Cheesy Eggplant Gnocchi Caprese is made with diced eggplant simmered in a garlicky tomato sauce with gnocchi, spinach, melted bites of fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. So good!
Eggplant Gnocchi Caprese
This Cheesy Eggplant Caprese Gnocchi Skillet is perfection. It’s meatless yet crave-worthy with a healthy helping of vegetables: eggplant, tomato, and spinach. Plus, it comes together in under 30 minutes. Another favorite gnocchi recipe is this Gnocchi with Grilled Chicken in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, and for a low-carb version, try my Cauliflower Gnocchi.
I teamed up with DeLallo, my favorite pasta company, to make this delicious dish. I decided to use their pre-made boxed Potato Gnocchi, which are light and airy and perfect when you want a fast meal. If you want to spend a little more time making them yourself, I also love their gnocchi kit.
I tested this dish out on my brother and his family the other night, and they all loved it! Even the kids enjoyed it! It’s a great vegetarian main dish even meat eaters will enjoy. Perfect for meatless Mondays, Lent, or any night of the week.
Delallo also sells a gluten-free gnocchi for those who need to eat gluten free.
What makes something caprese?
Caprese is a popular Italian salad consisting of tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil and drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Caprese ingredients can be used in other dishes like this Italian gnocchi recipe, pasta dishes, or pizza.
How to Serve Eggplant Gnocchi Caprese
This vegetarian gnocchi would be great with a salad and your favorite bread to soak up the sauce. You could also make this gnocchi the side dish and pair it with a protein like fish or chicken.
More Caprese Recipes You’ll Love:
- Caprese Chicken Skillet
- French Bread Pizza Caprese
- Chicken and Zucchini Noodle Caprese
- White Bean Caprese Salad
- Watermelon Caprese Salad
Cheesy Eggplant Caprese Gnocchi Skillet
Ingredients
- 16 oz package Delallo gnocchi, or gluten-free gnocchi
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ large onion or 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 lb eggplant, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 5- ounce container baby spinach
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 28- oz can San Marzano Style crushed tomatoes
- 6 leaves fresh basil
- 6 oz small mozzarella cheese balls
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil, cook gnocchi according to package directions and drain.
- Meanwhile, set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the oil.
- When the oil is warm, add the onion, eggplant and salt to the pan and saute for about 3 minutes, or until it begins to soften, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Gradually add the spinach, stirring until it wilts. Once it’s all in the pan, saute for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it cooks down.
- Push it to one side of the pan with your spoon and add the tomato paste, stirring until it smells lightly caramelized and toasty.
- Pour in the can of tomatoes and decrease the heat to medium.
- Cover the pan and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender.
- Add the cooked gnocchi, place the mozzarella on top, cover the pan and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until the mozzarella is melty.
- Garnish with torn fresh basil and serve.
Last Step:
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Question!…
I have a 28 oz can of WHOLE San Marzano tomatoes but not the crushed; if I pureed the whole tomatoes would it be the same as crushed? I worry that it might not have the same liquid content as the crushed.
This may sound like an odd question, but I don’t want to ruin this dish.
Thank You
Maybe pulse it a few times but all brands taste different so you may have to adjust salt.
Must make again.
Whole family loves it! We like the mini gnocchi and usually use a jar of sauce. All three of our children are out working in the real world and we’ll take this over and leave it with a bag of salad. They are so appreciative when we do, reminds them of meatless Mondays growing up!
So DELICIOUS!!!! This recipe was excellent. The gnocchi, sauce and vegetables with that fresh mozzarella – so good. Added a bit more red pepper and doubled the garlic.
I am a vegetarian who is on WW so I am always looking for easy, delicious vegetarian recipes that aren’t the same old thing. This recipe is so good and easy to make. I was surprised at how tasty it was. All the flavors came together. I will definitely be making this again!
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is a staple in my house. You have to use the right crushed tomatoes (follow the recipe) if you don’t it ruins the whole dish. Super easy to make and healthy.
I made this earlier this week and thought it was so good. It’s hearty and tasty and makes a lot. A perfect meal on a cold winter’s night.
This is delicious!! My husband was in a meeting and eating this. He stopped and texted me and said this is delicious. Thanks, Gina!!
