Taco Gnocchi Bake Is The Easy Weeknight Dinner Of Your Dreams

We’re no strangers to a one-pan dinner. On busy weeknights when we can’t be bothered to clean up a sink full of dishes, we love turning to our trusty skillets to build a meal from start to finish. And many of our favorite low-effort meals feature one trusty ingredient: gnocchi.

The gnocchi:
We love incorporating gnocchi in sheet pan dinners, in cozy soups, and even paired with our fan-favorite Tuscan butter sauce. But in this recipe, gnocchi gets the taco treatment for a simple weeknight meal. Along with some ground beef, black beans, and plenty of cheddar cheese, it’s a fun twist on the potato-based pasta.

The sauce:
The base of the sauce gets its savory flavor from enchilada sauce. We love popping open a can of the store-bought stuff to make dinner extra easy, but if you’re feeling fancy you can also make enchilada sauce from scratch.

The toppings:
And no taco (or taco gnocchi) night is complete without a lineup of fresh toppings. We include jalapeño, tomato, cilantro, and avocado in our recipe—but you can certainly add other ingredients you love. Chopped red onion, sour cream, or more cheese (we won’t judge) would all work great here.

Storage:
If you want to make your dinner even easier, you can make many of the components in advance. You can assemble the bake (sans gnocchi and cheese) up to 2 days in advance. When you’re ready to eat, stir in your gnocchi, top with cheese, and bake as directed.

Did you try making this? Let us know how it went in the comments!

Yields: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tsp.

  vegetable oil

• 1 lb.

  ground beef

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1

  medium yellow onion, finely chopped

• 2

  cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1/2 tsp.

  chili powder

• 1/2 tsp.

  ground cumin

• 1

  (14.5-oz.) can black beans, rinsed, drained

• 2

  (12-oz.) bag refrigerated or frozen gnocchi

• 1 c.

  store-bought or homemade enchilada sauce

• 1/2 c.

  chicken or vegetable broth

• 4 oz.

  sharp cheddar, shredded (about 1 c.)

• 1

  jalapeño, seeds removed, finely chopped

• 1 c.

  halved cherry tomatoes

• 1/4 c.

  chopped fresh cilantro

• 1

  avocado, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add beef; season with salt and pepper. Cook, undisturbed, until underside is browned, about 3 minutes. Crumble beef with a spatula and continue to cook, stirring, until no pink remains, about 5 minutes more.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions, garlic, chili powder, and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Add beans, gnocchi, enchilada sauce, and broth, then stir until combined. Top with cheese.

4. Transfer to oven and bake gnocchi until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Turn on broiler to high and broil, watching closely, until golden brown spots form on cheese, about 2 minutes more.

5. Top taco gnocchi bake with jalapeño, tomatoes, and cilantro. Serve with avocado alongside.

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