Name: Easy Baked Gnocchi
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 16 oz pkg gnocchi; 8 slices bacon (chopped); 2 tsp minced garlic; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 2 roma tomatoes; 1 tsp sugar (fleshy parts diced); 2-3 tbsp sour cream; 2-3 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped); salt and pepper (to taste); 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

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This easy baked gnocchi recipe is the ultimate comfort food. It features fluffy potato dumplings swimming in a robust tomato sauce, baked until a blanket of golden brown melted mozzarella cheese. It tastes gourmet, but comes together in under 30 minutes.

Sometimes, especially on cold weather nights, comfort food is a must have.

Even better when that cozy dish is also quick and easy to make and bake.

This easy baked gnocchi comes together in under 30 minutes.

It features soft potato gnocchi and crispy pan fried bacon bathed in a robust tomato sauce and baked under a blanket of perfectly melted mozzarella cheese.

This dish is easy, simple comfort food at it’s finest.

Ingredients Needed

To make this easy baked gnocchi you will need a handful of ingredients and several spices.

You’ll need:

Gnocchi – You’ll need a 16 oz package of uncooked gnocchi. You can use any brand, and either the full size gnocchi or the miniature version.
Bacon – This recipe calls for 8 slices of bacon, roughly half a pound. You can use regular or thick cut, but thick cut will take longer to cook and crisp up in the pan.
Garlic – Minced garlic, either freshly minced or from a jar.
Spices – The sauce is seasoned with a delicious blend of smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and the dish is finished off with chopped fresh parsley.
Tomatoes – Canned diced tomatoes and tomato paste make up the base of this dish’s sauce. You’ll also need a couple of fresh roma tomatoes- seeds discarded and the fleshy parts diced.
Sugar – A pinch of sugar cuts the acidity in the sauce and gives it a slightly sweet aftertaste. This ingredient is optional, but I recommend tasting the sauce before deciding to include or exclude it.
Sour Cream – Sour cream gets stirred into the tomato sauce to make it not only robust, but extra creamy.
Cheese – Shredded mozzarella- and while you can use the prepackaged stuff, this is one dish where I will say freshly shredded or grated will absolutely take it up a notch because of both taste and texture since it melts better.

How To Make

This easy baked gnocchi is big on flavor, but easy to bring together.

Start by preheating your oven to 400F degrees.

While the oven preheats, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil on the stovetop.

You can, and should, begin preparing the sauce while waiting for the water to come to a boil.

The sauce begins with the bacon.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the strips of bacon.

Cook them, turning as needed, until they’ve begun to crisp up and most of the fat’s been rendered out of them.

Pour off most of the fat, but not all of it. You want to keep a little for flavoring.

Add both the garlic and smoked paprika to the pan. Stir to incorporate them into the remaining grease.

Fry them for 30 seconds, but no more.

This will cook out an bitterness in the garlic and bring out the smokiness in the paprika.

Add all of the tomatoes to the skillet, along with the sugar.

Stir to evenly combine, then bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.

Let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the pan from the heat, and then add the sour cream and parsley.

Stir it in quickly to prevent curdling.

Salt and pepper the sauce, to taste.

Be careful when tasting though since it will be HOT.

Set the sauce aside.

By this time the salted water should be boiling and ready for the gnocchi.

Carefully add the gnocchi to the hot water, breaking apart any clumps as you go.

Cook the gnocchi until it starts floating to the top- floating means it’s done.

Remove the cooked gnocchi from the water using a slotted spoon, and transfer it to the waiting sauce.

Continue until all the gnocchi’s been cooked and added to the sauce.

Transfer the gnocchi to an oven safe casserole dish. Mine is an 11×7″ dish.

Spread it out in an even layer, and then top it with the mozzarella cheese.

Transfer the dish to the oven, and bake for 10 minutes- just until the cheese is melted and golden brown and bubbly on top.

Carefully remove the hot dish from the oven, and let it cool for 5 full minutes before serving.

This will allow the cheese to set up properly.

Serve it as the main course, or as a side dish, and enjoy!

Storing

Unfortunately, gnocchi doesn’t freeze well.

It does something funky to the texture.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Can This Be Made In The Slow Cooker?

Yes!

It absolutely can be made in the bowl of your slow cooker, although it won’t save on all of the steps.

You’ll also need one additional can of diced tomatoes & 1/2 cup of water.

To do so prepare the bacon and sauce as instructed, but skip the 5 minute simmer.

Lightly spray your crock with nonstick spray. It’s not essential, but will make clean up easier later on.

Pour the sauce into the prepared slow cooker.

Add the uncooked gnocchi to the pot, along with the extra tomatoes and water.

Stir together to evenly combine.

Cover and cook on LOW heat for 4-5 hours.

One hour before the dish is done, spread the mozzarella cheese evenly out overtop.

Recover and continue cooking until done.

TIPS & TRICKS

Want to make it into more of a meal? We love adding leftover chopped rotisserie chicken to this dish. Gives it a chicken parmesan spin.
Serving a larger crowd? This recipe easily doubles, or even triples. Just use a larger casserole dish, as needed.
If you know you don’t like smoked paprika, you can substitute regular paprika or omit it altogether.
If you don’t have sour cream, you can substitute heavy cream.
I DO NOT recommend using frozen gnocchi in this dish. The couple of times I tested it, it came out mushy.

Other Easy Recipes Using Gnocchi

Pillowy potato gnocchi dumplings with pieces of bacon simmered in a sweet tomatoes sauce- this easy, cheesy baked gnocchi recipe is the ultimate comfort food.

Ready in under 30 minutes, it’s a meal that’s there for you even on the busiest evenings!

Looking for other easy recipes using gnocchi?

Try these:

If you’ve tried this EASY BAKED GNOCCHI RECIPE, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!