This Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzarella looks deceptively fancy. But it’s basically 4 ingredients (gnocchi, tomatoes, oil, mozzarella) and is a killer 30 minute dinner! Hold on to that last ray of summer!
We are on day 5 with no air conditioning, and the good news is that I have not maimed, injured or otherwise harmed any of my family members yet. The greatest danger lies between the hours of 3pm and 7pm, so if you know me and are thinking of stopping by, I highly recommend coming in the morning to avoiding dismemberment.
I’m just kidding, it’s not really that bad. At least it’s September and not July! Then I would move straight to beheadings. Am I the only one who turns into an animal when there is no air conditioning?? How did our ancestors do it?
We had so much fun in Paris! It was a little surreal. Yes, some of the waiters were kind of rude once realizing we didn’t speak French (but most of them weren’t!), no, there really are no fat people there, and yes, people really do eat croissants on the regular, an oxymoron so strong that it boggles my mind. There WAS a lot more smoking, so maybe that explains it. (Although I actually don’t think it does. The lack of processed food in the French diet is the real explanation I believe. Plus they walk everywhere.)
My favorite and most charming realization is that French people really do say, “Voila!” all the time. It’s adorable.
(Musee d’Orsay: 100x better than the Louvre.)
We took a croissant making class that was 3 hours long and I loved every minute of it. I’m hoping to make it a few times at home, master some of the techniques, and then share with all of you. Authentic croissants take like 3 days to make, but you’re not that busy, right? That’s what I thought. No one is too busy for homemade French pastries!
How to make Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzarella
I have a new recipe for you today that is not really new because it is almost exactly the same as this Easy Caramelized Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzarella, which is a killer 30 minute summer dinner. Today’s recipe for sheet pan gnocchi is another killer 30 minute dinner with almost the same result, except you don’t have to bother standing over the stove. Just dump it all on a pan and be on your merry way.
Also, this time around I had the idea to drizzle the whole thing with balsamic vinegar after roasting, which was a huge win I thought. What is so addictive about balsamic vinegar??
Do you have any basil left in your garden? It’s still hot as blazes over here in Sacramento (%$# broken air conditioner) so mine is doing just fine. Put it to good use! This would also be good using other herbs, I’m thinking thyme or rosemary would be delicious. Or sage! Yum.
Just look at those beautiful blistered tomatoes. Yum. Sheet pan gnocchi ftw!
Gnocchi is a kind of Italian pasta. It’s like a little dumpling made with flour and potatoes. Normally it’s boiled, just like pasta, but today we’re doing sheet pan gnocchi, which makes it delightfully crispy on the edges. It’s a little indulgent (in a good way. I mean isn’t pasta always indulgent?), so I would serve this dish with a nice big green salad, like this Raspberry Avocado Salad, or this Greek Salad Recipe. And a side of One Hour French Bread never hurt anybody!
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One year ago: Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles
Four years ago: Chicken Tikka Masala Meatballs
Five years ago: Barbecue Pork Tenderloin Wraps
Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzarella (30 Minute Dinner)
Ingredients
- 1 (16-oz) package gnocchi*
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes, any color
- 1 (12-oz) tub marinated mozzarella**, (save the oil!!)
- 2-4 cloves garlic, to taste
- basil, fresh, to garnish
- Parmesan, fresh, to garnish
- balsamic vinegar, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Open the package of gnocchi and dump the whole thing on the sheet pan.
- Add 2 packages of cherry tomatoes to the dry pan. If your pan looks too full (you want each tomato to have a little space to roast) then remove some of the tomatoes.
- Use the side of a chef knife to smash the garlic. Add it to the pan whole. Use as many as you like.
- Open the tub of mozzarella. Remove the cheese to a bowl. Pour most of the herbed oil from the tub onto the pan with the gnocchi. You don't need to use all of it, just enough to make sure everything is coated. Use your hands to rub oil all over the gnocchi and tomatoes. Get all those herbs on there!
- Arrange the gnocchi and tomatoes into a single layer on the pan. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
- Roast at 450 for 17-20 minutes, until some of the tomatoes have popped and the gnocchi looks golden.
- Let the gnocchi cool on the pan for a few minutes before adding the mozzarella (you don't want it to melt into blobs.) You can either add the mozzarella to the pan and serve it from there, or remove all of it to a serving platter and toss together.
- Garnish with fresh basil and parmesan cheese! For a real treat, drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar over each serving. You will not regret it!
Notes
Nutrition
More easy gnocchi and sheet pan dinners you will love!
Brown Butter Gnocchi with Asparagus and Prosciutto << this is a really easy skillet meal!
Gnocchi with Carrot and Zucchini Red Sauce << the first time I made gnocchi! The recipe is from my brother. It’s a good one. Do you like my food styling circa 2012? Ha!
Sheet Pan Asian Salmon with Broccoli, Carrots, and Rice Noodles
More easy dinners from friends that you are going to love!
Cherry Tomato Shrimp Linguine from The Noshery
Roasted Broccoli and Tomato Summer Pasta Skillet from Country Cleaver
Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Jalapeños and Parmesan from BellyFull
I absolutely love this dinner! It’s super easy and delicious as a main dish or a side!
