Description
Tender potato gnocchi baked in a rich, creamy tomato basil sauce with garlic and olive oil, topped with a thick blanket of melted mozzarella and Parmesan and finished with fresh basil. A cozy, deeply satisfying vegetarian bake ready in 30 minutes with minimal effort and maximum comfort.
Ingredients
- 1 lb (450g) potato gnocchi, store-bought or homemade
- 2 cups (16 fl oz) tomato basil sauce
- ½ cup (4 fl oz) heavy cream
- 8 oz (225g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup (1 oz) Parmesan cheese, finely grated (optional)
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, optional
- 1–2 cloves garlic, minced, optional
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease a medium oven-safe skillet or baking dish with cooking spray or olive oil.
- If using garlic and olive oil, heat the olive oil in an oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for 60 seconds until fragrant and just golden.
- Add the tomato basil sauce and heavy cream to the skillet and stir together until fully combined and smooth. Season with salt and black pepper and bring to a gentle simmer for 2 minutes.
- Add the gnocchi directly to the sauce and stir gently to coat every piece in the creamy tomato mixture. The gnocchi do not need to be pre-cooked — they will cook through in the oven.
- Scatter the shredded mozzarella evenly over the top of the gnocchi and sauce. Sprinkle the grated Parmesan over the mozzarella if using.
- Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 20–22 minutes until the sauce is bubbling actively around the edges, the gnocchi are cooked through and tender, and the mozzarella topping is deeply golden in spots.
- Remove from the oven and immediately scatter the fresh chopped basil over the golden cheese. Serve directly from the skillet.
Notes
- Do not pre-cook the gnocchi before baking — they cook perfectly in the sauce during the oven time and pre-cooking makes them mushy and overly soft in the finished bake.
- Use an oven-safe skillet so you can build the whole dish in one pan on the stovetop and transfer directly to the oven without a separate baking dish.
- Scatter the fresh basil over the finished bake immediately before serving rather than during baking — baked basil turns dark and loses its fragrant, fresh quality.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 mins