Creamy Tomato Gnocchi Bake
Dump, bake, and eat in under 45 minutes.
When you want something cozy but can’t handle a fussy dinner, this creamy tomato gnocchi bake is a good move. It uses shelf-stable gnocchi and pantry-friendly sauce, so dinner comes together fast with very little chopping. The result is bubbling, cheesy, and comforting without feeling heavy or complicated. It’s not a crisp, restaurant-style bake; it’s soft gnocchi in a creamy tomato sauce with browned cheese on top. Perfect for a cold night, a low-energy weeknight, or any evening when you want dinner to feel like a reset without standing over the stove for an hour.
Ingredients
- 1 lb potato gnocchi — shelf-stable or refrigerated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 0.5 tsp red pepper flakes — optional
- 0.5 tsp kosher salt
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 2 cup mozzarella cheese — shredded
- 0.25 cup parmesan cheese — grated
- 2 tbsp fresh basil — torn, for serving
Method
- 1 Heat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- 2 In a large bowl, stir together the gnocchi, olive oil, garlic, marinara, heavy cream, dried basil, red pepper flakes if using, salt, and black pepper.
- 3 Pour into the baking dish and spread into an even layer. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 18 minutes.
- 4 Remove the foil, stir once, then top with mozzarella and parmesan. Bake uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- 5 Let it sit for 5 minutes, then finish with fresh basil and serve hot.
Variations
- Vegetarian spinach version — Stir 3 cups fresh spinach into the sauce mixture before baking so it wilts right into the dish.
- Faster skillet-to-oven swap — Simmer the sauced gnocchi in an oven-safe skillet for 5 minutes, top with cheese, then broil 2 to 3 minutes instead of baking longer.
- Easy substitutions — Swap mozzarella for provolone or fontina, or use half marinara and half tomato sauce if that’s what you have.
Notes
If your marinara is very thick, add 2 to 3 tbsp water before baking so the gnocchi has enough sauce to soften properly. For a little more richness, add an extra 1/4 cup cream; for a lighter version, use half-and-half instead. Leftovers reheat best with a splash of water and a covered bake or microwave.
Equipment that helps
- 9x13-inch baking dish — Gives the gnocchi room to cook evenly and lets the cheese brown across the top.
- Large mixing bowl — Makes it easy to coat the gnocchi in sauce before it goes into the oven.
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