baked gnocchi with meatballs
this comforting dish comes together quickly and is a perfect warming meal for the colder months
Ingredients
- 1 12 oz. gnocchi I recommend Rana’s skillet gnocchi, but any kind should work
- 1 24 oz. jar marinara sauce we love Rao’s brand - you can also use homemade
- 1/4 - 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
- 6 oz. about 8 meatballs (ground sausage, sliced chicken sausage or even cannellini beans would work too)
- 1 8 oz. ball fresh mozzarella torn
- Fresh basil roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a baking dish with cooking spray
- In a large saucepan, add 1/2 - 2/3 of the jar of sauce (depending on how much you like) and the meatballs.
- Cover the pan and heat for about 5 minutes on low. Scoop out the meatballs, (leaving the sauce in the saucepan) and place them in the prepared baking dish (if you prefer, you can halve or quarter them at this point too).
- While the meatballs heat, cook the gnocchi according to package instructions. Once cooked, set aside.
- To the saucepan of pasta sauce add the mascarpone cheese and place over low heat. Stir or whisk until the cheese is fully incorporated then turn off the heat. Add the sauce to the cooked gnocchi then pour the entire mixture into the prepared baking dish with the meatballs.
- Top with torn fresh mozzarella (as much or as little as you like) and some fresh basil. Bake on 400 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes (or until cheese is melted and browned - you can also pop it under the broiler for a few minutes to really get the cheese browned and bubbling).
- Top with additional fresh basil and serve.
Notes
I sliced my fresh mozzarella but when I make this again I'll definitely tear it. It was a bit hard to eat as one huge slice.