Lazy Gnocchi Al Forno With Homemade Sauce

This gnocchi al forno is a comfort food recipe of dreams. Soft pillowy gnocchi, roasted cherry tomato sauce, gooey melted mozzarella and nutty parmesan baked together until the cheese oozes and the sauce sizzles.

Now. I did not make my own gnocchi for this gnocchi al forno recipe. Freshly made gnocchi is delicious and always worth making, but if you are short on time and in need of an imminent dinner it probably won't be an option! So using a good quality store-bought gnocchi will work fine. However, it is worth making the tomato sauce from scratch and using buffalo mozzarella as fresh as you can get it. I like to make a batch of the roasted tomato sauce for this gnocchi al forno and freeze it to use whenever I have a craving for Italian food.

This cosy gnocchi al forno is the perfect dish to eat in cold weather to warm you up.

This is a great tomato-based sauce to have with gnocchi and it keeps it from being too heavy. My other favourite way to eat gnocchi is with a quattro formaggi sauce, because I am a huge fan of cheese, as you'll know if you have followed me for a while!

De Cecco make really good ready made gnocchi (I love all their pasta) and I like eating this gnocchi al forno with a piece of focaccia bread on the side to mop up any leftover tomato sauce.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Plating suggestions
• Wine pairing
• Equipment
• Storage
• Gnocchi al forno

Ingredients

• Gnocchi
• Cherry tomatoes
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Mozarella
• Parmesan
• Salt and pepper

See the recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

First, roast the tomatoes.

Preheat the oven to 175 C / 340 F.

Place your tomatoes on an oven tray with the whole garlic cloves, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 30-45 minutes and drain off any excess water that comes out of the tomatoes. We want them almost caramelised, and too much juice will saturate the dish.

Now blend the tomatoes and garlic together to make a smooth sauce, and season to taste.

Now cook your gnocchi for two minutes.

Spoon half the gnocchi into an ovenproof dish and top with half of the sauce. Gently mix them together, before topping with half the mozzarella and half the parmesan. Repeat the process until the dish is filled and parmesan covers the entire top.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, and for the final two minutes turn on the grill to crisp up the top and leave the cheese browned and bubbling.

Hint: The cheese and general gooiness might bubble over, and to save yourself having to clean burnt cheese off the bottom of your oven I'd recommend placing the dish onto a tray.

Plating suggestions

I like serving dishes like this gnocchi al forno family style, so everyone digs in and serves themselves. It's one of those pasta dishes that is tricky to plate up prettily, so make the most of its bubbling cheese top and place it in front of everyone with a grand gesture.

Wine pairing

This gnocchi al forno pairs well with a medium-bodied cabernet sauvignon.

Equipment

You will need an oven tray, a food processor or immersion blender, a saucepan and an ovenproof dish for this gnocchi al forno recipe,

Storage

Store any leftovers in the fridge and reheat in the oven before serving. Good for 2-3 days.

You can also freeze this dish before cooking to whip out and bake later.