5 from 3 votes

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company. All opinions and text are my own.

CHEESY ITALIAN POTATOES AND GNOCCHI

Name: Cheesy Italian Potatoes and Gnocchi
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 (1 lb.) package Microwaveable Tomato Basil Little potatoes; 1/4 cup chopped Italian sun-dried tomatoes, (in oil); 1/4 cup oil reserved from sun-dried tomatoes; 1 (18 oz) package gnocchi; 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese; 4-5 leaves fresh basil, (sliced)

When you think of your favorite vegetable, what is it? If you’re like many of us – it’s the delicious, nutritious, versatile potato. I can’t tell you how much I love creating new recipes with this veggie. It never gets old for me. So, when I got my hands on some of The Little Potato Company’s newest microwaveable Creamer potatoes – Tomato Basil! – I decided to have a whole taste-testing extravaganza! I let friends and family get in on the action too! Pssst: I also tasted a new flavor for the oven-ready Creamer potatoes but I’ll share more on that later!

CAPRESE TOMATO BASIL

At first I think we were all skeptical about Tomato Basil being a flavor that complements potatoes. I can honestly say that flavor combo had never occurred to me or any of us. Um – we were so wrong. I’m gonna go ahead and say that I think this is my new favorite flavor. Everyone truly raved. It’s only a 5-minute microwave cooking time and all I had to do was add a little olive oil and the seasoning packet and stir. We all agreed that if folks gave these a try – they would be blown away. Hand clap to The Little Potato Company for coming up with this one. If you see it at Wal-Mart, (in the produce section near the other potatoes) do yourself a favor – a flavor? 😉 – and pick one up. Maybe serve them with my ITALIAN-INSPIRED CHICKEN!

A few fast facts about these delicious microwaveable taters:
The Little Potato Company’s Microwave Ready package is made with fresh Creamer potatoes and comes with a seasoning pack – your Little potatoes are cooked in 5 minutes! It comes in three flavors: Garlic Parsley, Savory Herb, *new* Tomato Basil

contain no artificial colors or flavors
packaging is recyclable and BPA free

I know many of y’all have been using The Little Potato Company’s microwave packages for a while. You’ll want to look out for this all new packaging with the same delicious Creamer potatoes! I love that you can actually see the potatoes in the packaging now. The Little Potato Company has also reduced the packaging size, to help reduce waste but it’s still the same weight of potatoes as in the previous package design.

LittlePotatoes.com/products

Watch how easy it is to cook these Little potatoes in the microwave, all you need to add is a little oil or butter: https://youtu.be/K2wz8MhqzKY
Tip: Before cooking in the microwave remember to peel back the cover and remove the seasoning pack!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Tomato Basil Microwave Ready Little potatoes
Italian sun-dried tomatoes (in oil)
gnocchi
shredded mozzarella cheese
fresh basilCook’s Note: You want to look for the sun-dried tomatoes that are packed in olive oil and seasoned with Italian herbs. This is going to add a ton of flavor to this recipe!

HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN POTATOES AND GNOCCHI:

Set aside at least 1/4 cup of the oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes. Then remove about 5-6 sun-dried tomatoes (about a 1/4 cup, or more to taste) and dice.
Open microwaveable package (opening from one corner so that it can be resealed) and remove the tomato basil seasoning.
Optional: remove the Little potatoes and slice in half. I like to do this so that the inside of the potatoes will get coated in the seasoning but it’s not necessary.

Place sliced Little potatoes back into the microwaveable packaging and re-seal (note: this won’t be a tight seal, just making sure the top is put back before microwaving.)

Microwave potatoes for 5 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, bring water to a boil in a 4-quart pot. Boil gnocchi for about 3 minutes. You’ll know when the gnocchi is ready when they begin floating to the top.

Turn off heat and drain the cooked gnocchi and place back into the pot.

After potatoes are cooked, add them into the pot with the gnocchi and pour in reserved oil.

Then add diced sun-dried tomatoes and tomato basil seasoning packet from microwaveable Little potatoes.

Give it all a gentle stir to combine thoroughly. You want to make sure it all gets coated well.

Top with shredded mozarella and fresh basil.

Cover the pot with a lid to allow the cheese to melt. Note: The pot is not on any heat at this point. We’re just using the residual heat from the potatoes and gnocchi to allow it to melt.

If necessary, you can turn the heat on low to allow the cheese to melt faster. Just keep a close eye on it. Then serve and dig in. Top with more fresh basil, if you prefer. (I always prefer!) 😉

Enjoy!