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Creamy Sausage Gnocchi is a simple 30-minute, one-pan recipe that tastes like a dish from a fine dining restaurant! The recipe features basic ingredients found in most pantries, including the basic tomato sauce for pasta, spinach, and Italian sausage.
Creamy sausage gnocchi – main ingredients:
This one-pan meal combines creamy tomato sauce with spicy Italian sausage, garlic, spinach, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. The recipe uses basic ingredients such as store-bought gnocchi and tomato pasta sauce.
- Gnocchi. I used store-bought potato gnocchi, Delallo brand, made with 85% potatoes.
- Sausage. Crumbled spicy Italian sausage works the best. You can also use Italian sausage links (casings removed, sausage links sliced). Or, use mild or sweet Italian sausage – and add some spice to it!
- Tomato sauce for pasta. Use your favorite tomato sauce – it can be a store-bought pasta sauce or marinara sauce. Any flavor will work: traditional, tomato basil, arrabbiata, or garlic tomato sauce.
- Greens. I use fresh spinach to add some veggies to this recipe. You can also use frozen spinach – thawed and drained of any liquid. Or use kale instead.
Ingredients:
- 15 oz Italian sausage spicy crumbled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 oz potato gnocchi
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provence
- 13 oz tomato sauce such as tomato pasta sauce or marinara
- 5 oz spinach fresh
- salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
- red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions:
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a large, high-sided skillet.
- Add crumbled sausage and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, crumbling it.
- To the same skillet with sausage, add uncooked potato gnocchi, chicken broth, heavy cream, minced garlic, Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil on medium heat and stir everything well. Cover with lid and allow the gnocchi to cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat, while the sauce boils.
- Add tomato pasta sauce and stir it well. Add fresh spinach, and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently for 5 minutes until the spinach wilts to your liking. Cook longer if you would like a thicker sauce.
- Mix everything well. Remove from heat.
- Season with salt, freshly ground coarse black pepper, and red pepper flakes, if you like.
Tip:
- Use your best judgment about the salt. If the sausage is salty enough, you might not need to add any extra salt.
Notes:
- Chicken broth is used in this recipe. However, you can also use white wine, red wine, or water instead! Frankly, I’ve used water in this recipe, too, and there was no loss of flavor!
- Tomato sauce. It can be a store-bought pasta sauce or marinara sauce. Any flavor will work traditional, tomato basil, arrabbiata, or garlic tomato sauce.
- Sausage. I used crumbled spicy Italian sausage. Italian sausage links can be used, too, with casings removed and sausage links sliced. You can also use sweet or mild Italian sausage (add some spice in this case!)
- Italian seasoning of Herbs from Provence. The mix that I used contained dried rosemary, thyme, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, basil, and sage.
- Cook gnocchi right in the same pan! Gnocchi releases the starch, which actually helps to thicken the sauce without adding any cheese or cornstarch. This also minimizes a clean-up since you’re using only one pan for the whole recipe!
- Heavy cream or half-and-half – either can be used!
Why make this recipe?
Sausage gnocchi is a simple and quick dinner (only 30 minutes of your time!) which makes it a perfect choice to make on a busy weeknight. This dish is so comforting, creamy, and flavorful – it will become your new favorite comfort food! Another thing I love about this one-pan meal is that for such a small amount of effort you get a beautiful dish that tastes and looks like an entree from a high-end restaurant! I do hope you give this recipe a try and let me know in the comments if you liked it!
One-pan 30-minute meal:
In this recipe, everything is cooked in one skillet: sausage, spinach, tomato cream sauce, and even gnocchi! The clean-up after dinner is minimal – only 1 cooking dish to clean! Because of the simplicity of this recipe and how tasty it is, this recipe might become one of your family’s favorite weeknight dinners!
What type of sausage to use with gnocchi?
- Crumbled Italian sausage. I used 15 oz of crumbled spicy Italian sausage. I love spicy sausage, and because it is used with pasta, the spiciness of the final dish is actually pretty mild overall since the sausage is mixed with gnocchi, the tomato cream sauce, etc.