Hi, this looks like a fun recipe to try!
I am thinking of trying this for dinner tonight and i was wondering- does the gnocchi get a crispy bite to it when you roast it?
I’ll be using the store bought packaged kind of gnocchi.
Hi Avi! Yes it does have a crispy bite to it! It’s different than boiled gnocchi. I love it. I hope you do too! Enjoy!
Excited to try this recipe. My Grandmother was Croatian and made her own gnocchi, I have tried but my potato dumplings (gnocchi) are a little more leaden than hers were. Think this recipe would also be good if you wanted to add a bit of rotisserie chicken to it as a mix in for a warm salad type meal. Thinking I will use it when my book club meets for the first time in over a year this summer. Found you on pinerest. Not much of a subscriber, but think I just might, enjoyed looking over many of your recipes.
Gnocchi comes made with potato or ricotta. Does it matter which I use for your “30 min sheet pan gnocchi with cherry tomato” recipe??
Hi Maria! I’ve never seen ricotta gnocchi! Sounds delicious. I always use the potato kind. Enjoy!
So my husband had never had gnocchi before I made this dish. I absolutely LOVE gnocchi so I was a little shocked that he had never had it. I’ve always boiled it and lathered it with a sauce and never thought to bake it. This recipe gets 5 stars from both of us. I love the flavor and texture the gnocchi takes on after baked and the marinade from the mozzarella pairs so well with it and the roasted tomatoes.
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit Salena! Isn’t it so funny how gnocchi is still making the rounds?? How did the Italians give us pasta but hold out on the gnocchi secret for so long?? ;) I’m so glad you enjoyed the baked texture, thanks so much for leaving a review!
I made this last night – I used my convection oven roast setting and it made the gnocchi really hard and I cooked only 15 minutes. Smashed garlic was overdone, also. So, no convection fan!
I had beautiful heirloom tomatoes so I cubed them but did not cook them. I did not use basil but put the gnocchi, tomatoes and mozzarella balls over a bed of baby spinach. Finished with a healthy sprinkle of 4 shredded Italian cheeses and a drizzle of thick Italian balsamic vinegar. Served with some focaccia bread and it was delicious.
I will try again without the convection fan setting!
I made with refrigerator gnocchi and it was delicious. When using homemade, do I boil, as normally done, before placing it on a sheet pan?
Hi Nancy, so glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t tried this with homemade gnocchi. I imagine it would work just fine! Let me know if you try it out and how it goes. (you may need to adjust the bake time? I’m thinking less time??)
I just made the sheet pan Gnocchi with cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls, DELICIOUS! Like you said, quick meal to put together and everyone enjoys it!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
I’m so glad it was a hit Lisa! Hard to beat something so quick and delicious right? :) Thanks so much for taking the time to review.
This was so good! I made it today and I don’t normally like balsamic that much but I trusted the process and it is just amazing. This is going into my dinner rotation for sure! P
Hi there… do I put the oven on Conv Roast @ 450 or Bake at 450?
Hi Chrissy! This recipe was tested without a convection oven, so I would just do the bake setting!
Hi, just want to be certain about the gnocchi…….you used the boxed/bagged dry kind and didn’t cook it beforehand?
That’s right Cynthia! Enjoy!
What would you recommend if you only can find frozen gnocchis? Let them thaw first?
Hi Alyssa! I haven’t tried this with frozen gnocchi, but I think you could probably just bake them from frozen. I think if you thaw first they will get soggy. Let me know how it goes!
Made this for dinner and it was delicious! I really like how you explain the recipe, like when you say if it looks like too many tomatoes then take some off. It really helped me think logically about this dish. I will be checking out more of your website!
So glad the details are helpful Sarah! I love this dish. Gnocchi forever! Thanks for commenting :)
Amazing recipe found doing a random search to use some tomato and gnocchi up. Served with some meatballs. Never thought of oven roasting the gnocchi and I will never boil again. No mozzarella and topped with a nice shred Italian medley of cheese. Used my own herbs and olive oil. Thanks for a great recipe.
Ooh love the idea of serving this up with some meatballs! That sounds delicious. And great idea using an Italian blend of cheese! I bet it was delicious. Thanks so much for the tips Robin! And thanks for commenting!
I don’t love tomatoes, so I was thinking of doing some tomatoes and a handful of red potatoes quartered. Do you think I would need to add some bake time for the potatoes by themselves before adding the rest? Thanks in advance!
Hi Julianne! Potatoes take a long time to roast, usually at least 45 minutes even when they are chopped. So just make sure to adjust for this! Enjoy!
This a very wholesome looking dish, thanks so much for you great photos easy to see all the nice ingredients, I will try it this weekend.
Chef Ernie
Love love love this recipe. I’m already obsessed with gnocchi, and the rest of the deliciousness….and it’s easy and fast?? Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear you’re loving the recipe Paige! I love gnocchi too, I seriously need to post more recipes with it!
This dish is delicious! And you were so right about the balsamic to finish! Thank you!
Hey Dawn, that’s awesome, I’m so glad you liked the gnocchi! Balsamic makes everything amazing. Thanks so much for commenting!