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NST kitchen · dinner

Tomato and mozzarella baked gnocchi

Soft potato gnocchi in a garlic and tomato sauce, finished with melted mozzarella and basil. Boil the gnocchi first, then give the hot sauce and cheese a short oven finish for a comforting dish to share.

  • vegetarian
Prep (est.)
10 min
Cook (est.)
40 min
Total (est.)
55 min
Base servings
2

Total includes 5 minutes waiting time.

Jump to recipe
Gnocchi in red tomato sauce in a round pan, topped with melted and grated pale cheese and basil, on a dining table.
Serving illustration, not a photograph of this NST recipe.Serving example photographed by Elaine Reg, not an NST kitchen-test photograph. The exact cheeses, recipe, quantities, pan and method may differ. Background wine and other dishes are not included. Proportionally resized and converted to WebP; no food or scene edits.Photo: Elaine Reg / Pexels · Pexels LicenseDisplayed crop; original linked above.
Get everything ready

Ingredients

Original recipe: 2

One fixed batch makes 2 servings. Keep the listed quantities, pan and method unchanged. For more, repeat the full batch; for fewer, follow the recipe's storage guidance for unused portions.

Ingredients for 2 servings.

Your portions are saved in the page address. Bookmark it to return to these amounts. Ingredient and step ticks are not saved.

You will need

  • Oven and shallow 20 × 20 cm ovenproof baking dish, approximately 1.5 litres; check its manufacturer permits 200°C
  • Hob, saucepan for gnocchi and colander
  • Medium saucepan or deep frying pan for sauce, and heat-resistant spoon
  • Knife, clean board, grater, sieve, kitchen scales and measuring jug
  • Oven gloves, heatproof surface and clean food thermometer
  • Shallow covered containers and refrigerator for any saved portions

Let's make it

The method

0 of 6 steps marked

Keep your place for this page visit. Ticks do not confirm doneness or food safety; follow every cooking and storage instruction.

  1. Step 1. Prepare the oven and cheese

    Heat the oven to 180°C fan / 200°C conventional and check the dish is rated for that temperature. Wash hands and prepare the onion and garlic on a clean board. Drain and weigh the mozzarella, blot excess surface water and tear it into small pieces. Grate the hard cheese. Keep both chilled until assembly. Wash and dry the basil.

  2. Step 2. Build the tomato sauce

    Warm the oil in the sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for about 7–8 minutes, stirring until soft but not scorched. Add garlic and stir for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the passata and measured sauce water carefully, plus optional salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce lightly coats a spoon but still moves easily around the pan. Lower the heat if it splatters. Add only a small extra splash of water if it catches before the onion is tender.

  3. Step 3. Boil the gnocchi as the sauce finishes

    While the sauce simmers, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Cook the gnocchi following its packet instructions completely; floating alone is not a substitute for those instructions. Drain carefully in the colander, keeping clear of steam. Do not rinse or leave it standing warm for a later meal. If the sauce is not ready yet, finish it promptly and proceed straight to assembly.

  4. Step 4. Fill the dish while everything is hot

    Fold the drained gnocchi into the hot sauce. Spoon into the ovenproof dish and spread evenly without packing it into a deep mound. Distribute the mozzarella over the surface and sprinkle on the grated hard cheese. All listed cheese is used here, with none reserved for an undeclared serving extra.

  5. Step 5. Bake until hot through the middle

    Bake on the middle shelf for roughly 15–20 minutes. The cheese should melt, with some golden patches possible, and sauce may bubble near the sides. Check the centre as well as the edge: it must be steaming hot throughout. Use a clean probe in the centre, away from the dish, and aim for 75°C held for 30 seconds, continuing to cook if needed. Clean the probe between checks. A browned top or bubbling edge alone is not a centre-temperature check. This draft does not require a grill.

  6. Step 6. Finish and serve

    Lift the hot dish with oven gloves onto a heatproof surface and stand for about 5 minutes. Tear the basil leaves over the top, divide into two portions and serve promptly. The filling and dish can remain very hot after standing. If saving a portion, begin the prompt cooling routine below rather than leaving the whole baking dish on the table for the evening.

Make it work for you

Swaps & variations

  • Use the same drained weight of vegetarian-labelled buffalo mozzarella instead of cow's-milk mozzarella if preferred. Both contain milk and water content can differ; the result is not guaranteed identical.
  • Replace the grated vegetarian hard cheese with the same weight of finely grated vegetarian-labelled mature cheddar for a different finish. Do not describe the result as the exact restaurant dish pictured.
  • If fresh basil is unavailable, add 1 g dried oregano to the tomato sauce and omit the basil garnish. The flavour and appearance will differ; this is an optional variation, not an ingredient inferred from the image.
  • Gluten-free or egg-free gnocchi can have different cooking instructions and may carry other allergens. Use only a suitable boiling product, follow its label, and do not assume that a substitution makes the whole dish allergy-safe.

Before you cook

Allergens & ingredients

  • Contains milk from mozzarella and hard cheese. Standard potato gnocchi commonly contains wheat/gluten and may contain egg; check the exact pack. Some hard cheeses use egg-derived lysozyme, so check those labels too.
  • Check all ingredient and may-contain statements and prevent cross-contact with utensils and work surfaces. Vegetarian suitability is not an allergen-free claim.

Check the labels of the exact ingredients you use, including any substitutions.

Recipe notes & sources

Sources support the points stated below; they are not evidence that NST has cooked or tested this recipe.

  • FSA cooking guidance

    Core-temperature and once-only reheating guidance; it does not validate the gnocchi formula, oven settings or estimated timings.

    Checked 2026-10-14
  • FSA chilling, freezing and defrosting

    Prompt shallow-portion cooling, 0–5°C refrigeration and the 48-hour leftover limit, with shorter ingredient limits respected; not a measured shelf-life test.

    Checked 2026-10-14
  • FSA food allergy and intolerance advice

    Ingredient and precautionary-label checks, including cereals, milk and egg, plus cross-contact; no particular gnocchi or cheese product certified.

    Checked 2026-10-14
  • Elaine Reg's gnocchi photograph

    Creator and real source photo of gnocchi in tomato sauce with melted cheese. Tags and pixels do not prove the exact cheese types, seasoning, method or quantity of this proposed recipe.

    Checked 2026-10-14
  • Pexels License

    Free website and marketing use with restrictions including no implied endorsement, unaltered resale or stock redistribution. Attribution retained; not recipe or serving-photo acceptance.

    Checked 2026-10-14

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