Vegetarian Gnocchi Bake

4.80 from 10 votes

In the mood for a meal that's bursting with flavor and made entirely in one dish? Look no further than my one pan vegetarian gnocchi bake.

Prep Time5

Cook Time18

Total Time28

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Australian, Italian

Keyword: baked gnocchi, vegetarian gnocchi, vegetarian gnocchi bake

Servings:

Calories: 415kcal

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.

Preheat your oven to 400F/200C. Have a large lidded pan or baking dish ready (or use aluminum foil for covering).

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

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.