Originating from Sorrentino (within the Campania region of Italy), Gnocchi alla Sorrentina is a delicious, cheesy dish of baked potato gnocchi, tomato sauce, lemony basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese. These simple and humble ingredients create one of the easiest, yet most satisfying gnocchi recipes. We love this on a cool fall or winter night, but it’s just as delicious in the warmer months too! If you’re a fan of melted, gooey cheese, this dish is for you!
Here’s why we love it so much:
- Easy, clean ingredients! Just 5 ingredients plus olive oil and Kosher salt (those are in everyone’s pantry already, right?)
- Quick prep time // weeknight friendly! Yes, you can absolutely make homemade potato dumplings, but there are some fabulous, high-quality pre-made gnocchi available in many stores, which make Gnocchi alla Sorrentina the perfect weeknight meal!
- Kid-friendly! Let me just tell you how quickly my children devour a big bowl of this. It’s impressive that tiny humans can eat so much, so fast.
- Can be prepped ahead, then cooked later! Talk about easy entertaining! We love a meal that can be entirely made ahead of time!
Pretty sure your family is going to fall in love with this recipe, and we are so excited for you to try it!
Ingredients For Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
Preparation And Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic cloves: smash the cloves with the side of a chef’s knife
- Tomato passata (tomato purée): lots of high quality options for this at grocery stores, but we love DeLallo passata!
- Fresh basil: yes, it’s gotta be fresh, dried doesn’t add the same flavor!
- Potato gnocchi, store-bought or homemade: you can resist all you want, and of course you can make homemade gnocchi, but store-bought makes this so quick and easy on a weeknight!
- Fresh mozzarella cheese: fresh melts better and has a slightly sweet, salty flavor!
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano: freshly grated has so much more flavor than packaged Parmesan cheese, trust us! Plus you can freeze the Parmesan rinds and add to soups, stews, and stocks later!
- Kosher salt
If you are a lover of over the top cheesy dishes like this gnocchi sorrentina, be sure to check out our Eggplant Rollatini — it is a cheese lover’s dream come true!
How To Make Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
If you’re looking to make homemade potato gnocchi at home, we love this recipe! But we can’t say enough about how consistently reliable store-bought gnocchi is. It’s inexpensive, takes minutes to cook, and is totally delicious. Besides, our absolute favorite gnocchi in the world (from Nica Trattoria on the UES of Manhattan) is impossible to replicate, so we don’t even try, hah!
- Prepare And Cook The Gnocchi. Preheat an oven to 450F. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add 2 Tbsp Kosher salt, then cook gnocchi for 2-3 minutes or until they float to the top of the water. Use a slotted spoon to drain and set aside.
- Prepare And Cook The Sauce. Heat 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 crushed garlic cloves, then sauté until golden brown and fragrant on all sides, about 2 minutes. Pour in the passata (tomato purée), then add fresh basil leaves and ½ tsp Kosher salt Stir well, then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Put The Two Together, Then Bake! Add the cooked potato dumplings to the sauce, then scatter the cubed mozzarella cheese all over the top. Bake 35-45 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling, melted, and golden brown all over.
- Garnish, Then Serve! Add freshly ripped basil leaves on top, then serve immediately. Extra grated Parmigiano Reggiano is a nice finishing touch!
Tips For The Best Baked Gnocchi
- Don’t overcook the gnocchi! If you let the potato dumplings boil too long, they’ll end up with a gummy texture. Instead, remove them from the water as soon as they float to the top so the gnocchi alla Sorrentina is light and tender!
- Use fresh mozzarella cheese! You can use grated if you prefer, but we love the way the fresh mozzarella cubes melt and bubble up when baked.
- Do not over salt! The water from boiling gnocchi was seasoned with salt and many types of fresh mozzarella are salted. Don’t add more than ½ tsp Kosher salt (not table salt!!) to the gnocchi sauce or it can become too salty very quickly.
- Use fresh basil! Dried basil just does not have the same taste (or vibrancy!) as fresh.
Is Gnocchi Related To Pasta?
While gnocchi eat like pasta, they are actually made from potatoes. We love to cook gnocchi recipes as a gluten-free alternative to pasta when entertaining, as they’re accommodating to many different dietary restrictions, but just as soul satisfying and comforting as pasta.
Here are some of our favorite pasta recipes that would be absolutely delicious with potato gnocchi as a substitute: lamb ragu, bolognese, braised beef pappardelle, pasta with corn and basil cream sauce, or this insanely delicious fall staple, chorizo and butternut squash pasta!
Make Ahead, Then Reheat Later
To make gnocchi alla Sorrentina ahead of time, begin to assemble the dish, but instead of keeping it in a pan, bring it all together in a medium baking dish. Allow the gnocchi and sauce to cool completely before adding fresh cubed mozzarella cheese. Cover with plastic wrap so its airtight, then store in a refrigerator for up to 3 days. When ready, bake according to instructions until melted and bubbly!
Can You Freeze Gnocchi?
Yep, you can totally freeze this, same as you would most pasta dishes! Allow to cool completely to room temperature, then store in an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Thaw completely overnight in a refrigerator, or simply reheat from frozen in a preheated dish (kind of like a frozen lasagna!). It’ll take a little longer than the instructed cook time to heat all the way through, but it’ll be just as delicious! Garnish with fresh basil before serving.
Cheesy, hearty, rich, and comforting. This is the Italian comfort meal of our dreams!
If you make Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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More Italian recipes to try!
- Rigatoni Bolognese
- Salmon Piccata
- Chicken Milanese with Fennel Salad
- Lamb Ragu with Mint and Ricotta
- Chicken Puttanesca
- Penne Alla Vodka With Shrimp
Comforting, Cheesy Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 24 oz passata tomato purée
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- ½ tsp Kosher salt plus 2 Tbsp Kosher salt
- 1 lb potato gnocchi
- 1 lb fresh mozzarella cut into ½" cubes (we use salted mozzarella, but you can use unsalted!)
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, plus more for serving
Instructions
- Prepare And Cook The Gnocchi. Preheat an oven to 450F. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add 2 Tbsp Kosher salt, then cook gnocchi for 2-3 minutes or until they float to the top of the water. Use a slotted spoon to drain and set aside.
- Prepare And Cook The Sauce. Heat 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 crushed garlic cloves, then sauté until golden brown and fragrant on all sides, about 2 minutes. Pour in the passata (tomato purée), then add fresh basil leaves and ½ tsp Kosher salt Stir well, then simmer for 10 minutes.
- Put The Two Together, Then Bake! Add the cooked potato dumplings to the sauce, then scatter the cubed mozzarella cheese all over the top. Bake 35-45 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling, melted, and golden brown all over.
- Garnish, Then Serve! Add freshly ripped basil leaves on top, then serve immediately. Extra grated Parmigiano Reggiano is a nice finishing touch!
So simple and absolutely delicious! Made this and added Italian sausage. Thank you for sharing
The Italian sausage is a genius add-in! xo, Ari