Gnocchi has always been a staple in Italian cooking. Made from potato, gnocchi are bouncy, pillowy dumplings that, if done right, can have a really incredible texture with minimum effort.

Back in the day, shop-bought gnocchi used to be a little hit-and-miss. Some would turn into one huge stodgy mess that was not pleasant to eat. Luckily, nowadays it's easy to buy delicious, good-quality gnocchi to make a delicious meal at a relatively low cost. You can also make gnocchi yourself, we have an interesting recipe here for cavolo nero gnocchi, which is delicious but not always attainable on a weeknight or if you just aren't all that into make pasta from scratch, which we totally understand. If the best cooking for you is all about ease and amazing flavours, you've come to the right place.

This is a four-cheese baked gnocchi with butter beans and spinach (this green gnocchi may also be up your street if you like the sound of that). Comforting, cheesy, easy and quick; it's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. We have done a little spin on this recipe compared to perhaps more traditional baked gnocchi recipes in that there is a tin of butter beans and a healthy amount of spinach included. This makes it more balanced overall, with your veg and a nice hit of protein in one bake. The great news is that this recipe is vegetarian too so even easier to share with friends and family. 

Some notes on our chosen ingredients:

Mascarpone cheese - adds a tangy and creamy element that melts all the way through the bake for a luxurious feel.

Butter beans - containing potassium, magnesium, folate, iron, and zinc, they also contain high protein which makes this dish filling and hearty.

Baby spinach - an extremely nutrient-rich leafy green veg that makes this a more balanced meal. Full of vitamin C, magnesium, zinc, calcium - we could go on.

Fresh mozzarella - here for melty texture. Nothing beats a huge cheese pull when scooping out portions of this.

Parmesan cheese - here for cheesy flavour. Its salty, umami flavour is hard to replicate and brings the whole dish together. Just make sure to choose a vegetarian friendly Parmesan if you are cooking for veggies. This Brown Butter Gnocchi is also full of Parmesan - we would recommend!

Cheddar cheese - again, here for great flavour and also melty texture too. Cheddar is an absolute classic cheese and just ties the cheesiness together extremely well.

Breadcrumbs - for crunchy, crisp texture on top of the bake. This gives a bit of variation to the sumptuously creamy and gooey recipe as a whole.