Slow Cooker Gnocchi in Creamy Pork Sauce

We made this slow cooker gnocchi for Sunday dinner the week before Christmas and everyone absolutely raved about it. It was so incredibly straightforward to mix and is the reliable cold-weather dinner now that winter seems to have finally arrived. A pork shoulder is simmered in crushed tomatoes and some simple seasonings; once it is so tender it’s falling apart, cream and gnocchi are stirred into the mixture. A sprinkling of grated cheese and some parsley, a loaf of crusty Italian bread, and dinner is served.

We saw the original recipe over on Bev Cooks and made a couple of adjustments…

We doubled her recipe, which we've reflected below, because we typically have at least five people for dinner on Sundays and we love to load up on leftovers for the week.

Secondly, her recipe called for diced tomatoes, but we much prefer a thicker, richer tomato sauce without big chunks of tomatoes, so we opted to use crushed tomatoes instead.

This turned out absolutely memorable and will be stashed away as A straightforward go-to slow cooker meal in our rotation.

Four years ago: Chicken Noodle Soup
Six years ago: Rugelach

Slow Cooker Gnocchi in Creamy Pork Sauce

Yield: 8 to 10 servings Slow cooked pork in a tomato-cream sauce with gnocchi is the ultimate cold-weather meal!

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 to 5 pound (1.8 to 2.3 kg) bone-in pork shoulder
• 56 ounce (1.59 kg) canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ cup (119 g) heavy cream
• 2 pounds (907.18 g) dried gnocchi

• Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
• Place the diced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with the garlic. Place the pork shoulder on top of the onion and garlic. Pour one can of the crushed tomatoes over the pork and around the sides. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning all over and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the second can of crushed tomatoes over. Cover and cook on low for 11 hours.
• Remove the bone and the layer of fat on the pork and discard. Stir in the heavy cream and then stir in the gnocchi. Cover and cook for an additional 1 hour on low. Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Notes

Note: Dried gnocchi are found in the pasta aisle at the supermarket (we bought the DeLallo brand). Do not use fresh or refrigerated gnocchi, or they will become too soft during cooking. Nutritional values are based on one serving

• Yield: 8 to 10 servings
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 12 hours
• Total: 12 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 to 5 pound ( 1.8 to 2.3 kg ) bone-in pork shoulder
• 56 ounce ( 1.59 kg ) canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• ½ cup ( 119 g ) heavy cream
• 2 pounds ( 907.18 g ) dried gnocchi

Method

1. Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place the diced onion in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with the garlic. Place the pork shoulder on top of the onion and garlic. Pour one can of the crushed tomatoes over the pork and around the sides. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning all over and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the second can of crushed tomatoes over. Cover and cook on low for 11 hours.
3. Remove the bone and the layer of fat on the pork and discard. Stir in the heavy cream and then stir in the gnocchi. Cover and cook for an additional 1 hour on low. Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.