We do not pre-cook the gnocchi for this bake. They go into the dish raw, absorb the liquid from the sauce and cook through in exactly 25 to 30 minutes in the oven. That is precisely what makes the difference between a bake that tastes great and one that turns watery.
This gnocchi bake is our go-to on weekday evenings when we need something quick but nobody wants a frozen pizza. 600 g of ready-made gnocchi from the chiller cabinet, a cream and vegetable stock sauce done in 8 minutes in the Thermomix®, spinach and Mozzarella on top, then into the oven. All told, we spend no more than 15 minutes actively in the kitchen.
Gnocchi Bake with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 23 ✓
- 50 g Gouda
- 500 g leaf spinach frozen
- 600 g water
- 1 tsp salt
- 500 g floury potatoes
- 100 g semolina
- 100 g plain flour (type 550)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g Serrano ham
- 300 g Mozzarella
- 500 g water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 onion
- 20 g olive oil
- 30 g flour
- 200 g double cream
- 300 g vegetable stock
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 spring onion
Instructions 0 / 16
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1
Grate the cheese.
Place Gouda into the mixing bowl and grate for 5 seconds / speed 8, then set aside.
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2
Thaw the spinach.
Place spinach into a bowl and leave to thaw.
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3
Cook the potatoes.
Place 600 g water and 1 tsp salt into the mixing bowl. Peel the potatoes, quarter them and place in the steaming basket. Insert the steaming basket and steam the potatoes for 30 minutes / Varoma / speed 1.
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4
Rinse.
Remove the steaming basket and drain the potatoes. Empty and rinse the mixing bowl.
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5
Mix the dough.
Place the potatoes, semolina, flour, egg yolk, 1 tsp salt and nutmeg into the mixing bowl and mix for 1 minute / speed 5 into a smooth dough. Transfer the dough to a bowl and leave to cool. Rinse the mixing bowl.
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6
Cut the ingredients.
Meanwhile, cut the ham and Mozzarella into strips.
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7
Shape the dough.
Divide the dough into 4 portions, roll each into logs 1 to 2 cm thick on a floured work surface, then cut into pieces 1 to 2 cm long. Shape each piece into a ball and flatten with a fork to create a ridge pattern.
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8
Varoma.
Distribute the dough pieces across the Varoma base and Varoma tray.
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9
Steam the gnocchi.
Place 500 g water and 1 tsp salt into the mixing bowl, place the Varoma on top and steam for 20 minutes / Varoma / speed 1. Remove the Varoma and discard the cooking liquid.
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10
Chop the garlic.
Peel the garlic and onion. Quarter the onion, place both into the mixing bowl and chop for 4 seconds / speed 6.
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11
Sweat the garlic.
Add the olive oil and sweat for 3 minutes / Varoma / speed 1 without the measuring cup.
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12
Cook off the flour.
Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes / Varoma / speed 1 without the measuring cup.
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13
Preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 200 °C top and bottom heat.
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14
Sauce.
Add the double cream, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and cook for 6 minutes / 100°C / speed 2.
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15
Layer.
Layer the gnocchi alternately with spinach, ham and Mozzarella in a baking dish, pour the sauce over, top with Gouda and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 minutes.
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16
Garnish.
Wash the spring onion, slice into rings and scatter over the bake before serving.
Tip: If you do not have enough time to make gnocchi from scratch, you can use 600 g of ready-made gnocchi from the chiller cabinet.
Nutrition per serving
What makes this bake work
Put the gnocchi in raw, do not pre-cook them. Pre-cooked gnocchi turn mushy in the oven because they absorb liquid twice. We put them in raw. The 200 g double cream and 300 g vegetable stock in the sauce are exactly enough for the gnocchi to cook through while the sauce does not turn into a puddle. The starch from the gnocchi helps thicken the sauce, which is why you only need 30 g of flour in it.
Add the Mozzarella only in the last 10 minutes. If you bake Mozzarella from the start, after 30 minutes you will pull a tough, rubbery, dark brown layer out of the oven. Instead, we add the Mozzarella after 20 minutes in the oven, cover briefly with foil if the surface is already getting too dark, and bake uncovered for the final 10 minutes. This keeps the cheese white, stretchy and cleanly melted rather than burnt.
Prepare the frozen spinach properly. 500 g of frozen spinach contains around 200 g of water once thawed, and that water will flood the bake if you do not squeeze it out. We thaw the spinach in a sieve and then press it firmly with our hands. This one minute of effort decides whether the sauce ends up creamy or a greenish watery mess.