This was just great. I did use Rao’s Marinara as others suggested vs tomatoes, otherwise exactly the same. Definitely a keeper. I like a little zip to most anything added hot pepper flakes. Ate this as main dish and very filling. My hubby wanted protein so he got a grilled chicken breast with his.
Made this tonight. It was surprisingly easy and quick to make, and a huge hit w/ very picky meat loving dear husband.
Lol, glad he enjoyed it!!
This recipe is so good, fresh and hearty. Highly recommend making it!
This is a great recipe! I used my home canned tomatoes and added some baking soda, just a pinch, to cut the acid. I also added red pepper flakes, shredded Asiago and a hint of spicy adobo! So delicious! Thank you!!
The idea was good but the crushed tomatoes made it taste bitter. Needs more spices or sub out a marinara. Otherwise it would have been excellent!
That is why I recommend tutorroso, their tomatoes are never bitter
Made as written and it was really good. The basil is essential. It is amazingly good with so few ingredients. I loved everything. I made some Italian sausages on the side for the meat lovers but I didn’t miss the meat at all. The gooey mozzarella was so good in it.
Fabulous. Added some garlic powder, red pepper flakes, extra garlic, jarred sauce instead of canned tomatoes. So good and I’m not an eggplant lover! Love all your recipes and recommend your site to EVERYONE. It’s the first site I go to when I make something.
This recipe is delicious. I left out the cheese to make it vegan. All the flavors are striking and it’s easy!
Could you freeze the leftovers of this recipe?
This was ok. I love the concept and would make it again but in lieu of the crushed tomatoes I would use a homemade marinara sauce or a favorite jarred one.
This was fantastic! I’ve never had eggplant before and it was so yummy. The sauce was excellent. I added some Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and a little sugar to the sauce.
This was terrible because it had no spices for the sauce. All I tasted was the bitterness from the crushed tomatoes.
Add a Tbsp of sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes
Absolutely delicious as is and easy to prepare. ❤️
This looks delicious… trying it tonight! How many points?
Delicious. I had leftover sauce from the other day added eggplant, fresh mozz, and had over butternut squash noodles. I couldn’t find GF gnocchi locally.
Should I peel the egg plant? Does the skin stay tough?
You keep the peel on.
When I saw this recipe on the meal plan I was like meh, but I’ll stick to the weekly plan. So glad i did! We made it as stated and it was delicious, no need to change anything in my opinion. Thanks Gina!
I’m added this to the menu this week. I will switch out the egg plant with Chicken and see how it goes! Have you ever done that?
Delicious!! 😊😊
This recipe is probably one of my favorite things I’ve made with eggplant. The flavors all go together so wonderfully. It’s also really filling and doesn’t need a side (although I did enjoy a slice of fresh buttered bread with it). I will definitely be making it again!
I made a few minor changes. I realized I didn’t have the crushed tomatoes, so I ended up dicing fresh ones, adding a little tomato paste to them, and cooking them down on the stove first. Obviously, it was considerably more effort than a can of crushed ones would be, but they turned out so flavorful that I had no regrets.
Also, I wasn’t sure how much the average eggplant weighs, so I used two medium-sized. This was likely slightly more than a pound. So, I also adjusted some other things accordingly–more olive oil, more cheese, etc.
(On that note, absolutely DO NOT skip out on the mozzarella balls. They are essential. I mean, if you have to make it without them I’m sure it will still taste good. But they really take this dish to another level).
I made this , I didn’t have spinach so I used kale, I had to cook it a wee bit longer but it was absolutely delicious. I shall definitely make it again. NIce part I had plenty to freeze.
Gnocchi Caprese will be definitely been made again. Thanks for a great recipe.
This is delicious! I subbed zucchini for eggplant as someone else suggested-since I hate eggplant! I made chicken Italian sausage on the side to add some protein. Lots of veggies that everyone loves!!
Another good recipe from Skinnytaste! It’s perfect! San Marzano tomatoes are a must! If you are not interested in going meatless…I bet diced pancetta sautéed with the onions and other veggies in the recipe would be outstanding! But we enjoyed this perfect meatless Monday dish as written with a fresh Italian bread…
Is this made with regular mozzarella or fresh mozzarella balls?
think i’m gonna try this and cook it with some ground turkey. looks great.
