler implements RequestHandler<Map<String, Object>, ApiGatewayResponse>
         .build()
     return ApiGatewayResponse.builder()
         .statusCode(200)
-        .body(responseBody)
+        .body(responseBody.toJson())
         .headers(['X-Powered-By': 'AWS Lambda & serverless'])
         .build()
   }
diff --git a/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/Response.groovy b/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/Response.groovy
index eda612e2f..c5ca3ba00 100644
--- a/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/Response.groovy
+++ b/lib/plugins/create/templates/aws-groovy-gradle/src/main/groovy/com/serverless/Response.groovy
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 package com.serverless
 
+import groovy.json.JsonOutput
 import groovy.transform.CompileStatic
 import groovy.transform.builder.Builder
 
@@ -8,4 +9,8 @@ import groovy.transform.builder.Builder
 class Response {
   Object message
   Map<String, Object> input
+
+  String toJson() {
+    return JsonOutput.prettyPrint(JsonOutput.toJson(this))
+  }
 }