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–+ servings
5 from 2 votes

Creamy Mascarpone Tomato Gnocchi

Gnocchi is one of those things I could eat everyday! And in my decadent, creamy mascarpone tomato sauce, you’d never guess this elegant meal comes together in under 30 minutes!
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time25 mins
Servings: 5
Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the sauce:

  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
  • 2 cloves garlic, smashed (literally, just give them each a good smash with your knife!)
  • 1/8 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 2 Tbsp pine nuts
  • 2 Tbsp Parmesan, freshly ground (omit to keep vegan)
  • 3 Tbsp mascarpone, use cream cheese as a substitute, or vegan cream cheese to keep this vegan
  • 2 tsp tomato paste
  • ½ cup water

Everything else:

  • 28 oz gnocchi
  • Basil, torn or chiffonade (see note below)
  • Extra Parmesan

Instructions

Make the sauce

  • In a large skillet, heat the olive oil for about a minute over medium heat. Now add the tomatoes, garlic, ½ tsp sea salt, and pepper to the skillet, and cook over medium heat for 7-8 minutes, until the tomatoes release their juices and begin to break down.

Start the gnocchi

  • If you are up for multi-tasking, now is a great time to start the gnocchi, and make this an under 30 minute meal! Simply put the gnocchi in a big pot of water. Make sure the water covers the gnocchi by at least two inches.
  • Turn the heat up to high, and just keep checking back on the gnocchi as you finish preparing the sauce. The gnocchi is done cooking when all the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot. (See photo above.)
  • For me, this is usually about three minutes after the water has come to a boil, but it can vary, so just keep checking back on the pot!

Finish cooking the tomatoes

  • Back to the tomatoes, turn the heat down to low and cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Turn the heat off, and very carefully transfer the tomato mixture to your food processor.

Process the sauce

  • Now add the pine nuts, Parmesan, and remaining ½ tsp sea salt to the tomato mixture in the food processor.
  • Pulse everything a few times, then process for a few minutes until the mixture is pretty smooth. There will still be a little texture.
  • Transfer the sauce back to the skillet, and set aside until the gnocchi has finished cooking.

Finish cooking the gnocchi

  • If you multitasked with the gnocchi, it’s probably just about finished cooking at this point! If you haven’t started cooking the gnocchi, now is the time to start. Just follow the directions for gnocchi above.
  • When the gnocchi has finished cooking, strain it.

Bring it all together

  • Back to the skillet with the sauce, turn the heat on to medium, add the ½ cup water, 2 tsp tomato paste, and stir until the water and tomato paste are fully incorporated into the sauce.
  • Once the water and tomato paste are completely mixed in, add the strained gnocchi to the pan, along with the 3 Tbsp of mascarpone.
  • Keep the heat on medium, and stir everything together. Continue stirring gently until the mascarpone has completely melted into the sauce, and the sauce evenly coats the gnocchi.

Serve and enjoy!

  • Taste, and add salt and stir a little basil into the dish if desired.
  • Serve this Creamy Mascarpone Tomato Gnocchi alone or with some greens, and top each serving with a little basil and Parmesan.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

This dish is vegetarian!
Be sure to use freshly ground Parmesan if you plan to use Parmesan.  It's so easy to make!  Simply put a block of Parmesan in your food processor, and process until the Parmesan is ground to the size that you prefer.  Use what you need in this recipe, and store the rest of the ground Parmesan in the fridge for later.  I always have freshly ground Parmesan on hand  for topping pasta, pizza, etc.! 
This dish is vegan if you omit the Parmesan and substitute the mascarpone with vegan cream cheese!
This dish is gluten free if you use gluten free gnocchi!
If you would like to chiffonade your basil, check out my easy photo tutorial!