Very good, and tasty way too consume a large amount of vegetables. Satisfying and the toddler liked it too! It was fun to make.
I messed up the gnocchi when I cooked it, but the sauce was so good I didn’t want to let it go to waste. I had it first on regular macaroni shells, and then over the “red bag” breaded chicken fillet from Aldi, cooked in the air fryer (no pasta that time). The sauce freezes really nicely, too, although if the texture of the cooked spinach will bother you, I’d suggest leaving it out when you first cook the sauce, and then add it in as you reheat it.
One of my new favorite recipes. Plenty filling as a main course. I add an extra clove of garlic or two and have made it both with skillet gnocchi and regular gnocchi. Don’t skip the basil – it totally enhances the flavors. Leftovers taste e even better…and don’t forget to add the basil after reheating.
Will not disappoint!
This recipe is easy and delicious! I had to substitute the tomato paste as I forgot to pick it up at the store, but I just strained crushed tomatoes and added a bit of cornstarch and it worked well. I put a bit more garlic in it as I am a garlic fiend. I definitely saved this recipe to make again!!
What do you think about bulking it up a little with some cannellini beans? I’m vegetarian and add beans to a lot of things that don’t call for them.
I say go for it since you’re missing a protein. I added cannelloni beans to her potato leek soup last week and it was great. I had oral surgery recently so I was looking for softy ways to get in protein, etc. I thought about adding them to this too but I’m all out 🙁
Made this with zucchini instead and added red pepper flake. I agreed restaurant quality meal 👍
Made this with TJ cauli gnocchi in the air fryer. Also forgot to add the tomato paste oops! Each of the four servings is super filling even with cauliflower gnocchi!
My soon to be husband and I have been running out of ideas on what to make for dinner. I found this recipe today and OMG…. it was amazing! I have made many recipes from this site and this was fantastic! My finance added red pepper flake to his portion and it so good. I will def make again!!!!
Thanks for creating this recipe! I am a fan of gnocchi, basil and eggplant, so this caught my eye. We enjoyed it, but my family wanted the spice amped up. I added granulated garlic, more salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. The red pepper flakes made it zing.
I made this tonight and my husband and I love it! I love that it’s meatless yet hardy, delicious and vegetable-forward. This is going in my rotation.
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for awhile but only half my family loves eggplant. I finally cooked it last night & it was a huge hit! It was so easy to make, my 10 year old did most of the cooking. She even treated herself to a strawberry “daiquiri” after all of her hard work😂 Next time I will add mushrooms. This is a great recipe to sneak in some extra veggies. I will definitely make this again!
Added red pepper flakes and a zucchini since I wanted to use it before it spoiled, left out the cheese to make it vegan. Turned out amazing!! Better than most vegetarian pastas I’ve had at restaurants
Terrific,easy, filling and my husband enjoyed too!
How is every single one of your recipes so delicious???! Idk but I’m thankful you share them with us. I look forward to dinner every night. I could have eaten half the pot….I stopped at two huge bowl-fuls. My kids cleaned their plates too <3
How many WW green points if I use cauliflower gnocchi instead??
I added turkey sausage because my husband and kids weren’t excited about a vegetarian dinner. It was so good
This soup was pretty good, not great. I found it a little on the bland side. In full disclosure I completely omitted the salt since the gnocchi is quite salt laden. Next time Ill be sure to add some salt, as I think that was the missing piece. I did add LOTS OF red pepper flakes to up the spice level which did help.
It’s a very filling meal and came together really easily!
Add Italian seasoning, it worked great to give it a little umph.
I literally never comment on recipes and have tried LOTS of them on here. This one is AMAZING and very filling. Thank you! Will definitely be a repeat in our home.
So so so good! I ended up using skillet gnocchi because it was all the store had. I crisped it up before making everything else, set it aside, then added it back in where the recipe directed. Even my husband who claims to hate eggplant cleaned his plate!
Putting the ingredient or your nutritional facts into WW the points don’t come up to 11. It came up to 14, Am I using something incorrect?
Will be making tonight to try.
You should use recipe builder, the calculator adds points to 0 point foods.
