This one pan vegetarian gnocchi bake is one of those weeknight dinners that earns its place on regular rotation. It’s fast to put together, made entirely in a single dish, and surprisingly satisfying for how little effort it requires. Cherry tomatoes burst and caramelise in the oven, pesto and cream come together into a simple sauce, and the gnocchi turns soft and pillowy inside with just a little colour on the outside. It’s a meal that looks and tastes like considerably more work than it is.
If you haven’t cooked with gnocchi before, it’s a small, soft dumpling made from potato, egg and flour. Cooked this way — tossed straight from the packet into the oven with olive oil, tomatoes and aromatics — it becomes something entirely its own, quite different from boiled gnocchi. It’s also worth knowing you don’t need to use fresh or homemade gnocchi here; the packaged stuff from the fridge section or the pasta aisle is exactly what this recipe calls for.
This recipe works in any oven, with separate instructions in the recipe card for both combi steam and conventional. The results are great either way, though if you have a steam oven you’ll find the gnocchi comes out especially fluffy and evenly cooked. I’ll explain why below.
This dish was absolutely delicious and very easy. I was short on time, it came together quickly and looked like I’d spent hours making it. I followed the recipe exactly and used my combi-steam oven. Definitely a keeper.
-Rachel
Why does this vegetarian gnocchi bake work so well in a steam oven?
The challenge with baked gnocchi in a conventional oven is moisture. The gnocchi can dry out at the edges before the tomatoes have fully burst and everything has had time to meld together — which is why the conventional method calls for a covered pan in the first part of cooking.
Combi steam solves this neatly. Baking at high heat with steam in the oven keeps the gnocchi fluffy and moist in the centre while it still picks up colour on the outside, and you don’t need to cover the pan at all. The tomatoes burst quickly in the humidity, and everything comes together faster than in a conventional oven — around 15 minutes versus 20–25. A small saving, but on a weeknight it counts.
As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may also contain other affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Vegetarian gnocchi bake: ingredients and substitutions
See the recipe card further down for full method and ingredient quantities.
- Potato gnocchi: store-bought is perfect here — fresh from the fridge section is ideal, but shelf-stable gnocchi from the pasta aisle works well too. I wouldn’t use homemade gnocchi for this dish; it’s better suited to recipes where its delicate texture can be appreciated. Frozen gnocchi also works and can go straight into the pan without thawing.
- Cherry tomatoes: these burst during baking and form the base of the sauce. Grape tomatoes are a good substitute. If using larger tomatoes, halve them first.
- Garlic: sliced very thinly so it softens and cooks through without catching.
- Rosemary: fresh rosemary holds up to the heat and perfumes the whole dish. Thyme or fresh oregano are good alternatives.
- Olive oil: don’t skimp on this — it’s what gives the gnocchi its golden colour and pleasingly chewy texture. Extra virgin gives the best flavour.
- Baby spinach: added right at the end so it just wilts through without overcooking.
- Basil pesto: store-bought is fine, though homemade is lovely if you have it. My pistachio pesto works particularly well here.
- Cream: just a few tablespoons, enough to bring the pesto and tomato juices together into a loose, creamy sauce. Crème fraîche or sour cream work equally well.
- Parmesan: for serving. Freshly grated gives the best result.
- Red pepper flakes: optional, but a good pinch at the end adds a welcome kick.
Vegetarian gnocchi bake variations
The base recipe is a flexible one, and easy to adapt once you’ve made it a couple of times.
Cauliflower gnocchi: frozen cauliflower gnocchi works beautifully here and can go straight into the pan without thawing. A great lower-carb option.
Chorizo and mozzarella gnocchi bake: add a couple of sliced chorizo sausages to the pan at the start of cooking and leave out the pesto at the end. Instead, tear in about 120g of fresh mozzarella and let it melt through the dish. The gnocchi takes on the garlicky, spicy flavour of the chorizo as everything roasts together.
Baked gnocchi with broccoli: swap the cherry tomatoes for a small head of broccoli broken into florets, and add 2 tablespoons of water to compensate for the lower moisture content. You may want a little extra cream to loosen the dish at the end.
Chicken gnocchi bake: toss halved boneless, skinless chicken thighs through with the gnocchi and tomatoes, using an extra tablespoon of oil to make sure everything is well coated. Cook for an extra 5–10 minutes. The chicken juices soak into the gnocchi as everything cooks together.
How to make vegetarian gnocchi bake
View, save and print the recipe card further down in this post; read on for the visual walk-through.
