Gnocchi with beef ragu
Pillowy gnocchi simmered right in a rich beef and tomato ragu, a one-pan dinner that feels like a trattoria.
- 35 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.06 a serving
- 540 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 lb potato gnocchi
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- ¼ cup fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 540 calories, 31 g protein, 60 g carbs and 20 g fat, and costs about $3.06 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and the garlic.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Heat a large, deep with a lid over medium-high, add the beef and onion, and press the beef flat. Leave it 3 minutes, until underneath.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 3 min
Break the beef into small and cook 5 minutes more, until no pink is left. Spoon off any pool of fat.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Turn the heat to medium and stir in the garlic, tomato paste and pepper flakes, if you like, for 1 minute, until the paste turns a shade darker.
Medium heat
Add the crushed tomatoes, water, oregano, salt and pepper, and bring to a gentle bubble.
Medium heat
Stir in the gnocchi, cover, turn the heat to low, and 6 to 8 minutes, stirring once, until they’re soft and puffed.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: They stick together straight from the pack. Break them apart with your fingers as they go in.Stir in the parmesan, then serve with torn basil on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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One-pan dinners ›High-protein dinners ›What to make with canned tomatoes and parmesan ›What to make with ground beef and canned tomatoes ›What to make with ground beef and parmesan ›