Gnocchi Bolognese

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This quick one pot gnocchi or should I say gnocchi Bolognese would knock your socks off. Soft, pillowy gnocchi loaded with tomato sauce, melt in the mouth ground beef and other fresh ingredients. It is simple, easy and comes together in about 30 minutes.

Serve it on its own or with homemade garlic bread.

Quick Gnocchi Bolognese recipe

What better time to share this comfort food recipe with you all. It is all chilly and rainy here at the same time. All I can do really is make delicious comfort dinner the whole family loves and doesn’t have any veggies in it. Which is great for my daughters if you let them, they would only eat broccoli but they don’t want it every day too.

Gnocchi is super easy to whip up, whether you choose to use store-bought or make it from scratch. It is a blank canvas that can be made into numerous delicious and easy recipes. You can bake it, cook it on the stove top or crockpot.

It is great fried like this super easy yet delicious pan fried gnocchi with spinach, with tomato sauce, in a creamy sauce, you name it, you can go wild with gnocchi.

This recipe is a delicious twist to the good old classic spaghetti bolognese.

Why you will love this recipe

• It is your classic spaghetti Bolognese with a twist. Your weeknight or Sunday just got better.

• It is economical and it uses store bought gnocchi, of course you can make yours if you are feeling up to it. I will share my homemade gnocchi recipe with you soon.

• This is a one pot dinner wonder the family would love.

• Although this recipe used ground beef, you can definitely make it vegetarian by making some smart swaps. E.g, swap the minced beef for mushrooms, eggplants (aubergine) or other roasted vegetables.

• If you are vegetarian or vegan and would just like this recipe without meat or any other vegetables then you can easily make this gnocchi with tomato sauce. The sauce is rich and flavourful on its own and you can substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock.

Ingredients

Potato gnocchi: any type of gnocchi works for this recipe and you do not need to boil it too. I used store bought potato gnocchi for this recipe and it only requires 2 minutes to boil.

Ground beef: also known as minced meat

Onion

Chicken stock powder

Olive oil: substitute for any flavourless oil

Tomato puree

Garlic paste

Hot sauce: substitute for red pepper flakes (chilli flakes)

Italian seasoning

Bay leaves

Mozzarella cheese

Brown sugar: this can be substituted with Worcestershire sauce

Chopped tomatoes

Salt and black pepper to taste

Water; This is optional but I tend to add about 1/2 cup of water to the sauce

How to make gnocchi Bolognese

This is a really quick recipe to put together, the only prep here is chopping the onions which in this case would take only about 5 minutes tops.

Start by sauteing the finely chopped  until soft and fragrant. This is a good base to every pasta dish or any dish for that matter.

Add ground beef, break into the sautéed onion and cook until brown.

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Into the browned beef, add tomato puree, garlic paste, hot sauce, chicken stock powder, brown sugar, Italian herbs, water, salt and black pepper and mix to combine

Finally, add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, stir to combine and simmer for about 20 minutes. then add the gnocchi, stir into the Bolognese sauce and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes, stir in some grated cheese into the Bolognese, take it off the heat and you are done.

Serve immediately with some grated parmesan cheese or pecorino and garlic bread.

What to serve with gnocchi Bolognese

You can serve this dish on its own as it is quite filling but it everyone loves a side of salad or vegetable. Simple arugula otherwise known as rocket salad works a treat or this easy cucumber salad.

Tips

• If using store-bought gnocchi, make sure you read the cooking instruction on the packet. As much as you do not need to boil the gnocchi before adding to the tomato sauce, it is imperative you know when to add it to the sauce so as not to overcook or undercook it.

• Swap the chopped tomatoes for passata or marinara sauce.

• I used Italian herbs for this recipe but you can use thyme and oregano if it that is all you have.

How to store

This recipe makes the best leftover and I would say is great for meal prepping too.

In the fridge: Leave to cool completely and portion into an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It can be stored for up to 5 days, but I personally don’t store food in the fridge for any longer than 3 days for optimum freshness.

In the freezer: while it is ok to freeze uncooked gnocchi, it is not the same for cooked one. Nevertheless, all hope is not lost as this recipe can be frozen for up to 2 weeks.

To reheat: simply reheat in the microwave, you might need a longer time if reheating from frozen.

More pasta recipes

Baked tortellini

Roasted red pepper pasta

Broccoli pasta recipe

Lemon garlic pasta

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