This Gnocchi Bolognese is potato gnocchi tossed in a slow-simmered meat sauce made with ground beef, a classic soffritto of onion, carrot, and celery, and crushed tomatoes.

The gnocchi holds onto the sauce better than most pasta shapes, so every bite gets some.

I make this when I want a Sunday-dinner kind of meal without actually needing a whole Sunday.

The sauce still gets a proper simmer, but gnocchi cooks in minutes instead of the hour a lasagna noodle takes.

If bolognese sauce is a favorite in your house, these are worth bookmarking too:

Ingredients You’ll Need

The soffritto (that’s the diced onion, carrot, and celery) is what gives bolognese its depth, so don’t rush that part.

Whole milk stirred in near the end rounds out the acidity from the tomatoes and gives the sauce a silkier texture.

Shelf-stable potato gnocchi keeps this weeknight-friendly, since it only needs a few minutes in boiling water.

Ingredients

1 lb potato gnocchi
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
24 oz crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for the pasta water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Grated parmesan, for serving

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned.
This soffritto is the base of the whole sauce, so give it the full 6 to 7 minutes even if you’re tempted to rush it.
Add the ground beef and increase the heat to medium-high.
Break it apart with a spoon and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until fully browned.
Drain any excess grease, leaving a little in the pot for flavor.
Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant and the paste has darkened slightly.
Add the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, oregano, and basil, and stir to combine.
Bring the sauce to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and let it cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
It’ll thicken and deepen in color as it goes.
Stir in the milk during the last 5 minutes of simmering. It softens the acidity from the tomatoes and makes the sauce noticeably richer.
While the sauce finishes simmering, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil.
Add the gnocchi and cook according to the package instructions, usually 2 to 3 minutes, until they float to the surface.
Drain well, reserving a splash of the starchy cooking water in case the sauce needs loosening.
Add the drained gnocchi directly to the pot of bolognese sauce and toss gently to coat.
If the sauce seems thick, stir in a splash of the reserved gnocchi water.
Season with the salt and pepper, tasting as you go (the amount of salt you need depends a lot on your broth and tomatoes).
Top with grated parmesan and serve warm and enjoy!

Important Recipe Notes

Dice the soffritto small. The onion, carrot, and celery should be finely diced so they melt into the sauce instead of staying chunky. A food processor makes quick work of this if you don’t want to dice by hand.
Don’t skip the milk. It sounds like an odd addition to a tomato-based sauce, but it mellows out the acidity and makes the bolognese taste like it simmered a lot longer than it actually did.
Watch the gnocchi closely. Gnocchi cooks in minutes, not the 8 to 10 minutes regular pasta needs. Pull it as soon as the pieces float, or they’ll turn gummy.
Toss gnocchi in the sauce, don’t drown it. Add the sauce to the gnocchi (or the gnocchi to the sauce) rather than serving a plain pile of gnocchi with sauce spooned over the top. Tossing coats every piece evenly.

Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The gnocchi will absorb more sauce over time, so it thickens as it sits.
Reheating. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of broth or water to loosen the sauce back up. A covered microwave works in a pinch too.
Freezing the sauce. The bolognese sauce alone freezes well for up to 3 months. I’d hold off freezing it with the gnocchi already mixed in, since the texture suffers once thawed.

How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe

Serving:

Serve it in wide, shallow bowls while it’s hot, with plenty of grated parmesan on top.

A torn piece of fresh basil adds some color and freshness against the rich sauce. Garlic bread on the side is never a bad call.

Storage:

Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The gnocchi keeps soaking up sauce as it sits, so add a splash of broth or water when reheating to bring it back to a saucier consistency.

Customization:

Ground beef can be swapped for ground turkey, or a mix of beef and Italian sausage for extra flavor.

A splash of red wine added along with the crushed tomatoes deepens the sauce further, if you keep a bottle around for cooking.

For a lighter version, cauliflower gnocchi works in place of the potato kind.