Toss the sliced garlic, chopped rosemary, gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper directly in your baking dish. Drizzle over the olive oil and toss gently to combine, then spread everything into an even layer.
Cook in the preheated oven, stirring once halfway through, until the tomatoes have burst and are beginning to brown and the gnocchi is picking up a little colour. This takes around 15 minutes in a combi steam oven or 20–25 minutes in a conventional oven.
Remove from the oven and add the spinach, cream and pesto. Toss gently — it doesn’t need to be perfectly combined at this stage. Return to the oven for 2–3 minutes until the spinach has just wilted.
Toss once more so the cream, pesto and roasted tomato juices form a loose sauce. Scatter over grated parmesan and red pepper flakes if using, and serve straight from the pan.
Tips for success
Spread the ingredients into a single, even layer before cooking. This is what lets the gnocchi colour rather than steam — if they’re piled up they’ll cook unevenly and miss out on that slightly chewy exterior.
Use a wide, shallow baking dish rather than a deep pan. This recipe needs room to spread out, not a vessel that traps everything in a pile.
Don’t overcook the spinach. Add it only at the very end and return to the oven for 2–3 minutes — just long enough to wilt. Any longer and it turns limp and watery.
If you’re cooking in a conventional oven, cover the dish with a lid or foil for the first part of cooking. This traps moisture from the tomatoes and keeps the gnocchi from drying out before the sauce comes together. Remove the cover for the final few minutes if you’d like a little more colour on top.
Serving suggestions
Serve this straight from the baking dish — it’s that kind of dinner, and half the appeal is the ease of it. A good scattering of freshly grated parmesan is essential, and red pepper or chilli flakes add a welcome bit of warmth if you like things on the spicier side.
Crusty bread alongside is excellent for mopping up the sauce.
Leftovers reheat well the next day in the oven or on the stovetop with a small splash of water to loosen things up. The gnocchi softens a little more on reheating, but it’s still a very satisfying lunch.
This is one of those recipes that’s hard not to make on repeat. It’s fast, it uses ingredients you’re likely to have on hand, and every time I serve it someone asks for the recipe.
Spread the word
If you’ve made and enjoyed this recipe (or any others on the site!), would you leave a review and rating? Reviews are incredibly helpful to other cooks, and help me understand the sorts of content you enjoy or questions you have. You can rate and review any recipe by clicking the star icons at the top of the recipe card.
Vegetarian Gnocchi Bake
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic finely sliced
- 2 stalks rosemary leaves picked and chopped
- 1 pound potato gnocchi fresh, frozen or shelf stable
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp flaky salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 3 Tbsp heavy cream or creme fraiche, or sour cream
- 3 Tbsp basil pesto storebought or home made
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese grated, for serving
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional, for serving
Instructions
Combi steam directions
- Preheat your oven to Combi Steam, 450°F/230°C. If your oven has variable steam settings, choose 80% (if not, don’t worry! Just set to combi steam at the correct temperature and the oven will figure out the humidity for you). Have a large baking dish or pan ready.
Standard oven directions
- Preheat your oven to 400F/200C. Have a large lidded pan or baking dish ready (or use aluminum foil for covering).
All ovens: method
- Peel the garlic and slice it very thinly. Pick the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and coarsely chop. Toss the garlic and rosemary with the gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, salt and black pepper directly in the baking dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and gently toss to combine. Spread into an even layer.3 cloves garlic, 2 stalks rosemary, 1 pound potato gnocchi , 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 1/2 tsp flaky salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Put the baking dish into the oven and cook, stirring halfway through, until the tomatoes have burst and are starting to brown, about 15 minutes for combi steam or 20-25 minutes for standard ovens.
- Remove from the oven. Working quickly, add the spinach, cream and pesto to the pan. Gently toss through but don’t worry too much if it’s a little unevenly mixed.2 cups baby spinach leaves, 3 Tbsp heavy cream, 3 Tbsp basil pesto
- Return the pan to the oven for 2-3 minutes, until the spinach has wilted. Remove from the oven and toss again so the cream, pesto and roasted tomatoes form a creamy sauce. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes if desired. Serve hot.2 oz Parmesan cheese, 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Notes
- You can use fresh home made gnocchi instead of store bought, but it doesn’t really do the gnocchi justice. I’d stick to packaged gnocchi here and save the fancy stuff for a dish where it can shine more.
