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Ground Beef Gnocchi

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This ground beef gnocchi recipe has a creamy tomato sauce and turns store-bought gnocchi into pillowy deliciousness. This one pan meal is quick and sure to be a family favorite! 

ground beef gnocchi in two bowls

Ok, so I have a ridiculous number of one-pan gnocchi recipes on here, but I somehow never made one with ground beef. I don't think so, anyway. 😛 In any case, I figured it was time. Beef and gnocchi is a good combo (this is kinda like a creamy gnocchi bolognese, actually). And this recipe makes plenty of sauce. The longer you cook it, the more it thickens up. 

I'll link to a few more of these gnocchi recipes like my sausage gnocchi, this gnocchi with tomato sauce, and my creamy spinach and mushroom gnocchi (the original that started it all back in 2017). Now I see these one pan gnocchi recipes everywhere... hmm. If you want the rest, you can just type "gnocchi" into the search bar on my blog and they'll all come up. 😉

This hamburger gnocchi recipe is sorta reminiscent of Hamburger Helper. I had a thought while I was cooking this... if you replaced the parm with some cheddar, you could definitely make it more like HH. 

I think this dish would be delicious if you replaced the chicken broth with white wine... yes please! 

Pro tip: I always get questions if the cream in recipes can be replaced with something else such as half-and-half or milk. With this one, I'd be cautious because the tomatoes and heat are likely to curdle the sauce or at least make it grainy if you don't use cream. 

hamburger gnocchi in a skillet

What kind of gnocchi to use?

I use the shelf stable gnocchi that you can find in the dry pasta aisle. You can use the refrigerated kind as well. Since I started making these one pan gnocchi recipes, Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi has become immensely popular, and I know a lot of readers have used it in various gnocchi recipes. You can use it, but you may need to use something like flour or cornstarch to thicken the sauce up a bit. The magic of using potato gnocchi is that the starch thickens the sauce quickly as it cooks. I don't recommend using homemade potato gnocchi - some readers have tried it with other recipes in the past, and the one pan method seems to be a bit too much for the delicate pasta. 

There is no need to pre-cook the gnocchi. It cooks right in the sauce.

Other ground beef recipes you'll love:

close-up of ground beef gnocchi

Do you love gnocchi as much as I do?

Questions? Leave me a comment below!

ground beef gnocchi in two bowls

Ground Beef Gnocchi

This quick one pan ground beef gnocchi recipe has a creamy tomato sauce and turns store-bought gnocchi into a gourmet meal. It'll be a family favorite!
4.86 from 109 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian American
Servings 4
Calories 574 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1 pound extra lean ground beef
  • 1/2 medium onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 dash Italian seasoning
  • 1 (14 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
  • 1/3 cup chicken or beef broth
  • 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
  • 1 pound uncooked potato gnocchi
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet over medium-high heat for 7-10 minutes. If there's lots of excess fat, spoon most of it out.
  • Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning.
  • Add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, cream, and gnocchi to the pan, and give it a good stir. Once the sauce starts to bubble again, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes. 
  • Uncover the pan, stir it, and let it cook for another few minutes, or until the gnocchi has cooked through and is nice and soft and the sauce has thickened to your liking.
  • Stir in the parmesan cheese and salt & pepper as needed. Serve immediately. 

Notes

  • There is no need to pre-cook the gnocchi. It'll cook right in the sauce. 
  • This dish would be excellent with fresh basil stirred in at the end. 
  • Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 574kcalCarbohydrates: 48gProtein: 36gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 142mgSodium: 882mgPotassium: 673mgFiber: 4gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 880IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 243mgIron: 8mg
Keyword beef and gnocchi, gnocchi bolognese, ground beef gnocchi, hamburger gnocchi
Author Natasha Bull
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  3. Allison Pierce says

    5 stars
    Cooking is one of my passions but I don’t have a lot of time, so this recipe really appealed because it was fast and delicious. It is higher in calories than what we usually try to eat for sure, however, I’ll definitely make it occasionally. I may try to substitute some ingredients or add more veggies in the future but is is a real winner just as it is!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      I'm so glad you liked it!! Yup, it's definitely a flexible recipe that you could totally tweak. 🙂 Thanks for your review!

      Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Donna! Keep in mind that cauliflower gnocchi may not thicken the sauce the same way as potato gnocchi (it releases starch). Let me know how it goes!

      Reply

  9. Maria says

    Just made this for dinner and loved it. I didnt have the regular can of tomatoes but I had tomatoes with green chiles, so I improvised and made it Mexican style. Instead of Italian seasoning I used taco seasoning. Turned out awesome and will definitely make again, but the way the recipe reads this time.

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Anna! I haven't tried freezing this one. You could experiment with freezing a portion or two of leftovers to see if you like the results without freezing the entire batch. In general, creamy recipes don't tend to freeze so well, and it's possible the gnocchi could change texture a bit. When thawing/reheating, the gnocchi will release even more starch and it could get a bit gloopy.

      Reply

  14. Andrea says

    Could you omit the tomatoes? We are not fans of crushed/diced tomatoes. Any substitute suggestions?

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! Hmmm... I am not sure what else I'd put. It's kind of a big component since it's a tomato cream sauce. The liquid is important to the recipe as it's a one pot meal. If you just use beef broth, that could be an idea, but I don't really know what the sauce will turn out like since I haven't tested.

      Reply

  16. Bob says

    Why use store bought gnocchi. Nasty. Make you own in less than 15 minutes. So easy to make gnomes

    Reply