This is a recipe for the evening when you want something that tastes like it took effort and did not. Shelf-stable gnocchi, the kind sold in vacuum packs, is the shortcut; the tomato butter is what makes it worth eating.
Melt four tablespoons of butter in a wide pan over medium heat. Add a crushed clove of garlic and let it sizzle for a minute without browning. Pour in a can of whole peeled tomatoes, crush them with a spoon, add a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar, and let the sauce bubble gently for fifteen minutes while the pasta water comes to a boil.
Cook the gnocchi until they float, about two minutes, and lift them directly into the sauce with a slotted spoon. Toss, add a splash of the cooking water if the sauce is tight, and finish with grated hard cheese and whatever soft herb you have.
Serves two generously. Leftovers, if any, are better than they have any right to be.
A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 11, 2026, Section C, Page 5 of the European edition with the headline: Gnocchi in Tomato Butter, the Weeknight Dinner That Takes 25 Minutes.