An indulgent creamy, cheesy baked gnocchi with tender asparagus. This one pan no boil gnocchi recipe could not be easier – just dump the ingredients into a casserole dish and bake it in the oven! This vegetarian bake can fit lots of asparagus, with room for extra veggies if you wish!

Introducing the perfect weeknight gnocchi bake

This is a really easy one, folks. A “dump dinner”, if that term isn’t too cringe for you. Just throw a bunch of ingredients into a pan cold, and bake in the oven for a while, and dinner is served! And it’s an easy one to love, with all that cheesy saucy goodness.

So let’s get our expectations set:

  • This dish is super rich. You don’t need a big portion! Serve it with some salad if you can.
  • Our asparagus bakes for quite a while so it’s soft and melts in the mouth, not al dente. If you prefer al dente asparagus, you could look at this recipe instead.
  • It’s easy, it’s quick to prep and assemble, but the cook time means you need almost an hour to get it on the table. That is mostly free time but you just need to be home an hour before dinner time. This may work for some evenings but not others.

Let’s see how it’s done…

A full printable recipe card is on its way – this is just a preview for you so you know what you’re getting yourself into! (Spoiler alert: not very much!)

Throw it all in and mix…
Bake for half an hour…
Add more cheese…
Bake til it’s crispy!

Ingredients and Substitutions: What to Know

  • Cheese for the sauce: I recommend using a really strongly flavored cheese (think vintage cheddar, parmesan, gruyere, etc) for maximum flavor. You can even use flavored cheese (both smoked and truffle cheese are amazing here). I also recommend that you grate it off the block so that the sauce is super creamy – pre grated bagged cheese isn’t going to melt in as smoothly.
  • Cheese for the topping: You need to go the other way and use a pre grated bagged mozzarella or cheese blend. This is going to crisp up much better! Pre grated cheese is always coated with starches to stop it from clumping together and this also serves to stop it from sinking into the sauce. Whenever I made this with cheese I grated from the block, it got swallowed by the sauce and didn’t form a real crust.
  • I’ve used provencal herbs and tarragon for the seasonings in this dish, which I just feel suit asparagus well.
  • I also love to add truffle oil but that is totally optional – it is still delicious without it so don’t worry about buying a bottle of truffle oil especially for this.
  • I use dried packaged gnocchi for this. I really like the Napolina brand, but I am always happy enough with the (much cheaper) Aldi gnocchi as well.

Adding more veggies?

Are you seeing how saucy this dish is? You can easily fit more veggies in here without any extra sauce needed. Some ideas:

  • Extra asparagus if it’s a really big haul
  • A cup of frozen peas
  • A couple handfuls of spinach or kale

If you add a LOT of extras, you may want to throw another 1/4 cup of cream into the pan to generate more sauce.

Serving Suggestions

Given the richness of this dish, I think it pairs best with really simple vegetables or salad. Some ideas:

Asparagus Gnocchi Bake (One Pan!)

An indulgent creamy, cheesy baked gnocchi with tender asparagus. This one pan no boil gnocchi recipe could not be easier – just dump the ingredients into a casserole dish and bake it in the oven! This vegetarian bake can fit lots of asparagus, with room for extra veggies if you wish!
4 big servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
5 from 1 rating
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Ingredients

  • 18 oz (500 g) dried packaged gnocchi
  • 8-10 oz (250 g) asparagus, trimmed and sliced into bite-sized pieces – the weight given is after trimming
  • 2 tsp dried provencal herbs
  • 2 tsp dried tarragon
  • 1 tbsp (3-4 cloves) minced or chopped garlic, 3-4 cloves
  • 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable broth
  • ¾ cup (180 ml) heavy (double) cream
  • 1 ¾ cups (180 g) strong cheddar, parmesan or a mix of both, grated
  • 2 cups (200 g) grated mozzarella (or a cheese mix), for topping
  • ½ tsp truffle oil

Instructions 

  • Brush or spray a casserole dish with oil. Add the gnocchi, asparagus, garlic, provencal herbs, tarragon and cheddar cheese. Mix to get the ingredients combined.
    18 oz dried packaged gnocchi, 8-10 oz asparagus, 2 tsp dried provencal herbs, 2 tsp dried tarragon, 1 tbsp minced or chopped garlic, 1 3/4 cups strong cheddar, parmesan or a mix of both
  • Pour over the cream and vegetable broth, mix again.
    3/4 cup heavy (double) cream, 1 cup vegetable broth
  • Cover and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the gnocchi has plumped out and the asparagus is softened. Stir through and add the truffle oil, if using.
    (This will be closer to 20 minutes if you're using a metal pan, which will conduct the heat more quickly, or a wider pan which has the gnocchi in a thinner layer. If you're using a heavier casserole dish, or one which layers the gnocchi more deeply, it will take closer to 30 minutes.)
  • Sprinkle the mozzarella over the top and place in the oven, uncovered, for an extra 10 minutes or until the top is crisped up to your liking.
    1/2 tsp truffle oil, 2 cups grated mozzarella (or a cheese mix)
  • Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes, then serve.

Notes

Cheese measurements: I developed this recipe by weighing my cheese, then I packed it into cups to get the conversions. The cheddar I used was grated off the block and packed pretty tightly into the cup. If in doubt, add more cheese! 
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Dinner
Calories: 754kcal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 47g, Saturated Fat: 28g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 144mg, Sodium: 1356mg, Potassium: 280mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 2145IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 725mg, Iron: 7mg