This easy vegan gnocchi bake with tomato and spinach is a delicious, quick and easy to make. It is a healthy comfort food that's perfect for a weeknight dinner and the whole family will enjoy.
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As the months get colder it is nice to enjoy some good old comfort food when you get home in the evening. The soft pillowy gnocchi in this dish paired with the rich tomato and spinach sauce are divine. What I like most about this easy recipe is that it can be made ahead and then popped in the oven when you get home - so it's a great make ahead dish, perfect if you have a lot going on in the evening or after school - a really easy weeknight meal.
You can make this with or without the garlic topping - I do love it though as it adds extra texture and flavour, and I'm a big fan of garlic!
I use frozen spinach in this recipe as I always like to have a bag in the freezer to easily add to recipes. Of course you can also use fresh baby spinach. It is a great way of getting some extra greens in and spinach is rich in iron which is great for vegans.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this gnocchi dish are readily available and probably mostly store cupboard ingredients. I love a simple recipe with simple ingredients as I usually have everything in the cupboard already and I don't have to waste time on an extra shopping trip. You could make a big batch of the sauce and freeze half to use as a pasta sauce another day - a great meal prep tip.
I used a passata with herbs already included but you could use plain passata and add some dried italian seasoning. You can also use canned tomatoes if you prefer a chunkier texture.
- gnocchi
- passata / tinned chopped tomatoes
- garlic
- brown sugar
- frozen spinach
- olive oil
- fresh basil sprigs
- white onion
For the topping
- bread
- garlic
- nutritional yeast
- olive oil
For exact quantities please see the recipe card below.
Instructions
Heat up a little olive oil in a pan. Cook the onions for a minute or two on a medium heat until they turn translucent. Add the minced garlic, stir and cook for another minute.
Add the tinned tomatoes / passata, brown sugar and frozen spinach and cook through until hot and the spinach has defrosted and been mixed through.
Add the uncooked gnocchi straight from the packet (no need to pre-cook).
Stir through the gnocchi and remove it from the heat.
Make the crunchy topping by blitzing the olive oil, nutritional yeast and garlic together in a food processor.
Toast the bread slightly so that it is crispy, or use a stale loaf. Break it into pieces and put it into the food processor with the garlic cloves, olive oil and nutritional yeast. Blitz until the bread is broken into breadcrumbs.
Put the gnocchi and tomato mixture into an ovenproof baking dish and sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over the top in an even layer.
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees celsius for 30 minutes.
Top Tip: If the breadcrumbs start to look like they are going too brown, cover with some foil to stop them burning.
📖 Recipe
Easy Vegan Gnocchi Bake with Tomato and Spinach
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This easy vegan gnocchi bake with tomato and spinach is a delicious, quick and easy to make and a great healthy comfort food that's perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
500g gnocchi
500g passata
100g frozen spinach
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
Basil springs
1 white onion, chopped
For the topping:
3 slices bread
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
Heat up the olive oil in a pan. Cook the onions for a minute or two on a medium heat until they turn translucent. Add the minced garlic, stir and cook for another minute.
Add the tinned tomatoes / passata, brown sugar, basil and frozen spinach and cook through until hot and the spinach has defrosted and been mixed through.
Add the gnocchi straight from the packet (no need to pre-cook).
Stir through the gnocchi and remove it from the heat.
Make the crunchy topping by blitzing the olive oil, nutritional yeast and garlic together in a food processor.
Toast the bread slightly so that it is crispy, or use a stale loaf. Break it into pieces and put it into the food processor with the garlic cloves, olive oil and nutritional yeast. Blitz until the bread is broken into breadcrumbs.
Put the gnocchi and tomato mixture into an ovenproof dish and sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over the top.
Bake in the oven at 180 degrees celcius for 30 minutes. If the breadcrumbs start to look like they are going too brown, cover with some foil to stop them burning.
Variations and Substitutions
This vegan gnocchi recipe is dairy free, egg free, soya free and nut free. It can be made gluten free if you leave off the garlic topping and use gluten-free gnocchi.
You can add some extra protein by mixing in some vegan sausage. Cook your sausages according to the packet instructions, cut into pieces about the same size as your gnocchi and stir through at the same time you add the gnocchi.
If you want to make this delicious recipe a little spicier try adding chilli flakes or red pepper flakes or even some chopped fresh chilli to the tomato sauce.
If you prefer a creamy tomato sauce you can add some vegan cream through the tomato sauce to make it a creamy sauce. If you need to up the tomato flavour add a little tomato paste.
What to serve with this gnocchi bake?
This gnocchi bake is perfect served just as it is, or you could serve it with garlic bread and a nice Italian side salad or sprinkle some vegan cheeses like vegan parmesan or vegan mozzarella on top. Serve this easy meal straight from the oven to the table in a casserole dish.
FAQs
How long does this keep for?
You can make this dish ahead of time, cover it and leave it in the fridge for a few hours before putting it in the oven. Once cooked and cooled this will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Can it be frozen?
This dish isn't suitable for freezing although you can use frozen gnocchi and frozen tomato and spinach sauce if you wanted to make this recipe up in batches to freeze and mix together when it is time to bake.
Can I adapt this baked gnocchi recipe for fussy eaters?
If I am making this for my children I make the tomato sauce and then blend it so there are no lumps from the onions as they don't like lumpy pasta sauces. Don't be tempted to blend in the spinach though as it will turn it a dark colour which would put off my children! If you know that your children won't eat the spinach you can just leave it out.
Can I use homemade gnocchi or fresh gnocchi in this bake?
Yes you can - you may need to adjust the oven cooking time though - if your gnocchi is freshly made from gnocchi dough it will probably need less time in the oven. I use store-bought gnocchi to save time.
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