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Comfort food…oh how I love you!
And I am so happy your time to shine has come again.
You know, even though I complain about it, I think it may be a good thing I live in such a cold place. As much as I hate the cold, I love cozy… and in my head you can’t really be cozy without cold.
My point is, cold weather makes me think cozy thoughts… blankets, fires, soup, stew, pasta, cheese, hot cocoa…Â yadda, yadda, yadda. I could go on and on and on, but I’ll spare you some rambling.
It’s not a secret around here that I happen to do cozy food REALLY well. Even in the warmer months, I can somehow manage to find a way to make a dish cozy. You might even call it my specialty! So you can imagine how excited I am to be heading into these cozy months ahead. Fall is my favorite, and it’s T-minus six days until its official start. Clearly I have left summer in the dust. Sorry summer, I will love you again come late May/June, but today it’s on to cozy gnocchi!
I know, YES!!
Here’s the thing. This is actually the PERFECT transition to fall meal. While it is baked and super cozy, it’s also a great way to use up all those beautiful late summer tomatoes and fresh basil. So you see, you kind of get summer and fall in one.
Cool. I think I kind of like that!
Best part?? You honestly just add everything to a baking dish all at once and throw it in the oven. It could not be easier! Like SO SIMPLE, you will love it! AND the 45 minutes listed to make this dish, that’s almost all spent baking in the oven, giving you bonus free time. YES. I love, love, love when that happens. Depending on the time of day (cause most of the time I cook throughout the day) I’ll either get some work done on my computer or…ehh, that’s a lie, most likely I’ll do something that’s a total waste of time, like get caught up on Snapchat. OR, if by chance I am cooking at night and have a free 45 minutes? Oh my gosh you better believe I am taking the longest shower known to man. Lately there just hasn’t been enough shower time happening in my life!
When I was growing up I would come home from school, immediately get all my homework done and then have to “wash off” school in the shower. Fully admitting my mental issues right here and now. But really, that’s how much I disliked school. I had to shower to get it off of me. I know, isn’t that weird?
Good news is that fortunately I have grown out of this…or well, I am just out of school now, so the whole “washing off school” thing is kind of obsolete. Anyway, my nice hot showers are no longer frequent, nor long enough for my liking. Who knew that there would come a day when I literally had to make time for a shower. Like UGH. Grown up life is brutal!
But guys, I am clean…I just don’t always get a daily shower…which does make me sad, but apparently it’s really good for my hair and skin. So… cool??
Ahh, sorry. Enough about my hygiene habits.
This one-pan spinach and cheese gnocchi! It’s a beautiful thing, right? I actually made my own homemade ricotta gnocchi, but seeing as I really wanted this to be a throw and go kind of meal you can use store-bought if you prefer. I used this simple recipe from the kitchn for ricotta gnocchi if you are interested.
And like I said before, the rest is really simple. The sauce is basically tomatoes + my special little ingredient that spices this dish up just a bit…enchilada sauce! I know that may seem weird in an Italian dish, but trust me, it works! Also, I used a few different cheeses, including blue cheese. If you’re not a fan, I think goat cheese or simply feta would both be good substitutes.
Final selling point: you don’t even need to boil the gnocchi. Just put all the ingredients in a baking dish and… DONE.
Seriously, I love meals like this, they make weekday life so much better!!
Oh and!! My whole family ate it! This made me beyond happy!
Like Kai didn’t even ask questions about the green basil, he just kept eating. That is a beautiful thing right there!
One-Pan Spinach and Cheese Gnocchi with Roasted Garlic Tomato Cream Sauce.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 280 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup [chunky basil pesto | https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/20-minute-brown-butter-chunky-basil-pesto-pasta/] or store bought
- 10 cloves roasted garlic mashed* OR 2 cloves, garlic, grated or minced
- 1 ounce can whole peeled fire roasted tomatoes 24
- 1/2 cup enchilada sauce
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 8 ounces frozen spinach thawed and squeezed of excess water
- 1 cup fresh basil chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh sage chopped
- salt + pepper to taste
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 ounce box gnocchi 16
- 6 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese or more
- 4 ounces gorgonzola cheese crumbled, may use goat cheese or feta cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan + more for serving
- fresh basil + sage for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- To the greased baking dish, add the pesto, garlic, tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, balsamic vinegar, heavy cream and butter. Whisk everything together to combine.
- Stir in the spinach, basil, sage, salt + pepper. Add the tomatoes and gnocchi. Toss to combine.
- Dollop the ricotta over top the dish and sprinkle the gorgonzola + parmesan on next. Cover the dish with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, remove the foil and continue baking another 10-15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly, the cheese is bubbly and the gnocchi is soft.
