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This vegetarian Gnocchi Bake recipe is so quick and satisfying. Made with a super simple sauce, it’s packed with spinach and tomatoes and topped with mozzarella for a comforting family friendly meal.
In need of TLC in a bowl? Or a mega quick meal for small people? Or a way to eat molten cheese on a Wednesday night? This is your new fave dish.
Gnocchi Bake with a rich tomatoey sauce, healthy spinach and melted cheese is SO delicious and might just be one of the laziest ever one pan recipes.
Why you’ll love this Cheesy Gnocchi Bake recipe
⭐️ Ultimate comfort food – hug in a bowl
⭐️ Super quick, including cheat’s tomato sauce
⭐️ Includes hidden veggies
What is Gnocchi?
Gnocchi (pronounced noh-kee) is an Italian soft dumpling made with a dough that usually includes potato, semolina or plain wheat flour, and egg.
In this baked gnocchi recipe, I use ready-made gnocchi.
It works really well as they are quite dense, so soak up the sauce, and give a real comfort food texture.
Gnocchi Bake Ingredients
- Garlic and onion – I use pre-prepared frozen of these as I’m always looking for a shortcut, but fresh is OK too
- Passata – Buy a good quality passata if you can. It does make a difference, especially as this sauce doesn’t cook down for long. If you can buy one with Italian herbs (basil/oregano) already added, do it
- Honey – This offsets the slightly sour taste of passata, use a teaspoon of sugar if you prefer
- Spinach – I use baby spinach, pre-washed fresh spinach, but frozen is fine. You’ll just need to either defrost first, or allow it to bubble into the sauce for 5 mins before adding the gnocchi
- Gnocchi – I think there tends to be 2 types of gnocchi in supermarkets. Either are fine for this dish
- Oil – Go for olive oil or sunflower oil
- Mozzarella – Use mozzarella balls, pulled into chunks for this if you can. Grated will work fine too if that’s what you have
How to make Gnocchi Bake
1. Fry the onions and garlic in hot oil until softened, then add the passata.
2. Add the honey, spinach and gnocchi. Stir and season well. Cook as per the full recipe below, then oven bake with your mozzarella on top.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully before serving or eat cold.
In the freezer This isn’t the most ideal dish for freezing once it’s been cooked, so while I would rather freeze than throw away, but it wouldn’t be my first choice for batch cooking.
Recipe variations
Baked Gnocchi with Chicken – Stir chunks of cooked chicken (or leftover cooked chicken) through the sauce before putting the cheese on top
Baked Gnocchi with Bacon – Stir pieces of cooked bacon through the sauce before putting the cheese on top
Creamy Gnocchi Bake – Stir 4 tbsp of double cream or creme fraiche through the sauce before putting the cheese on top
Baked Gnocchi with Sausage – Stir chunks of cooked sausages through the sauce before putting the cheese on top
Make the sauce more rich – If you have time, you can allow the sauce to cook for an extra 15-20 minutes before adding the spinach and gnocchi. (You may need to add a splash of water as it will become quite thick)
ANOTHER GREAT Gnocchi recipe…
Under 30 minutes
Chorizo Gnocchi Pan-Fry {20 Minute Meal}
This pan-fried Chorizo Gnocchi is ready in 20 minutes and is packed with simple store-cupboard ingredients and a delicious smoky…
FAQs
I think there tends to be two types of gnocchi in supermarkets: kind of semi-dried and sold in vacuum packs; and the one that’s a little wetter that’s found in the chiller with fresh pasta.
Either are fine for this dish. In fact, the drier one is possibly better as it will get softer in the oven.
You DO NOT need to pre-boil the gnocchi as it will cook in the sauce for this recipe.
You will need a large shallow pan that will go in the oven as well as on the hob.
I tasked myself with trying out a variety of one-pan pans in a quest to find out which ones were up to the important job of making an all-in-one meal. Read my pan review here. I hope it helps!
It’s fine on its own but is also great with garlic bread, a green salad or some broccoli pan fried with a little garlic.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Gnocchi Bake
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- 3 Cloves Garlic, Peeled and crushed
- 1 Large Onion, Peeled and finely chopped
- 700 g (2.75 cups) Passata, The type with added Italian herbs if possible
- 1 tsp Honey
- 80 g (3 oz) Baby spinach
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 800 g (1.8 lb) Fresh gnocchi
- 300 g (10 oz) Mozzarella cheese
Optional:
- 25 g (1.5 tbsp) Fresh basil
- Freshly grated Parmesan to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃/400F fan, 220℃/425F or Gas Mark 7.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan (one that can go on the hob and also in the oven).
- Add the garlic and onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the passata, honey, spinach, salt and pepper and the gnocchi. (Also add the fresh basil if you're using, reserving a few leave to garnish).
- Stir everything (whilst still on the heat) for about 5 minutes until combined and the spinach is starting to wilt.
- Top with the drained mozzarella cheese, pulled into chunks.
- Put the pan into the oven for about 15 minutes until the cheese is delicious and golden and bubbling.
- Top with some fresh basil if you have some.
Notes
- Use passata with Italian herbs in to add extra flavour if you can.
- If your jar of passata is slightly smaller, don’t worry.
- This dish will be quite saucy, we like it like that to dunk garlic bread in. If you prefer it less runny, use less passata.
- Add some grated parmesan to serve if you like.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I added some rose wine when the onions, garlic and chilli (added) were soft and a little bit of cream too. The dish was lovely and it’s the first time I’ve enjoyed gnocchi. I think fresh basil and mozzarella made it. My husband was impressed.
So yummy! Perfect as is. Included the fresh basil and the addition of honey added a lovely complexity to the flavour. I have now added this to our fortnightly meal-plan cycle. We can’t wait to have this again in two weeks. 😀
As I only had dried fresh potato gnocchi on hand, I used an additional 300g passata with basil to make sure there was enough liquid to cook the gnocchi. I also used a whole bag of ready washed baby leaf spinach plus aubergine which I did not want to go to waste. Lastly I sprinkled grated Parmesan and drizzled olive oil over the ripped mozzarella. The result was a gooey and juicy dish which I topped with ripped basil leaves. I will definitely be making this again!
Could any left overs be reheated the next day?
A real winner all round!
I struggle finding quick meals for the whole family as my 12yo son is veggie. Made this after a after school activity and it was super quick and everyone loved it. My 10yo daughter had requested it again next week! Thank you!!
Excellent recipe!!! Family loved it! Thanks all the way from bonny Scotland 🏴👍
Quick and easy. And I had everything on hand. Will definitely keep this recipe in my repertoire, especially when I need to whip something up quickly. Thank you!
I make this all the time now too 👍🏼we all love it thanks. Viv
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I make it all the time now. Everyone in my family loves it!
Was going to try this recipe this evening but realise I have dry gnocchi not fresh., will it still work?