Creamy Gnocchi Bake is an excellent one pan dinner that is done in about 30 minutes! Pillow-y soft gnocchi pasta is coated in a creamy tomato sauce and covered in melty mozzarella cheese and baked in the oven.
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We love a one pan dinner here at Mom’s Dinner! They are generally really easy to make, you have less dirty dishes to clean up after dinner, and they are usually FULL of flavor. Here are some more one pan dinners we love:
Now if gnocchi is not your jam, you can make a very similar dish with this recipe for Spaghetti with Tomato Cream Sauce!
Ingredients & Tips
The ingredients in this Gnocchi Bake Recipe are pretty simple, a lot of which you probably already have in your pantry.
Pictured below are the ingredients to grab:
Gnocchi: For this recipe you are using a shelf stable potato gnocchi. It can be found be the dry pasta in your grocery store.
Marinara sauce: Use a 24 oz jar of your family’s favorite marinara sauce. Pictured above is Prego, but we generally use Rao’s.
Diced tomatoes: Diced tomatoes are a great addition to the texture and flavor of this Baked Gnocchi dish. Make sure to drain your tomatoes before adding to the recipe.
Mozzarella cheese: It is reccomeneded to shred your own cheese. It will melt creamier and more flavoful than pre-shredded cheese. If you can get whole milk mozzarella to shred that will be the best.
What is Gnocchi?
Gnocchi is a type of Italian pasta. They are little pillow like pastas that are dense and traditionally made with potato.
The word gnocchi is derived from the word “nocca”, meaning knuckle. Which makes sense because if you look at the pasta it does kind of resemble a knuckle!
The actual pronunciation of gnocchi can be a divisive conversation… so I will just tell you how I say it – “nyoh-key”.
I have only tested this recipe with store-bought potato gnocchi. However you could also make your own! There are two types of gnocchi:
Step By Step Picture Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°.
For this recipe you will need an oven safe skillet.
However, if you do not have an oven safe skillet start in a skillet and then transfer to a casserole dish before popping in the oven.
Let’s get started…
In a skillet over medium-low heat add the olive oil. Soften the onions in the oil for 5 minutes.
Pro Tip: Don’t let the onions brown, if they begin to brown or caramelize turn the heat down.
Add the garlic and sauté another 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, sugar, kosher salt, and dried basil.
Pro Tip: lightly crush the dried basil in the palm of your hand to release the flavor oils.
Pour in the heavy cream and simmer lightly for about 3-4 minutes.
Pro Tip: don’t sub a lesser fat dairy product for the heavy cream, it won’t thicken the same.
Stir in the drained tomatoes, marinara sauce, and uncooked gnocchi.
If your skillet isn’t oven safe go ahead and transfer the mixture to a baking pan before moving on.
Top with mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes. If you like a little browning on your cheese, broil for an additional 2 minutes.
Cool for 5 minutes and then serve!
Serving & Side Dishes
Just like any pasta dish, this baked gnocchi is great with a side salad and some garlic bread.
This Big Italian Salad is a great option if you want to add lots of veggies to your dinner. Haricot Verts (Green Beans) can also be a great addition to this dinner.
Recipe Tips
- Give your onions plenty of time to soften. Crunchy onions are not what you are looking for here!
- If you like it really cheesy, add all the cheese you want!! You can even do a combo of cheeses (parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, etc…), or use fresh mozzarella!
- If you don’t like browning on your cheese, skip the broiler part.
- If your skillet isn’t oven safe, you can still make this dish. Just transfer everything to a baking dish before putting it in the oven.
- Lightly crush the basil in the palm of your hand before adding it to the pan, it will release more flavor.
- Make sure you use heavy cream (no subs) so it will thicken the sauce.
More Skillet Recipes
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Easy Gnocchi Bake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion - diced (yellow or white)
- 3 garlic cloves - minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups jarred marinara
- 15 oz diced tomatoes - drained well
- 1 lb vacuum packed – shelf stable potato gnocchi - (uncooked)
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese - (whole milk mozzarella, fresh shredded is best)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- In an oven safe skillet add the olive oil over medium-low heat. Soften the onions in the oil for 5-7 minutes. Tip: Don't let the onions brown, if they begin to brown or caramelize turn the heat down.2 tablespoon olive oil, 1 small onion
- Add the garlic and sauté another 3-4 minutes.3 garlic cloves
- Stir in the tomato paste, sugar, kosher salt, basil, and red pepper flakes.1 tablespoon tomato paste, 2 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Pour in the heavy cream and simmer lightly for about 3-4 minutes.1 cup heavy cream
- Stir in the drained tomatoes, marinara sauce, and uncooked potato gnocchi. Tip: if your skillet isn't oven safe go ahead and transfer the mixture to a baking pan.2 cups jarred marinara, 15 oz diced tomatoes, 1 lb vacuum packed – shelf stable potato gnocchi
- Top with mozzarella cheese.1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Bake for 20 minutes.If you like a little browning on your cheese, broil for an additional 2 minutes.
- Cool for 5 minutes and then serve!
Serving
- Serve large scoops of this Gnocchi Bake in bowls or a plate.
- Great served with a big salad and garlic bread. We love this Big Italian Salad or a Caesar Salad.
Recipe Tips and Notes:
- Give your onions plenty of time to soften. Crunchy onions are not what you are looking for here!
- If you like it really cheesy, add all the cheese you want!! You can even do a combo of cheeses (parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, etc…), or use fresh mozzarella!
- If you don’t like browning on your cheese, skip the broiler part.
- If your skillet isn’t oven safe, you can still make this dish. Just transfer everything to a baking dish before putting it in the oven.
- Lightly crush the basil in the palm of your hand before adding it to the pan, it will release more flavor.
- Make sure you use heavy cream (no subs) so it will thicken the sauce.
Lori Scharenbroich
This recipe was so easy to put together. I added Italian sausage, broiled the cheese, and it turned out phenomenal. Like, my 14 year old daughter LOVED it and that’s high praise!