- Remove from the oven and top with fresh herbs. Serve with more parmesan.
Notes
*To roast the garlic, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Chop off the top portion of the garlic head to reveal cloves. Peel any excess paper/skin off from the bulb of garlic. Place the cloves onto a piece of tin foil and pour about a teaspoon of olive oil on top. Cover with the foil. Place in the oven and roast for 45 minutes, or until the garlic is golden brown and soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool five minutes. Squeeze the garlic out of the paper skin into a bowl and mash well with a fork.
Oh, and don’t forget about that parmesan. You just can’t, it’s the best!
What a fantastic idea! My baby sister loves cheese gnocchi 😀
This was a very tasty dish. I also used Trader Joe’s gnocchi, but my sauce was not soupy. The difference may have been that I made a thick pesto, almost paste-like, and used two 14.5 oz cans of fire-roasted chopped tomatoes, which may have less liquid than the can of whole tomatoes. In any event, the result was very good, and, unlike most pastas, warmed up well.
Really happy you loved this, THANK YOU!
I LOVE one pot meals, and this looked amazing! I have a boat load, no let’s be honest, a butt load of garden cherry tomatoes and this used a good deal of them up. As one commenter said above, this turned out VERY saucy, but all the better to sop up some garlic bread with, am I right? I did find this REALLY heavy on the sage, and it kind of overpowered the whole dish for me. I think it made me realize I’m not the biggest fan of sage. So, if you too, are not a sage fanatic, you might consider cutting the sage quantity in half or omitting. I will definitely try this again! Thanks!
This looks SO tasty and perfect for this cooler weather that’s coming! I love an easy recipe that looks (and tastes) gourmet, but is super simple and quick to make! Thank you for sharing! Great photography, by the way! 🙂
Hi, so I made this beautiful dish last night. The flavor is wonderful, I love the combination of the balsamic vinegar and enchilada sauce. The one thing is that mine came out kind of soupy. I cooked it in my beloved cast iron pan even longer, 35 min. and it still came out soupy, not very thick. Is this the way it is suppose to be? Mine is more like a sauce. I did get my gnocchi at Trader Joe’s, not in a box but the clear cellophane package, and it was the correct amount. Maybe it needs to be dried gnocchi, like a spaghetti so it absorbs some of the liquid? Thanks!
Hi Julie! Yes, mine was VERY soupy. My family likes extra saucy, so I tend to make meals this way. Sorry if it was a bit too much sauce for you! I think fresh gnocchi was fine (I made homemade and it worked great too!). Next time, you can just reduce the amount of tomatoes to make less sauce. Hope that helps and thanks! 🙂
Hi, Thank you for clarifying that for me. Over the weekend I served the dish to several guests i had. They loved it! One thing i did was roast cauliflower and Brussels sprouts in the oven and put it over the top and added oven baked lime tortilla chips on the side. That worked out to add more texture. Keep the recipes coming, you are an inspiration!
Hi, this looks delicious but I’m guessing the canned tomatoes aren’t supposed to remain whole but couldn’t tell from the recipe what to do with them exactly.
Hi! You crush the tomatoes. Sorry about that!
Okay so super excited to see a recipe for gnocchi. I’m pregnant and craving all kinds of yummy things like pasta. Only thing is I’m feeling a little weird about the enchilada sauce… I never use enchilada sauce. Is there a brand/type you buy/make? Can I replace it with something else?
Thanks!
Hi Vanessa!!! You can just leave the enchilada out if you’d prefer, not a hug deal at all. Typically I use Old El Paso Enchilada sauce. Let me know if you have any other questions. THANKS!!
Definitely cozy! I have never made my own gnocchi before, but you have inspired me!
Try it! It’s great, thanks!!
I want to give you a virtual high five, Tieghan! 😉 I love gnocchi and am all about one pan meals. Must make this!
Ugh this gnocchi sounds so cozy and comforting and warm and just PERFECT. Love love love. You are amazing, Tieghan! Your creations are always so drool-inducing and incredibly creative.
This looks like such a cozy meal, perfect for starting fall night dinners!
wow that looks so yummy!
http://xoxobella.com
You’re pictures are always so beautiful and you’re recipes are mouthwatering. Have you considered writing a cookbook? I will be first in line to buy it. Keep up the great work!
Hi Karen! THANK YOU!
I am actually writing a cookbook, you can read about it here.
This is the perfect introduction into fall! Comforting, carb-y and beautiful.
Can I just say I love this blog just for the photos and names of the dishes? Though I did love the buffalo falafels–FLAVOR EXPLOSION.