I
f you’re here for a quick win, this one’s for you. Meet the newest recipe in my 30-minute meals series: Bacon & Lemon Gnocchi. It’s fast, full of flavor, and feels like something you’d order at a restaurant on a Friday night—but it comes together in the time it takes to scroll Instagram and ignore your WhatsApp groups.
No oven. No long prep. Just good ingredients, a pan, and a little confidence.
The Flavor Combo You Didn’t Know You Needed
I’ll admit: bacon and lemon isn’t your typical pairing. But it works. The crispy, salty bacon brings depth. The lemon? Brightens everything, cuts the richness, and adds that fresh zing that makes you go back for a second forkful before you’ve even swallowed the first.
Add pillowy gnocchi, a generous swirl of cream , and a handful of herbs—and you’ve got something that tastes like effort but takes less than 30 minutes to make.
Why This Bacon & Lemon Gnocchi Is a 30th Minute Star
This Bacon & Lemon Gnocchi recipe was inspired for my need to not slave away behind the stove but simultaneously being able to indulge in a rich, homemade pasta dish that would make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.
The Bacon & Lemon Gnocchi is a one pan kinda dish that serves to (but secretly serves 1, you know the drill). The raw gnocchi cooks in the leom-cream sauce and takes only a few minutes, about 2–3 minutes (yes, really). Start to finish? You’re plated and eating in no longer than 30 minutes(ish)—with no piles of dishes staring back at you (bonus!).
A Note on Cooking in Real Life
I love good food. I also love having time to eat it while it’s still warm. Somewhere between growing up and growing busy, I realised that meals don’t need to be big productions to be good. They just need the right ingredients and a bit of care.
Whether you’ve got kids, deadlines, or just zero desire to cook for 90 minutes after a long day, this is your kind of recipe. Flavorful. Fast. Zero fluff.
Good Ingredients Make Good Food
This isn’t about fancy pantry items or rare imports. Just streaky bacon, fresh lemon (please don’t reach for the plastic bottle), soft gnocchi, and a little cream. Maybe some grated parmesan if you’ve got it. A handful of herbs if you’re feeling bougie.
That’s it. Less is more—but more flavorful, more satisfying, more doable.
30-minute(ish) | Creamy Bacon and Lemon Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil or reserved bacon fat
- 200 grams streaky bacon
- 3 cloves garlic finely sliced
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1 cup cream
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice approx.1 medium lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon zest approx. 1 medium lemon
- ½ cup water or more, to loosen up the sauce
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 500 grams gnocchi store bought
- ¼ cup parmesan freshly grated, seperated
- ¼ cup fresh flatleaf parsley roughly chopped
- ½ tsp salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by bringing a cast iron skillet to a medium heat. Once warm add 1 tbsp oil and coat the base, add the bacon. Turn the bacon once it starts to brown and continue cooking until golden and crispy. Transfer to paper towel and set aside. Note: do not cook the bacon on too a high heat, you want it to crispy and not charred or burnt. Otherwise, the taste and colour of the dish will also change. You might need to cook the bacon in batches, depending on how big your skillet is.
- Remove some of the fat from the pan, you want about 3 tbsp worth of fat to remain (place the reserved fat in the fridge and use in your next recipe). On medium heat, sauté the garlic and chili until the garlic turns golden.
- Add cream, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, lemon zest and onion powder. Stir until mostly combined.
- Add the uncooked gnocchi and mix well, ensuring the gnocchi is mostly coated in the sauce. Reduce the heat to a low-medium and allow to simmer until fully cooked. Stir occasionally ensuring the gnocchi doesn't stick to the base of the pan. Note: if you need additional liquid (which you shouldn't, but if you do, feel free to add a dash of water).
- Add the grated parmesan and stir until combined.
- Chop the bacon into smaller bits and add 2/3rds of the crispy bacon bits and 1/2 of the chopped parsley to the gnocchi and stir until combined. Salt to taste. Note: add 1/4 cup water or more if you'd like to loosen the sauce.
- Serve immediately, garnishing with the remining bacon bits and parsley. Enjoooy!
Video
