This bacon, mushroom and broccoli gnocchi bake topped with Cheshire cheese is a perfect, simple weeknight meal.
I hadn’t had gnocchi for what feels like years. It’s probably only a matter of weeks, but when you’ve got a gnocchi addiction it can really mess up your sense of time. So, I had to remedy this today and made this simple yet delicious gnocchi bake.
I adore tenderstem broccoli. Although normal broccoli is great too, tenderstem is perfect for a week night meal because it cooks so quickly. You can throw it into any dish (within reason) without needing to pre-cook it.
Mushrooms and bacon are classic pairings for broccoli, so they go wonderfully together in this dish. The deep, earthy flavours complement the gnocchi beautifully. I topped my bake with a little sprinkling of Cheshire cheese – this is a hard, mild, crumbly cheese (if you can’t get Cheshire cheese then any cheese which fits this description will do the job) which just adds another level of taste, plus if a dish doesn’t have cheese it’s not worth having!
Putting the bake under the grill for a few minutes adds a lovely additional extra texture. You have to give this one a go!
Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations
- Smoked bacon lardons – use smoked bacon for the best results in this dish. Lardons are usually cheaper than slices of bacon, but if you can’t get them, you can just chop bacon slices into small pieces about 1cm in size.
- Chestnut mushrooms – chestnut mushrooms have that lovely earthy flavour. You can substitute for white, woodland or button mushrooms.
- Tenderstem broccoli – if you can’t get hold of tenderstem, use normal broccoli cut into small florets.
- White wine – optional, sub with water if you don’t want to use it.
- Crème fraiche – for that delightful creaminess that brings the dish together.
- Gnocchi – use store bought or homemade.
- Cheshire cheese – you could also use feta, Parmesan or even plain old cheddar cheese.
Top Tips
- Browning the lardons Brown your lardons well – you want them to be golden brown and starting to crisp for the best flavour.
- Grilling The recipe calls for you to put the bake under the grill, but you could also use the oven if you’re not in a hurry. Cook for about 20 minutes if you do it this way.
- Make ahead This is an ideal recipe for making ahead – you can keep the finished dish in the fridge for 48 hours and reheat as needed.
Bacon and Mushroom Gnocchi Bake
Ingredients
- 200 g smoked bacon lardons
- 300 g chestnut mushrooms
- 200 g tenderstem broccoli
- 1 small glass white wine
- 200 g half fat creme fraiche
- 500 g gnocchi
- 50 g cheshire cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to max.
- Brown the lardons in a frying pan over a high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and chopped broccoli – cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring now and again, until the mushrooms have reduced in size a little.
- Add the wine – let it bubble down a little, then add the creme fraiche, gnocchi and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the gnocchi is squidgy to the touch.
- Season with salt and pepper, pour into an oven proof dish and evenly crumble over the Cheshire cheese. Cook under the grill until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble. Enjoy!
More delicious gnocchi recipes:
- Creamy Chorizo Gnocchi
- Creamy Leek Gnocchi
- Green Goddess Gnocchi
- Rocket and Watercress Gnocchi
- Creamy Sausage Gnocchi
- Quick Courgette and Goats Cheese Gnocchi
- One Pan Tomato and Mozzarella Gnocchi
- Broccoli and Cheese Gnocchi Bake
Ohh this bacon mushroom gnocchi bake was really savory and satisfying! The gnocchi was just right baked with the cheese and bacon!
Baked Gnocchi sounds yum. This cheesy goodness is perfect for coming weekend.
I’ve never tried baked gnocchi so this was a great recipe to follow. The flavours were perfect and the cheese complimented it perfectly. Thanks!
This baked gnocchi was absolutely incredible. My family loved it!
This is my favourite way to use gnocchi. So easy to make.
I substituted sundried tomatoes and a few BBQ chips instead of the lardons to make it vegetarian. It was very good.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This looks incredible!! I’m not a fan of broccoli…any suggestions for a good substitution in this recipe? I’m salivating!
Spinach or peas would work well. Enjoy!
Looks and sounds delicious! I may have to try this soon!
I’m normally partial to gnocchi with a beefy red wine ragu…and lots of parmesan! This recipe might come a close second…bacon mmmmm!!!
Oooh sounds delicious!
I found this amazing recipe but I’m going to tweak it for the slow cooker. Do you have a slow cooker or do you want to try the oven version and we can swap notes? (http://simply-delicious-food.com/2013/10/28/beef-ragu-parmesan-gnocchi/)
Great idea. I do have a slow cooker but don’t use it anywhere near as much as I should!
Mine is on at least 4 days a week. Did you know you can do desserts in them, too?
Yes, I definitely need to start using it more often. I love the idea of coming home to dinner already cooked!
We love gnocchi in our house, it’s so versatile. I usually make it with Greek yoghurt or sour cream, I will have to give this version a go.
Mmmmm looks nice!!
I’m thinking two glasses of wine. 😉 this looks great and i have all the ingredients – i won’t add bacon (don’t eat pork) and i’ll make the gnocchi. Thank you!
Great! Let me know how you get on!
you know, one for drinking whilst making this lovely dish! 😉
Haha, got you! It’s got to be done!
Not a fan of gnocchi, but i’m inspired to give it another go, yum 🙂
If you’re going to like it at all, you’ll like it in this dish 🙂
Wow, love the dish! It must taste amazing..:)
Mmm that sounds lovely, we will have to give that a go sometime 🙂