Baked gnocchi with bacon, tomato and mozzarella

Name: Baked gnocchi with bacon, tomato and mozzarella
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 -3
Ingredients: 500 g store-bought gnocchi; 250 g bacon (chopped); 2 garlic cloves (crushed); 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1 400 g tin chopped tomatoes; 1 tablespoon tomato paste; handful cherry tomatoes (halved); 1 teaspoon sugar; 2-3 tablespoons cream/yoghurt; large handful fresh parsley (chopped); salt & pepper to taste; 100 g mozzarella (sliced)

February 27, 2017 by Alida Ryder 128 Comments

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This easy baked gnocchi recipe with smoky bacon, tomato and mozzarella sauce is perfect for rushed weeknights when you need dinner on the table fast.

This post was originally written in 2013.

This baked gnocchi is comfort food. Comfort food for those who need comforting. And yesterday, I needed it (more than I normally do). You see, yesterday was not only the beginning of the 3rd school term here in SA, but also the day we had to start with Atropine drops on my darling princess. I’m not going to go into what Atropine is (you can read more here, if you so wish) but we are doing it because she has a pretty important appointment at an Optometrist this Thursday.

We found out a couple of weeks ago that her eyes are slightly squint (so slightly that we’ve never even noticed) but now there are talks of glasses and surgery and even though this isn’t, by far, the worst thing that could happen, I feel sad. I think as a mom, all you want is for your kids to be perfectly healthy and happy. Again, this isn’t even that big of a deal (and I can’t imagine what it must be like to hear your child is terribly ill, etc).

{Our beautiful Abi has been for two eye operations now after the glasses made no difference. Her eyes are perfect and the doctor is very happy. This post was originally written when I was feeling very sorry for myself and so, I’ve edited it slightly because I never want her to read this one day thinking I felt she disappointed me (which one reader pointed out) because nothing she could ever do would disappoint me. She is wonderful, smart and perfect in every way.}

Anyway, so yes, yesterday I needed comfort food. And since I also didn’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen, I knew I wanted to use a few packets of ready-made gnocchi. This isn’t something I use a lot because I really love making fresh gnocchi but it definitely is a life-saver when you’re pressed for time. I also think it works really well in a baked gnocchi dish because it’s quite a lot firmer than home-made gnocchi so the shape is retained while, I think, home-made gnocchi will just get mushy.

The sauce is made by frying bacon and then adding both tinned and halved cherry tomatoes and a splash of cream (you could also use yoghurt). The cooked gnocchi is mixed into this and then baked under a blanket of fresh, creamy fior di latte. Perfect, easy comfort food ready in a flash.