Gnocchiflette: Easy Tartiflette with Gnocchi

Tartiflette is one of the most comforting and indulgent dishes ever. It’s a French recipe, typically with sliced potato, crispy bacon lardons, jammy onions, covered in cream and then with a huge hunk of reblochon melted on top. It’s really quite something. I’ve made it Gnocchiflette instead. It’s made with gnocchi and comté, so it’s not quite traditional tartiflette but it takes the concept of tartiflette and makes it a little more simple (no peeling and chopping potatoes here!) and uses a milder cheese (reblochon is quite a strong one!)

Gnocchiflette is the combination of the words gnocchi and tartiflette so you can almost think of this as a baked gnocchi dish but I love the inspiration taken from tartiflette. It’s simple to make overall and doesn’t take hours - the baking in the oven is the longest part but actual assembly is simple. I love serving this alongside a crisp green salad with a tart vinaigrette, as it balances out the creamy, cheesy nature of the Gnocchiflette very well.

If you are looking for other easy weeknight recipes, my Gnocchi Alla Norma is a great one. If you want a creamy pasta dish that has a little more veg or a little less cheese, try this Marry Me Chicken Pasta instead.

Why you will love this Easy Gnocchi Tartiflette recipe:

• Super cheesy and decadent, it’s comfort in a dish.
• It takes the French classic Tartiflette and makes it a little more simple.
• It’s adaptable to what you have in the fridge - you can use other cheeses too.

You will need the following ingredients:

Gnocchi - On this occasion store bought works best as it holds it shape better. Opt for the stuff in the fridge over the shelf as it’s better quality with less ingredients.

Double Cream - This is the base of the sauce. Single cream would work but it's not as thick so you may miss some of the body which double cream gives. 

Creme Fraiche - This is a little more tangy than double cream so I like to use a mix of both but you could use one or the other. Just needs to be rich and creamy!

Bacon Lardons - smoked or unsmoked is fine here. Using the pre-chopped lardons makes it easier as you can throw them straight in the frying pan but chopping up bacon or pancetta would still work, of course. 

Comté - I like comté here, it’s nutty, sweet and a bit different to usual. You could use taleggio, gruyere, even cheddar. Or use reblochon, which is used traditionally in tartiflette.

Onion - I use a red onion but it would be good with a white onion too. Frying the onion in the leftover lardon fat creates a great base of flavour in a recipe that does not include many ingredients.

Garlic - this is subtle and just adds a gentle garlic note. You could use more or less garlic, depending on your tastes. I find two is perfect.

White Wine - this adds a sharpness to the dish and also helps to deglaze the pan, which means all the yummy bacon and onion bits that are stuck to the pan can be scraped up to add flavour! Any white wine works, it doesn’t have to be fancy but ideally not cooking wine, something you would drink is best.

Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!

Substitutions and Variations:

Comté - you could use another melty cheese but with a strong flavour so don’t go with mozzarella, as an example, as it’ll be too mellow and creamy without any real flavour. You could use taleggio, gruyere, even cheddar. Or use reblochon, which is used traditionally in tartiflette.

Gnocchi - this recipe is usually made with potatoes, so you can also do that. I like to slice the potatoes into flat, bitesize pieces and parboil them for 8 or so minutes until just tender. Then add them into the dish as you would with gnocchi. You could use a pasta shape too. Cook it a few minutes shy of the package instructions (as it will continue to cook within the sauce) and then add in as you would gnocchi.

Lardons - You can also use bacon (back bacon or streaky works) or pancetta, smoked or unsmoked. They all work. You can omit lardons if you want to make this vegetarian. I think they add a key flavour to this dish but with a strong cheese, the gnocchiflette will still be good even without bacon lardons. You could replace the lardons with crispy fried mushrooms for a veggie option.

Here's how to make Gnocchiflette:

Here's a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe below for detailed instructions.

ONE: In a large, ovenproof pan, add olive oil and the lardons. Cook over medium heat until crisping and turning golden. If you don’t have an ovenproof pan, just use any frying pan and you’ll need to transfer into a baking dish before placing in the oven.

TWO: Then add the onion and garlic, season with salt, and cook for 5-10 minutes until softening and coated well in bacon fat.

THREE: To the onion and bacon pan, add the wine. It should bubble aggressively at first, stir it and scrape up all the crispy bacon and onion bits from the bottom of the pan.

FOUR: Then add the cream and creme fraiche and stir together. Meanwhile, parboil the gnocchi for 2 minutes in salted boiling water. They shouldn't be cooked all the way through here as it's a parboil.

FIVE: Then tip in the parboiled gnocchi to the sauce and stir. Add a large handful of comté and stir through, along with a heavy crack of black pepper.

SIX: Cover with the remaining comté in the ovenproof pan or tip into a baking dish and then cover with the remaining comté. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbling and golden on top.