Ok, I’ve tried a lot of skinnytaste recipes and liked pretty much all of them, but this one takes the number one spot! It turned out like a restaurant quality dish that was authentic and had a lot of flavour. This will easily become a regular in our rotation. 5 stars all the way.
Delicious!
I love Skinnytaste and use your recipes often…makes calorie counting so easy! However, I was a little perplexed by this recipe when I made it tonight. The photos seem to show a stew-like consistency, so I was surprised when I opened the can of crushed tomatoes to find a thick, tomato paste texture. Thought the sauce might thin out a little as it cooked, but that didn’t happen. I ended up adding 3 cups of the gnocchi cooking water before it resembled the photos. Besides the texture, I think the tomato taste would have been too concentrated if I hadn’t added the liquid. Any thoughts? Did I do something wrong? Thanks!
It must be the brand of tomatoes you used. I use tuttorosso which isn’t thick at all.
Agreed. Or try buying canned whole tomatoes and pulse them in a blender or food processor.
I used a jar of pasta sauce instead of canned tomatoes because that’s what I had in the pantry. It worked great!
delicious and easy – the whole family loved it
If I used cauliflower gnocchi instead of potato, any idea on what the weight watchers point value would be? Thanks in advance 🙂
I had frozen cauliflower gnocchi in my hand in the supermarket, flipped it over and found it had more calories than the regular potato gnocchi. Beware. Just because it’s “cauliflower” doesn’t mean it’s any more healthy
Exactly! I was so annoyed when I got home w/cauliflower gnocchi to find that out. I’m normally better at catching these things.
Gina- thank you so much for tasty, easy, and healthy meals for the family. This was so delicious! The mozzarella tasted buttery. I’ve been cooking off of your meal plan for a few months now and so appreciate it. Blessings!
Wonderfully easy and delicious skillet dish!!!
I will definitely make this again❤️
It was delicious! The day this posted I had an eggplant and did know what to do with it. I ran out and bought the mozzarella and gnocchi and made it that night. I used Kate and diced tomatoes since I had it on hand. FYI my sister made it for her family too!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Perfect for wintry Lenten fridays! What a great recipe!
This was incredible! So easy, so filling, and SO GOOD! I cannot wait to have leftovers today. We made it exactly as written and then added “squeeze basil” instead of fresh leaves at the end (because…winter). BTW, 1lb of egglant is one med/large eggplant. 🙂 Thank you, Gina. This one is a KEEPER!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Love all of your recipes, Gina! Thank you 🙂
Very excited to try this! I think I’m going to use the trader joe’s cauliflower gnocchi for less points!
I was thinking of using TJs gnocchi – did it work?
Going to substitute zucchini for the eggplant, since I already have it. This may be dinner tonight!
My DH is diabetic, do you think i could use cauliflower gnocchi in this?
Thanks
Sherry
Sure
thank you for responding back
This looks sensational. Anything with basil, garlic and tomato goes in my favorites list. I think I might try subbing the gnocchi with cubed tofu. It would give you that creamy element and provide a little more protein. Any thoughts, Gina?
will be making this soon i love eggplant gnocchi and italian food sooooooooooo much it will be difficult to find delallo in Singapore will dm you if i make this and let you know how it goes Thanks Ramya
I want to make this without eggplant. What would be a good substitute?
I was thinking the same thing, I’m going to sub in zucchini.
I think mushrooms would be a good substitute too!
You made me laugh for some reason—and I needed it today. This is a recipe for EGGPLANT Gnocchi. Gina tests all her recipes and perfects them. I don’t think we should expect her to retest them for our food preferences (or maybe allergies). But we can surely do that ourselves. Try it with Zucchini but it won’t be the same recipe.
I would encourage you to try this with eggplant if you can. You might really like it even if you don’t like eggplant.
Another thing you could do is prepare Gina’s cauliflower gnocchi. They are fabulous. They’re a little more work but very much worth it. The hardest part is squeezing the liquid out of the cauliflower.😊. You can also make a larger batch, freeze some … I served them with spinach sautéed with shallots and a SMALL amount of Trader Joe’s Black Truffle Cashew pesto. Yum!
Hoorah for partnering with DeLallo! It’s my go-to source for all things Italian. I even buy olive oil in the three-liter can!