- Italian sausage links. You can also use Italian sausage in casings. I would remove the casings and slice the sausage.
- Sweet or mild Italian sausage. You can also use sweet or mild Italian sausage – in this case, I do recommend adding some spice, such as red pepper flakes.
Storage and reheating tips:
Because the sauce is made only with heavy cream, chicken broth, tomato pasta sauce, and without any cheese, this recipe is very easy to store and reheat. You can also easily make this ahead.
- Fridge. Store creamy sausage gnocchi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer. Freeze it in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
- Reheat in the microwave oven. Reheat the refrigerated sausage gnocchi in a microwave oven for about 1 minute. Taste and reheat for 30 seconds more, if needed.
- Reheat on the stovetop. Reheat this dish in a large, high-sided skillet on the stovetop on low-medium heat. When using this method, add a small amount of heavy cream, or half-and-half, or milk to thin out the sauce when reheating.
What to serve with sausage gnocchi:
- Bread. Serve this easy recipe with something equally simple, such as a slice of store-bought, warm Italian bread, garlic bread, or olive bread loaf. Breadsticks are great, too!
- Simple salad. Because the sausage gnocchi dish is made with a rich and luscious cream sauce, a fresh salad is a great choice. I would suggest a basic spinach or arugula salad, probably sprinkled with toasted nuts, a small amount of shredded Parmesan or crumbled goat cheese and dressed with your favorite salad dressing!
More Recipe Suggestions:
Creamy Chicken, Mushroom, Spinach and Gnocchi
Creamy Chicken and Gnocchi Bake
Gnocchi with Caramelized Onions and Gruyère
Creamy Spinach and Mushroom Gnocchi
Creamy Sausage Gnocchi
Creamy sausage gnocchi is a simple 30-minute, one-pan recipe that tastes like a dish from a fine dining restaurant! The recipe features basic ingredients found in most pantries, including the basic tomato sauce for pasta, spinach, and Italian sausage.
Servings 4 Servings
Ingredients
- 15 oz Italian sausage spicy crumbled
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 oz potato gnocchi
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provence
- 13 oz tomato sauce such as tomato pasta sauce or marinara
- 5 oz spinach fresh
- salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
- red pepper flakes to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a large, high-sided skillet.
- Add crumbled sausage and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, crumbling it.
- To the same skillet with sausage, add uncooked potato gnocchi, chicken broth, heavy cream, minced garlic, Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil on medium heat and stir everything well. Cover with lid and allow the gnocchi to cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat, while the sauce boils.
- Add tomato pasta sauce and stir it well. Add fresh spinach, and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently for 5 minutes until the spinach wilts to your liking. Cook longer if you would like a thicker sauce.
- Mix everything well. Remove from heat.
- Season with salt, freshly ground coarse black pepper, and red pepper flakes, if you like.
Tip:
- Use your best judgment about the salt. If the sausage is salty enough, you might not need to add any extra salt.
Notes:
- Chicken broth is used in this recipe. However, you can also use white wine, red wine, or water instead! Frankly, I’ve used water in this recipe, too, and there was no loss of flavor!
- Tomato sauce. It can be a store-bought pasta sauce or marinara sauce. Any flavor will work traditional, tomato basil, arrabbiata, or garlic tomato sauce.
- Sausage. I used crumbled spicy Italian sausage. Italian sausage links can be used, too, with casings removed and sausage links sliced. You can also use sweet or mild Italian sausage (add some spice in this case!)
- Italian seasoning of Herbs from Provence. The mix that I used contained dried rosemary, thyme, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, basil, and sage.
- Cook gnocchi right in the same pan! Gnocchi releases the starch, which actually helps to thicken the sauce without adding any cheese or cornstarch. This also minimizes a clean-up since you’re using only one pan for the whole recipe!
- Heavy cream or half-and-half – either can be used!
