Caravan Oven Cheesy Baked Gnocchi
Hook
There is a moment on every winter caravan trip when you want something hot, cheesy and comforting but you have no energy for a big cook-up. This baked gnocchi is that meal. A packet of fresh gnocchi from the chilled section, a jar of passata and a handful of cheese, and the caravan oven does the rest.
It is a proper van-kitchen dish — gas cooktop for the sauce, small oven for the bake — and it comes together in about 25 minutes with just one baking dish to wash. It is forgiving, kid-proof, and warming in the way only melted cheese on pasta can be. Best of all, everything in it survives a week in the 12V fridge.
What you need
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 500 g fresh potato gnocchi (chilled section at Coles or Woolworths)
- 1 jar (about 700 g) tomato passata or sugo
- 1 brown onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup (about 120 g) grated mozzarella
- 1/2 cup (about 50 g) grated parmesan
- A handful of fresh basil leaves
- Salt and cracked pepper
Gear
- Caravan gas cooktop (or camp stove)
- Caravan oven — or a camp oven / Dutch oven as the backup option
- Large frypan and an ovenproof baking dish (about 20 x 28 cm)
- Wooden spoon and a medium saucepan for the gnocchi
How to make it
- Preheat the caravan oven to 190°C (180°C fan-forced). Van ovens run a little cooler and slower than home ovens, so give it a full 10 minutes to come up to temperature.
- Heat the olive oil in the frypan over medium heat on the gas cooktop. Cook the onion for 3–4 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic and oregano and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Pour in the passata, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes until it thickens slightly.
- Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and drop in the gnocchi. The moment they float to the surface — usually 1–2 minutes — scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Fresh gnocchi turns to mush fast, so do not leave them in.
- Tip the drained gnocchi into the baking dish and pour the tomato sauce over the top. Stir gently so every piece is coated.
- Scatter the mozzarella and parmesan evenly over the top.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling at the edges. Check at 15 minutes — every van oven is different.
- Rest for 2 minutes, scatter with torn basil, and serve straight from the dish.
Camp tips
- Fridge life: fresh gnocchi keeps fine in the Engel or 12V fridge for several days. Dried gnocchi works too — just boil it for the time on the packet.
- No van oven? The dish bakes beautifully in a camp oven with coals on the lid and below, or in a Dutch oven beside the fire.
- Bulk it up: fold a handful of baby spinach through the sauce, or add a drained tin of tuna for protein.
- Leftovers reheat well with a splash of water or passata to loosen the sauce. They pack into a container for a quick lunch on the road.
- Power note: running the van oven off-grid needs 240V via park power or an inverter. Outcamp's 12V accessory range keeps your van kitchen humming either way.
The closer
This is the recipe that makes you glad you towed a kitchen behind you. Five minutes of prep, twenty minutes of oven time, and you have a bubbling dish of cheesy comfort that beats anything from a servo pie warmer. And when you want to cook like this away from park power, a solid 12V setup in the van is what keeps the cooktop and the oven honest — Outcamp's 12V accessory range has the gear to run your kitchen wherever the trip takes you.
Happy camp cooking — see you out there.
