Creamy Tomato Gnocchi is an easy dinner recipe that’s full of flavorful ingredients like pancetta, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, basil, and so much more! It’s an easy, creamy, and comforting gnocchi dinner ready in about 30 minutes.
Gnocchi is a wonderful easy dinner whether it’s added to soups or made into easy gnocchi dinner. Try using homemade gnocchi or store-bought.
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Gnocchi in any form is always so good when you need a comforting, hearty dinner. Whether you use a homemade gnocchi or store-bought gnocchi, you’ll love the the little potato pasta pillows with this decadent, creamy, tomato sauce.
The stand out ingredients in this easy dinner recipe (besides the gnocchi, of course) are the pancetta, sun-dried tomatoes, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and aromatic fresh basil leaves. All of those bold ingredients work in tandem to elevate the creamy tomato sauce from good to unforgettably great!
This gnocchi with tomato sauce recipe masters both of those elements perfectly! It’s decadently creamy and rich while also quite flavorful. Between the fresh basil, salty pancetta, and bold mix of herbs and seasonings, there’s a lot to love about this flavor packed recipe.
Ingredients Notes and Tips
- Shallots – These are preferred over any other onion as they lend a delicate, not overpowering flavor to the sauce. If not available, use Vidalia onion (or sweet onion).
- Pancetta – Pancetta is pork belly that was cured but not smoked. If needed, you can use bacon.
- Garlic – for the best results, always use fresh garlic. It’s best to dice it cold and try to keep the pieces as uniform as you can.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes – use sun-dried tomatoes in oil. Drain off most of the oil prior to using.
- Potato Gnocchi – you can use Homemade Gnocchi or store-bought.
- Tomato – use one or two of your favorite tomatoes, like heirloom or tomatoes on a vine.
- Chicken Stock – if available, use Homemade Chicken Stock for the best flavor. When using store-bought broths and stock, try to get “low sodium” or “no salt added” kind. Try to also get bone broth if available, it will have a richer flavor.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – This is what gives the sauce its rich, creamy consistency so try not to substitute it. If you have to, use half and half but nothing with less fat.
- Italian Seasoning – If you don’t have Italian seasoning on hand, you can substitute with herbs you most likely have in the pantry already. The most important ones are basil and oregano. Most Italian seasoning blends include dried herbs like basil, parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, and/or sage, so you can always make your own.
- Red Pepper Flakes – Add more or less depending on how spicy you’d like it to be.
- Parmesan Cheese – Use freshly grated or parmesan cheese for the best flavor and consistency. Freshly grated parmesan cheese will also melt much smoother.
How to Make Creamy Tomato Gnocchi
Prepare. This is a fairly quick moving recipe, so make sure everything is ready to go! Gather, measure, chop and dice all ingredients accordingly.
In a pan preheated over medium heat with oil, cook the pancetta until about half of the fat is rendered.
Stir in the shallots and cook until softened. Add in the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Continue cooking until the pancetta and shallots are completely cooked.
Remove everything from the pan and set aside. Discard most of the fat that rendered off the pancetta, leaving just enough to sear the gnocchi.
Sear the gnocchi in the rendered fat for about 2-3 minutes. Toss them a few times.
Move the gnocchi to the sides of the pan and add the diced tomatoes. Once they’ve cooked for about a minute or so, add the pancetta mixture back into the pan. Stir everything together gently.
Pour in the chicken stock, heavy whipping cream, and seasonings. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to low and let everything cook for a few minutes.
Stir in the parmesan and basil. Let it warm through for just a few moments, then remove from the heat.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you just have to be more careful because homemade gnocchi tends to me more delicate. If you have frozen homemade gnocchi, that will actually work better than freshly made. Use a non-stick pan and that will help you as well.
No, the gnocchi will actually start to cook during the searing process and then finish cooking in sauce, even if it’s frozen. Since gnocchi takes so little time to cook, it will be just fine cooking in sauce. If you are using frozen gnocchi, it may need a few extra minutes to warm through in the sauce, but it’ll still work very well.
Absolutely! You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I would recommend that you only store it for up to 2 days.
To reheat it, simply reheat the individual portions in the microwave until heated through.
More Gnocchi Recipes To Try
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Creamy Tomato Gnocchi Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large shallots
- 6 oz pancetta dinced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 oz sun-dried tomatoes in oil most of oil drained off
- 1 lb uncooked potato gnocchi
- 1 large tomato
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp crushed red peppers flakes more or less to taste
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt or sea salt more or less to taste
- 1/2 tsp white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 8-10 fresh basil leaves minced
Instructions
- Make sure to gather, measure, slice, dice, and mince all of your ingredients first because this is a pretty fast going recipe.
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium heat. (Note: use non-stick pan if you are using gnocchi that is more delicate, like refrigerated or homemade.)
- Add oil to the pan and let it heat through for a few seconds.
- Add pancetta to the pan and let it sauté until the fat is about half way rendered. Stir in shallots and sauté for a couple of minutes, until onion is softened.
- Stir in minced garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Cook until pancetta and onions are completely cooked, and golden brown. Take it out of the pan and set aside. Discard most of the fat that rendered off of the pancetta. Leave just a couple of tablespoons to sear gnocchi.
- Add the couple of tablespoons of fats from cooking pancetta and veggies into the pan and add gnocchi. Let gnocchi sear for a 2-3 of minutes, tossing them a couple of times.
- Move gnocchi to the side and add diced tomatoes. let tomatoes start to cook for about a minutes and then, add the pancetta and onion mixture back into the pan. Very gently stir everything together.
- Add in chicken stock, seasonings, and heavy whipping cream. Gently stir everything together and bring to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat to low and cook for just a couple of minutes.
- Gently stir in grated parmesan cheese and basil. Cook just a few seconds to a minute for the cheese to incorporate into the sauce and take off heat.
Notes
- Gluten Free Notes: you can make this recipe gluten free simply by using gluten free gnocchi. There are a few stores that carry gluten free gnocchi so check those nearby. You can also make homemade gnocchi and make it gluten free.
- Storing: You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. I would recommend that you only store it for up to 2 days.
To reheat it, simply reheat the individual portions in the microwave until heated through.
Beth says
I love gnocchi and this sauce was so good with it!