Sauce in 8 minutes in the Thermomix®
The sauce is where the Thermomix® really saves time. We place the garlic clove and onion into the mixing bowl and chop both for 4 seconds at speed 6. Then add 20 g olive oil and sweat for 3 minutes / Varoma / speed 1 without the measuring cup. This takes the sharpness out of the onion without anything catching. Next, stir in 30 g flour and cook for 2 minutes / Varoma / speed 1. Only then add 200 g double cream, 300 g vegetable stock, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp white pepper, and cook for 6 minutes / 100°C / speed 2. The sauce will thicken slightly but remain pourable. That is exactly right, as it thickens further in the oven once the gnocchi start drawing in liquid.
If you want to make the gnocchi yourself, our basic recipe for Thermomix® gnocchi has the full instructions, including steaming the potatoes in the steaming basket and shaping with a fork. For the weekday version, 600 g of ready-made gnocchi from the chiller are perfectly fine. We use them ourselves when we get home after a long day.
Three mistakes that can ruin the bake
Pre-cooking the gnocchi
The packet says 2 minutes boiling. For a bake, that does not apply. Pre-cooked gnocchi are already soft on the outside and absorb even more liquid in the oven. The result: a slimy centre, a collapsed shape and a watery sauce. Our solution: Place the gnocchi raw from the packet into the baking dish and let them cook through in the oven. They need the full sauce as their cooking liquid.
Mozzarella too early
Fresh Mozzarella can handle 10 to 12 minutes at 200 °C, after which it becomes rubbery and releases water. Over 30 minutes the surface turns brown and leathery. Our solution: Cut the Mozzarella into strips, pull the dish out after 20 minutes in the oven, scatter over the Mozzarella, slide it back in and bake uncovered for the final 10 minutes. This way the cheese goes stretchy rather than burning.
Not squeezing out the spinach
Frozen spinach looks compact after thawing but releases a lot of water during baking. If we simply layer the spinach into the dish, the bake ends up swimming in a green broth. Our solution: Thaw the spinach in a sieve and then squeeze it firmly with your hands or a potato masher. Only then layer it with the gnocchi. The flavour actually becomes more concentrated as a result.
How we vary the bake
With tomato sauce instead of cream sauce: 400 g of passata plus 100 g double cream replace the bechamel, along with a pinch of sugar, fresh basil and a little extra garlic. The acidity pairs better with Mozzarella than the pure cream version.
With chicken breast: If you want something more filling, fry 300 g chicken breast separately in a pan, season with salt, pepper and paprika, and layer between the gnocchi and spinach. In the oven it will absorb the sauce and stay juicy.
Vegetarian without ham: Simply leave out the Serrano ham or replace it with 100 g toasted pine nuts and a little extra Parmesan. The bake stays hearty because the sauce is flavoursome enough on its own.
With cherry tomatoes on top: Place 200 g halved cherry tomatoes on top for the last 15 minutes. They burst slightly and add a fruity note that lifts the cream sauce.
What we serve alongside
The bake is filling, so a crisp salad is all you need on the side. We often make a lamb’s lettuce salad with a honey and mustard dressing, as the acidity balances the rich sauce. A tomato and Mozzarella salad also works beautifully, and if Mozzarella is already in the bake, having it fresh on the side is a nice contrast. Anyone looking for more pasta bake ideas will find the close relative with penne instead of gnocchi in our tomato Mozzarella pasta bake.
2 days in the fridge, back to crispy in the oven
Leftovers keep in the fridge in a covered dish for 2 to 3 days. To reheat, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water or double cream over the bake, cover with foil and put it in the oven at 180 °C for 15 minutes. The microwave works too, but it makes the Mozzarella rubbery.
Freezing is possible in principle, but there is a catch: the gnocchi turn slightly floury after thawing because the starch crystallises when frozen. If we want to prepare ahead, we prefer to freeze the sauce on its own and combine it with fresh gnocchi. That keeps the texture right.
How other recipes approach this dish
Goes well with: Ciabatta and Ratatouille.
Most Thermomix® recipes for gnocchi bake use a bechamel with a roux, Cheddar and broccoli, baked for 20 minutes at 200 °C. Other online versions use cream, raw ham, tomatoes and Gouda, baked for 30 minutes at 170 °C fan. Cookidoo combines chicken, spinach and three types of cheese with cornflour instead of plain flour. We take a different approach: gnocchi raw in the dish, a cream sauce without a roux, spinach squeezed dry and Mozzarella on top. This skips the pre-cooking step, keeps the sauce silky rather than lumpy, and prevents the watery puddle that collects at the bottom in many other versions.
More bake inspiration: gnocchi from scratch with the Thermomix®, tomato Mozzarella pasta bake, lamb’s lettuce with honey and mustard dressing.
