Baked Gnocchi? It must be a typo — how can we bake these little dumplings? Well, it turns out we can, and it's delicious. Plus it's half the time of making Gnocchi by the book. Think about it for a second and you'll say "why not" — it's a potato-flour-egg dumpling that takes to the oven really well. And then you'll say: why didn't I think of this before.
I love old-fashioned Gnocchi. Cooking them in water and then adding sauce, or pan-frying them to get a crusty texture — that's the number one way to prepare this amazing dumpling. But keep in mind there are advantages to the baked version too. The first and most important: it's 100% effortless and fast. No prep needed — just roll them and throw them in the oven. The second reason to go this route is that they come out much lighter and fluffier than water-cooked Gnocchi. I'll also say that with the right sauce they can be refreshing and super light — yes, you're reading that right, Gnocchi can be refreshing.
Why do i make this dish
I wouldn't go to the trouble of making oven-baked Gnocchi from scratch. I usually make about 3 pounds / 1½ kilo of Gnocchi dough and use about 2 pounds for that same day's dinner, because the fresh version tastes so much better than fridge Gnocchi. That said, it can be refrigerated for up to 24 hrs. If you want to push it, you can save them up to 48 hrs — but keep in mind they'll be much heavier and a bit wetter, so you'll actually need to work in a little flour, which the dough absorbs.
So yes — the other day I made Pan-seared mushroom Gnocchi for my family. It's a big dish on its own, and I didn't use all the dough. Throwing out good dough is out of the question, and making another heavy, time-consuming dish wasn't the idea behind this dinner — so I came up with the oven-baked version. I have to say it was a big success. I paired it with a fresh minute maid sauce, which made for a light and fun dish.
Method
1
Prepare the Gnocchi· 40 minutes
preheat the oven to 190c/360F.
Roll the Gnocchi dough and cut it a bit bigger than the regular size, we want it to grow a crispy skin but still remain moist on the inside.
Use flour for dusting as much as needed.
place the dumplings on a baking pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown on the outside.
2
Prepare the dish· 3 minutes
Grate a tomato finely, drizzle with olive oil and place the Gnocchi dumplings on the sauce.
Sprinkle with salt and grate Parmesan on top before serving.
Jaron Kimhi — self-taught home cook from Tel Aviv, writing and cooking every recipe on this site himself. 20+ years of tinkering in the kitchen, leaning toward slow cooking, classic technique, and honest ingredients.
Can I use store-bought gnocchi instead of homemade dough?▾
The recipe is built around raw gnocchi dough that bakes from scratch, so store-bought pre-cooked gnocchi will behave differently and likely won't develop the same crispy skin. Stick with raw dough if you can — grab Jaron's basic gnocchi dough recipe linked in the ingredients.
Why cut the gnocchi bigger than usual?▾
Bigger pieces give you that contrast Jaron is after — a golden crispy exterior with a moist, pillowy inside. Cut them too small and they'll dry out all the way through.
Can I skip the Parmesan or swap it for something else?▾
You can leave it off if you're dairy-free, but you'll lose the salty, savory punch it adds. A hard sheep's milk cheese like Pecorino works as a swap.
Do I need to boil the gnocchi before baking?▾
Nope — that's the whole point of this method. They go straight from raw dough onto the baking pan and into the oven.
How finely should I grate the tomato for the sauce?▾
Grate it as finely as you can so it turns into a loose, juicy pulp — it's meant to be a light fresh sauce, not chunky. A box grater works perfectly.
