Spicy Gnocchi Bread Bowl is a large round loaf of sourdough bread hollowed out to hold gnocchi tossed in a creamy, spicy red sauce, all topped and baked with cheese. If you love gnocchi, be sure to try my Corn and Sausage Gnocchi or Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts.
Spicy Gnocchi Bread Bowl
As soon as I made the Copycat Carbone’s Spicy Pasta, I knew I had to try the signature creamy light red sauce in other recipes. Well, it just happens to go perfectly with potato gnocchi. And, adding the pasta to a sourdough bread bowl and topping it and baking it with cheese made for a hearty and savory meal with a little kick.
Spicy Gnocchi Bread Bowl Recipe
While this recipe uses store-bought gnocchi, I will let you know how you can make your own gnocchi from scratch. And, once you have your large loaves of bread picked out (I used sourdough loaves), it’s all about the spicy red sauce, garlic butter, and cheesy topping.
Spicy Gnocchi Ingredients (full recipe below)
- Potato gnocchi
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Tomato paste
- Heavy whipping cream
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- Pasta water
- Fresh parsley
Garlic Butter Ingredients
- Butter
- Garlic powder
- Kosher salt
- Parsley
Toppings
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Although the recipe may look long or complex, it is really a fast meal to put together! So, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper before you get started.
How to Make Spicy Gnocchi
First, cook the potato gnocchi per package directions. Gnocchi does not take more than a few minutes to cook, so watch for them to float to the top of the water. Use a slotted spoon to remove the gnocchi and set it aside. Be sure to reserve a cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce.
To make the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, or until you smell that wonderful garlic aroma! Add the tomato paste, cream, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Combine and cook these ingredients until they are heated through.
Here is where the reserved pasta water comes in. Add the water a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency of the sauce. Finally, add the cooked gnocchi and mix it all together.
How to Assemble and Bake Spicy Gnocchi Bread Bowls
After the gnocchi has been cooked and blended with the spicy red sauce, it’s time to fill and bake the bowls.
- Hollow out each bread loaf, making sure you don’t cut through the bottom. Keep the extra bread tops to bake alongside the bowls.
- Place the hollowed-out bread onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Make the garlic butter by combining the melted butter, garlic, salt, and parsley in a medium bowl.
- Equally spread the garlic butter inside and around the outside of each bread bowl. (And, don’t forget to add a little butter to the tops of the pieces of bread you took off the bread loaves.)
- Add half the spicy gnocchi mixture to each bowl.
- Top each with 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve warm. The extra bread pieces are delicious dipped in the cheesy gnocchi!
How to Make Homemade Gnocchi
The most common way to prepare gnocchi is to combine potatoes with flour, forming bite-sized balls of dough.
Here is an easy recipe for Homemade Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 2 potatoes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
Instructions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Peel potatoes and add to the pot. Cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and mash.
Combine 1 cup mashed potato, flour, and egg in a large bowl. Knead until dough forms a ball. Shape small portions of the dough into long “snakes”. On a floured surface, cut snakes into half-inch pieces. You can add texture here by taking each piece and slowly rolling it under a fork.
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drop in the gnocchi and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until gnocchi have risen to the top. Use a hand-strainer to remove the gnocchi. Continue with the rest of the recipe.
More Pasta Dishes
Spicy Gnocchi Bread Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 large round sourdough bread loaves, hollowed out
SPICY GNOCCHI
- 16 ounces potato gnocchi, cooked according to package instructions
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 cup pasta water, reserved from cooked gnocchi
- fresh parsley, for garnish
GARLIC BUTTER
- 1/2 cup (1 stick or 113g) butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley, minced
TOPPINGS
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
SPICY GNOCCHI
- To get started, you need to make the gnocchi. Heat a large pot of water to boiling, add the pasta noodles, and cook them according to the package instructions (about 2-3 minutes, or until they float to the top).
- Be sure to reserve 1 cup of the cooked pasta water before you drain it. Set the cooked gnocchi aside until you add it to the sauce.
- To make the red sauce, you will need a large skillet.
- Heat up the olive oil in the skillet over medium heat.
- Add in the garlic and cook that for about a minute.
- After the garlic has cooked for no more than a minute, add the tomato paste, cream, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook these ingredients together until they are heated through.
- At this point, you may need to add a little of the reserved pasta water to the sauce. Add one tablespoon of water at a time until you reach your desired consistency of the sauce.
- Finally, pour in the cooked gnocchi and mix everything together until the pasta is coated with the red sauce. Set the sauce aside as you prepare the garlic butter.
GARLIC BUTTER
- In a medium bowl, combine butter, garlic, salt, and parsley. Stir until well combined.
ASSEMBLING SPICY GNOCCHI BREAD BOWLS
- First, hollow out each bread loaf to form a bread bowl, making sure not to cut through the bottom of the loaf.
- Next, spread half the garlic butter equally inside and outside of each bread bowl.
- Then, add the spicy gnocchi equally to each bowl.
- Top each with 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve warm.
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
