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Baked French Onion Gnocchi

Baked French onion gnocchi with a golden Gruyère crust and tender, sauce-coated potato gnocchi. Caramelized onions are simmered with wine, beef broth, Worcestershire, and cream, then finished in the oven until bubbling and browned.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: French-American
Calories: 930
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Potato gnocchi
  • 1 lb potato gnocchi
Onion and aromatics
  • 3 large onions Thinly sliced.
  • 4 garlic Minced.
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 0.5 cup dry white wine or dry sherry
  • 2 cup beef broth
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme Use fresh leaves; roughly chopped.
  • 0.5 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded
  • 0.25 salt and pepper to taste Season throughout to taste.

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven
  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Caramelize the onions
  1. Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet, then add the thinly sliced onions. Cook over medium-low heat for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until deeply caramelized and amber in color.
Build the sauce
  1. Pour in the wine or dry sherry and deglaze, scraping up browned bits from the pan. Cook for 2 minutes.
  2. Stir in the minced garlic and fresh thyme, and cook until fragrant. Cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, and heavy cream, then bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer.
Bake
  1. Add the uncooked potato gnocchi and stir to coat them in the onion cream sauce. Make sure the gnocchi are evenly distributed in the skillet.
  2. Scatter the shredded Gruyère over the top in an even layer. Keep the dish as level as possible so the cheese melts uniformly.
  3. Bake or broil at 425F for 15-18 minutes until the gnocchi are cooked through, the sauce is bubbling, and the cheese is golden. Watch closely in the final minutes to avoid over-browning the cheese.

Notes

Pro tip: Caramelize the onions slowly—rushing them can leave a sharper onion flavor that won’t mellow out in the cream sauce. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days; reheat in an oven-safe skillet at 350F until warmed through. Freezing isn’t recommended because cream sauces can separate when thawed. For a lighter option, use half-and-half instead of heavy cream and use a reduced-fat Gruyère (note that the sauce may be slightly less rich).