You are going to LOVE this one pan gnocchi dish with tomato, mozzarella and basil.
It is the most simple gnocchi dish I have ever created (or ever seen, in fact). It needs just 4 ingredients, plus water and salt and pepper. You don’t even need a knife – you tear the ingredients with your hands. Incredibly easy.
With the tomato, basil and mozzarella, it has caprese flavours and is delightful to eat.
Could you make this even tastier with some onion and garlic in the sauce? Sure, but then it wouldn’t be anywhere near as easy to make – and that’s the key to this recipe. Throw it in the pan, mix it up, pop it in the oven, done.

One Pan Tomato and Mozzarella Gnocchi – The Ingredients
- Fresh gnocchi – fresh gnocchi cooks beautifully in the oven in this simple dish.
- Passata – make sure you use passata and not chopped tomatoes or any chunky type of tomato sauce. It makes the perfect consistency sauce (when mixed with a little water) to cook the gnocchi.
- Fresh basil – we use a big handful of fresh basil here, and it brings all of that wonderful fresh flavour. Tear the basil with your hands – no need to chop – and you get lovely big pieces of basil throughout the dish.
- Mozzarella – mozzarella is the perfect cheesy topping here. Again, you can just tear the mozzarella – no need for perfectly chopped slices.

Top Tips
- Mixing it all up – This is a genuine one pan gnocchi dish and it’s so easy to make. The only thing you have to be careful about is making sure that the gnocchi and passata are mixed well – you don’t want any clumps of dry gnocchi.
- Cooking the gnocchi – The gnocchi will need around 40 minutes in the oven to get nice and soft. If your mozzarella starts getting too golden in that time, cover it with foil to finish the cooking time.
- Get ahead – You can cook this up to 24 hours in advance. Reheat each portion for 3 minutes 30 seconds on high in the microwave, or the whole dish in the oven for another 30 minutes.
More delicious gnocchi recipes:
- Creamy Chorizo Gnocchi
- Creamy Leek Gnocchi
- Creamy Sausage Gnocchi
- Bacon and Mushroom Gnocchi Bake
- Broccoli and Stilton Gnocchi Bake
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One Pan Tomato and Mozzarella Gnocchi
November 29, 2024Ingredients
- 800 g gnocchi
- 500 g passata
- 300 ml water
- 30 g fresh basil
- 250 g mozzarella drained weight
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Get a large ovenproof dish. Tip the gnocchi into it, then pour over the passata and water. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, then stir well.
- Tear the basil over the top of the gnocchi. Stir again to combine.
- Tear the mozzarella over the top to create a nice layer of cheese. Put in the oven for 40 minutes, until the gnocchi is soft and the cheese is golden and bubbling.
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Nutrition

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