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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 tastes gourmet!
You may also enjoy my Italian Sausage Gnocchi, Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce, or Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Gnocchi next.
Why you’ll love it
I have a ridiculous number of one pan gnocchi recipes on here, but this one might be my favorite. Beef and gnocchi is such a good combo! There’s also no need to pre-cook the gnocchi. It cooks right in the sauce, which is convenient and helps with cleanup.
This hamburger gnocchi recipe makes plenty of delicious sauce. The meaty tomato sauce sort of reminds me of a creamy Bolognese. Add in a splash of cream and freshly grated parmesan, and it’s a comforting yet simple meal that’s sure to go on repeat.
What you’ll need
- Ground beef – we’re using lean
- Onion and garlic – I like sweet (Vidalia) onions
- Italian seasoning – it’s my favorite blend of dried herbs to infuse flavor and comes in a single jar
- Canned diced tomatoes – they’re canned at the peak of ripeness for best taste
- Broth – I use chicken broth, but beef works too
- Heavy cream – to give the sauce that luxurious texture and taste
- Gnocchi – I use the shelf stable gnocchi that you can find in the dry pasta aisle. You can use the refrigerated kind as well.
- Parmesan – the final cheesy touch! Always freshly grate your own from a block.
Helpful tips
- Can I use homemade gnocchi? I don’t recommend it. The one pan method seems to be too much for the delicate pasta.
- Do I cook the gnocchi first/separately? Nope! It cooks right in the sauce. In fact, the starch releases and thickens up the sauce.
- Why isn’t the sauce thickening up? Just give it a little more time. On the other hand, if your stove runs hot, cook it over a lower heat.
How to make ground beef gnocchi
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook the onions and ground beef in a pan until browned, breaking it up with a spoon as you go along. Discard the excess fat if there’s a lot. Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning, and cook until fragrant.
Stir the tomatoes, broth, heavy cream, and gnocchi into the pan. Let it bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Uncover, stir, then simmer until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the parmesan, and season with salt & pepper.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I mince garlic easily with this garlic press (no need to peel the cloves first), and I store the rest in this cute garlic saver.
- A Microplane zester is perfect to grate the parmesan. It comes in several colors!
- Here’s my favorite cutting board for chopping the onion.
Substitutions and variations
- I’d be cautious substituting the cream for something lower fat because the tomatoes and heat are likely to curdle the sauce or at least make it grainy if you don’t use cream.
- Try swapping the chicken broth with white wine (e.g., sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio) for an elegant touch.
- Many of my readers like adding spinach in at the end for some greens.
- If you sub the parmesan with cheddar, you can give this dish Hamburger Helper vibes, or make my Homemade Hamburger Helper instead.
What to serve with ground beef gnocchi
- For a salad, I like to dress one up with this homemade Olive Garden Salad Dressing. You could also make my Creamy Cucumber Salad or Beet and Spinach Salad for a delicious change.
- A dinner roll or slice of Cheesy Garlic Bread nicely rounds it out.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover gnocchi for 3-4 days in the fridge in a covered container.
- Reheat over a low heat until warmed through. It’ll thicken up over time, so add a splash of broth or cream to revive the sauce if needed.
- I don’t recommend freezing this one.
More ground beef recipes
If you made this one pan gnocchi with ground beef, please leave me a star rating and review below! You can also tag me on Instagram if you made any Salt & Lavender recipes.
Ground Beef Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning or to taste
- 1 (14 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on January 4, 2020. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
I make this several times a month by request. So versatile with different veggies to put in….. mushrooms, peas, pearl onions, corn…..I always add more veggies to all my dishes and this works with many.
Love to hear that, Jennifer!! 🙂
I absolutely LOVE the simplicity and taste of this recipe. Makes fantastic leftovers as well as the gnocchi continues to soak up all the liquid and flavor of the sauce. I make it regularly!
That’s wonderful to hear, Amanda! Thanks for your review!
We LOVED this recipe and I’m adding it to my recipe book so it will become part of the rotation. We’ve been working to incorporate more veggies in to our diets, so I added a cup of diced celery and a cup of diced kale and they took on the flavors well! So tasty! Thanks, Natasha!
That’s wonderful to hear, Lexi! Thanks so much!
This was absolutely a huge hit with my family!!!! Thank you
You’re very welcome!
This recipe is the BEST! I’ve made it twice and each time my husband has declared it the most delicious dish ever! I love that it only requires one pan, and it’s super easy to assemble – just dump stuff in and stir. Thank you for such an amazing recipe!
Thank you so much! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this earlier, with homemade gnocchi the day before, the prep was pretty accurate, not too long nor short, very easy to make. Not too salty, I added everything and tasted it, and added a little bit of pepper, but everyone’s ingredients are different, I get my groceries from Aldis. The gnocchi had the chewy texture, but very good. I added a side dish of salted potato skins and together, the creamy and salty of both dishes are very good. I’d recommend this to anyone, very versatile as a side dish or entree, vegetarian, and easy to make, great for beginners, and not very expensive.
So glad you enjoyed it, Eddy! The potato skins sound like a good combo with this dish. 🙂
Such a good way to use ground beef! So much flavour and so creamy. We had whole canned tomatoes so I just cut them up myself and it worked great.
Wondering if this would freeze well in a casserole dish to be reheated at a later date??
I’m so happy you like it, Lauren! Hmm… so you could give it a try, but I am a little concerned since freezing/thawing cooked gnocchi may change its texture, and creamy sauces are notorious for not being great for freezing. You may be pleasantly surprised, though… let me know if you try!
Made it tonight with a few modifications. It was so good!!! Def going to be a staple at my house!
Excellent!! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Such a great recipe! I always substitute the broth for wine. Been making this since quarantine and it’s been apart of our rotation!
Thanks for such amazing meals! XX
Wonderful! 🙂 I’m so pleased to hear that. Thanks for leaving me a nice review, Heather!
Good base recipe but lacks any flavor. Needs a lot of seasoning. I used more Italian seasoning, salt, soy sauce, miso, red pepper flakes. Much better