- There are lots of flavor variations with this dish. Here are my favorites:
- Chorizo and mozzarella gnocchi bake: if you don’t want to go all-vegetarian, add a couple of sliced chorizo sausages to the pan at the start of cooking. Omit the pesto at the end, instead tearing in 4 ounces (120g) mozzarella cheese so it can melt through the dish. The gnocchi will take on the garlicky, spicy and savory flavors of the chorizo, which sizzles and turns golden and crispy in the oven.
- Baked gnocchi with broccoli: if you love oven roasted broccoli as much as I do, this will be a fantastic alternative to the tomato gnocchi. Use a small head of broccoli, broken into florets, instead of the cherry tomatoes. Add 2 tablespoons of water to account for the lower moisture content of the broccoli. You may need a little more cream to loosen the dish at the end of cooking.
- Chicken gnocchi bake: turn the dish into more of a protein-packed dinner by adding chicken! Cut small boneless, skinless chicken thighs in half and toss them through with the gnocchi and tomatoes. Use an extra tablespoon of oil to make sure the chicken is well-coated, and cook the dish for 5-10 minutes more than the recipe says. The chicken juices will soak into the gnocchi as everything cooks, and the creamy pesto finish is chicken’s best friend.
Nutrition
Did you enjoy this post? Here are some of the most popular one pan recipes on the site!
15 Responses
No need for a lid here! The humidity in the oven removes the need to use a lid for most steam oven dishes, including this one.
I wonder when the lid is going on, since the gnocchi and tomatoes are roasted? Do they roast under the lid?
Great recipe, I’ll be trying it. Someday, I would actually like to try homemade gnocci
https://www.thekitchn.com/gnocchi-recipe-23087502
How would adapt the above recipe for a steam oven? Perhaps you would just boil the gnocchi on the stove with salt for 2 minutes?
Thank you!
Yes, the measures are different across the various countries, which can cause issues in conversion for some recipes! In this case, the conversions should be fine as it’s more about the ingredient ratios than the exact amounts. So a few ml either way won’t cause any significant issues with the recipe.
Looks delicious, I’ll make it tonight.
Please check the US Customary/ Metric conversion, they seem a bit off regarding tablespoons (United States tablespoon is approximately 14.8 ml (0.50 US fl oz), a European, United Kingdom and Canadian tablespoon is exactly 15 ml (0.51 US fl oz), and an Australian tablespoon is 20 ml (0.68 US fl oz).
Suze, this is such lovely feedback, thank you! This is one of my favorite recipes too. 🙂 I’m really pleased you’ve decided to join Steam Oven Insiders; hopefully that membership will continue to give you confidence using your oven.
What a special recipe! So easy yet so rich in flavor! We eat plant-based (PB) and I had my homemade pesto (frozen in cubes) readily available and used shelf-stable sweet potato whole wheat gnocchis that were truly delicious with this combo. No cream was used and I can honestly say based on the outcome, none was needed although nondairy PB cream is available. As a new Miele Combi-Steam owner, learning about such recipes is like finding a treasure chest. So appreciative. Your generosity inspired me to become an Insider. Best decision I’ve made as now the mysteries of combi-steam ownership are being revealed and I have printed several of your resources for quick reference. This recipe will be one I make again and again. My husband and I give it 👍 👍. Sent with gratitude! 🏆
Oh, I love using frozen cauliflower gnocchi for this! I found giant bags of it at Costco and no-one else here likes it but I think it’s great. Good thing the recipe is simple enough that I don’t mind cooking it for one sometimes! 😉
Great recipe, thank you! I use frozen cauliflower gnocchi, very good. Love the veg version, have also put in Italian sausage (leftover), mushrooms, shredded chicken (also leftover), etc. Always tasty, great use of convection steam. Only problem, I eat too much! Never had a leftover of this one!
Sally, that is so lovely to hear! I’m very flattered to be anywhere near the likes of Julia and Ina. 😉
Great recipe. Everyone loved the dish and so easy to make. There was a little left and I heated it up for lunch today – just as good when reheated. Emily you are one of my cooking heroes – right up there with Julia and Ina. Every recipe of yours that I have tried has been superb and you have made me love my Anova oven even more. Thanks
This is awesome. Absolutely a new fixture in our menu.
This dish was absolutely delicious and very easy. I was short on time, it came together quickly and looked like I’d spent hours making it. I followed the recipe exactly and used my combi-steam oven. My Hubby and teenage boys devoured it and have asked me to make it again. Definitely a keeper.
I’d use convection steam in the Wolf oven. 🙂
Sounds delicious. I have a Wolf Steam oven would that be the convection humid setting?