Cooking Tips:

A note on seasoning: I am a huge proponent of seasoning well and seasoning every layer of a dish. It really adds to the final flavour of a dish, rather than seasoning with salt at the end which is just going to make it taste salty rather than well seasoned. Having said that, the cheese and the bacon in this dish are naturally salty so be mindful of that. Black pepper is great here to cut through richness. Or a grating of fresh nutmeg would be delicious too.

Serving suggestion: serving with a crisp green salad is almost non-negotiable here for me. The salad crunch with a tart, acidic vinaigrette is just perfect alongside the rich and creamy Gnocchiflette. Make sure you serve the dish pretty immediately (5 minutes resting is fine) as you don’t want the cheese to cool down and ruin the texture. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Other recipes you might enjoy:

I love this Cheesy Baked Gnocchi recipe, as well as this Brown Butter and Sage Gnocchi (you can use that one to make homemade gnocchi). Gnocchi Alla Norma is so good with tomatoes and aubergines with a dollop of ricotta or burrata on top. Try my One Pan Pasta & Peas or another great weeknight option, my Cheesy Winter Butternut Gratin.

Made this recipe and loved it?

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Gnocchiflette: Easy Tartiflette with Gnocchi

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Think of the best parts of a tartiflette (the cheese, the lardons, the cream) then combine it with gnocchi. This recipe is for Gnocchiflette, where gnocchi replace the traditional sliced potatoes to make a simple cheesy tartiflette-inspired gratin.

• Author: Margie Nomura
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4
• Category: Pasta
• Method: Oven & Stove
• Cuisine: French/Italian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 500g gnocchi
• 200g bacon lardons roughly chopped
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 60ml white wine
• 200ml double cream
• 150g creme fraiche
• 400g Comté cheese, grated
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Chives, to decorate, optional

To serve

• Crisp green salad (e.g. some butter lettuce, cucumber and red onion thinly sliced and a punchy mustard vinaigrette)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180c.
2. In a large, ovenproof pan, add the olive oil and the lardons. Cook over medium heat until crisping and turning golden. If you don’t have an ovenproof pan, just use any frying pan and you’ll need to transfer into a baking dish before placing in the oven. You don’t want the bacon fully crisp at this point. Then add the onion and garlic, season with salt, and cook for 5-10 minutes until softening and coated well in bacon fat.
3. To the onion and bacon pan, add the wine. It should bubble aggressively at first, stir it and scrape up all the crispy bacon and onion bits from the bottom of the pan. Then add the cream and creme fraiche and stir together.
4. Then, parboil the gnocchi for 2 minutes in salted boiling water. They shouldn't be cooked all the way through here as it's a parboil. Remove from the water once 2 minutes has passed.
5. Then tip in the parboiled gnocchi to the sauce and stir. Add a large handful of comté and stir through, along with a heavy crack of black pepper. Cover with the remaining comté in the ovenproof pan or tip into a baking dish and then cover with the remaining comté. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbling and golden on top. I like to serve with a few fresh chives on top and of course, a crisp green salad. 

Notes

Comté: you could use another melty cheese but with a strong flavour so don’t go with mozzarella, as an example, as it’ll be too mellow and creamy without any real flavour. You could use taleggio, gruyere, even cheddar. Or use reblochon, which is used traditionally in tartiflette.

Gnocchi: this recipe is usually made with potatoes, so you can also do that.I like to slice the potatoes into flat, bitesize pieces and parboil them for 8-10 minutes until just tender. Then add them into the dish as you would with gnocchi. You could use a pasta shape too. Cook it a few minutes shy of the package instructions (as it will continue to cook within the sauce) and then add in as you would gnocchi.

Lardons: you can omit lardons if you want to make these vegetarian. I think they add a really key flavour to this dish but with a strong cheese, the gnocchiflette will still be delicious even without bacon lardons.

A note on seasoning: The cheese and the bacon in this dish are naturally salty so be mindful of that. Black pepper is great here to cut through richness. Or a grating of fresh nutmeg would be delicious too.

Serving suggestion: serving with a crisp green salad is almost non-negotiable here for me. The salad crunch with a tart, acidic vinaigrette is just perfect alongside the rich and creamy Gnocchiflette. Make sure you serve the dish pretty immediately (5 minutes resting is fine) as you don’t want the cheese to cool down and ruin the texture. 

Make ahead: you can make the full dish right up to adding comté to the top and baking it. Cover and place in the fridge for up to 1 day. When ready, add the grated comté on top, then bake for 30-35 minutes at 180c before serving. Make sure it’s bubbling and piping hot all the way through.

Wine options/hack: You can omit the wine. Where you would add wine in the recipe, add 50ml of water and 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar to help bring up the bits on the bottom of the pan (and add a tiny bit of acidity) and then go in with the cream. If you come across this issue a lot, I’d recommend buying an inexpensive bottle of wine, using what you need for a recipe/having a glass, and then pour the rest of the bottle into a freezer bag and place in the freezer. Because it’s alcoholic, the wine never quite freezes solid and I break apart the block of wine in the freezer bag into large chunks and add to dishes as I would if it were liquid. It’s a quick hack to reduce waste.