One Pan Baked Gnocchi and Meatballs in Marinara Sauce

Never mind the fact that it was 90-some degrees today when I prepared this meal in an air-conditioned kitchen😋, but it's always comforting to have a meal made in advance, and the dinner really does not get much easier than this casserole. 

Just stir everything together in a baking dish, cover it, and let the oven handle the rest. The gnocchi cooks right in the marinara sauce, the meatballs heat through, the tomatoes get all jammy and bursty, and the whole thing finishes under a blanket of melty mozzarella and Parmesan. It’s cozy, cheesy, hearty, comfort food at its best!

This delicious and flavorful meal pairs well with a simple green salad or an extra bowl of roasted veggies. Recipe adapted from givemesomeoven.com and serves 6.

Recipe Tips

• This recipe is wonderfully low-maintenance, but here are a few tips to make it turn out perfectly: Use shelf-stable gnocchi. That’s what I tested here, and it holds up really well in the oven. Refrigerated gnocchi may cook faster and could turn softer.
• Don’t skip the water. It may not look like much, but that extra ¼ cup gives the gnocchi enough moisture to cook properly in the sauce.
• Cover the dish tightly. This is probably the most important step. You want to trap the steam during the first 30 minutes so the gnocchi gets tender instead of drying out.
• Use fully cooked meatballs. Frozen, fully cooked mini meatballs make this especially easy. If yours are larger, they may need a little extra time to heat through.
• Chop the spinach first. Roughly chopping it helps it disappear more evenly into the bake instead of clumping together in big leaves.
• Use whole milk mozzarella if you can. It melts more smoothly and gives you that gooey, bubbly top that makes this dish so good.
• Let it rest before serving. Five to 10 minutes helps everything settle and keeps the sauce from running all over the plate.

Ingredients:

• 1 (24-ounce) jar good-quality marinara sauce e.g. Roa
• 1 14-oz. can crushed tomatoes with basil and oregano
• 8 ounces shelf-stable potato gnocchi
• 1/4 cup water
• 10 ounces frozen fully-cooked Italian-style mini meatballs
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
• 2 cups baby spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 2 cups shredded whole milk mozzarella, divided
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• Fine sea salt and black pepper
• Fresh basil, for serving

Directions: 

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9×13-inch baking dish, stir together the marinara, crushed tomatoes, water, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, sugar, a few twists of black pepper, and a pinch of salt.
• Add the gnocchi, meatballs, spinach, cherry tomatoes, 1 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Gently stir until evenly coated in the sauce. Spread into an even layer, then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the top. 
• Cover tightly with foil or casserole cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the gnocchi is tender, the tomatoes have burst, and the cheese is golden and bubbly. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes at the end if you’d like extra browning.
• Let the dish rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Top with extra Parmesan, fresh basil, and a twist of black pepper. Serve warm and enjoy!
  
  
  
  
  This casserole is company-worthy and would be perfect for preseason football games and family gatherings; it's also kid-friendly.