Gnocchi Bolognese

A bowl of homemade ricotta gnocchi with a meat bolognese sauce.

My easy gnocchi bolognese recipe is the ultimate comfort food; rich, satisfying and packed with flavour.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 1 20

Servings: serves

Calories: 615kcal

Author: Lucy Mathieson

Cost: $20

Equipment

Stove-top

Ingredients

For The Bolognese Sauce

2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
3 sticks celery diced
2 carrots large, diced
1 brown onion or yellow, diced
200 g pancetta chopped into small chunks (see notes)
500 g beef mince
500 g pork mince
rosemary and thyme fresh or dried
500 ml (2 cups) wine white or red
300 g tomato paste
250 ml (1 cup) milk full cream or whole milk
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock liquid
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

For The Gnocchi

500 g gnocchi homemade or store-bought
grated parmesan to serve

Instructions

To Make The Bolognese

Heat the butter and oil in a large pot over medium heat on the stovetop.
Add the diced celery, carrot, onion and pancetta and sauté until the vegetables have softened (approximately 5 minutes).
Turn the heat up to high and add the pork mince and beef mince. Stir occasionally (avoid stirring too much or you'll end up with a lot of liquid). Cook until the mince has browned and all of the liquid has evaporated.
Note: To check if all of the liquid has evaporated, use a wooden spoon to make a gap in the base of the pot and see if there is any liquid there after a few seconds.
Add the rosemary sprigs and thyme.
Add the wine and cook until the liquid has evaporated.
Stir through the tomato paste.
Add the milk and stir through.
Pour in the chicken stock liquid, add the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Turn the heat down to low.
Cover with a lid and allow to cook slowly for a minimum of 1 hour (up to 2-3 hours... the longer the better as the flavour develops beautifully as it cooks). Stir occasionally during the cooking time.
Remove the rosemary sprigs and bay leaves.
Remove half of the bolognese sauce from the pot and place into a large frying pan. (The rest can be stored or frozen).
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the gnocchi and cook. As the gnocchi rise to the surface (approximately 1-2 minutes), remove the pieces with a slotted spoon and place into the frying pan with the bolognese sauce.
Toss to coat the gnocchi in the sauce.
Serve immediately with extra grated parmesan cheese.

Notes

RECIPE NOTES & TIPS

Gnocchi - I highly recommend making your own homemade ricotta gnocchi using my recipe that you can find here. However, you can use store-bought fresh gnocchi for convenience, or if you prefer.
Bolognese sauce - my bolognese sauce recipe makes a BIG batch! You will have plenty of the sauce (at least half) leftover to freeze.
Pancetta - I like to ask the deli for a 200g slab of pancetta and then chop it into small 2cm pieces. Thinly sliced packaged pancetta is fine to use. but you won't have the delicious chunks that you get if you chop it yourself. Alternatively you can use diced bacon.
Gnocchi are cooked - when they rise to the surface.
Storing - store any leftover bolognese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat thoroughly before consuming.
Freezing - bolognese sauce freezes, defrosts and reheats perfectly making it a great option for a quick midweek freezer dinner. Freeze bolognese sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost and reheat before consuming. Once cooked, gnocchi should not be frozen.

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