This Baked Gnocchi with Sausage is a quick and easy one-pot meal. It has a creamy sauce made with sauteed onions, Italian sausage, garlic and spinach, baked until tender and bubbly.
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If you don’t regularly cook with gnocchi, then it’s time to start!
Whether it’s Gnocchi with Sausage, Spinach, and Tomatoes, Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Italian Sausage Gnocchi Skillet, or this Baked Gnocchi with Sausage, you might find yourself going for that bag more often.
Gnocchi are little pillowy bites of deliciousness, generally thought of as pasta but made with mashed potatoes (or sometimes ricotta) plus flour instead of just four.
They are cozy and comforting and pair well with so many things!
This Baked Gnocchi with Sausage is so flavorful, packed with simple ingredients, and made in just one pot.
Oh, and it takes just 5 minutes to prep!
Ingredients Needed:
- Italian Sausage: just use your favorite variety. Sweet or spicy will add tons of delicious flavor.
- Onion and Garlic: a classic combination to create a flavor base. Use freshly chopped garlic for the best flavor.
- Seasonings: we’re heightening the flavors in the sausage with a little bit of Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper.
- All-Purpose Flour: helps to thicken the cream sauce.
- Chicken Broth: I prefer to use low sodium chicken broth. If you use regular, you may want to add less salt yourself. That way you can add it to taste before serving.
- Heavy Whipping Cream: heavy whipping cream creates the richest flavor. Feel free to use a lighter cream or milk, but it may not be as creamy.
- Gnocchi: no need to cook it first! The gnocchi bakes right in the oven.
- Chopped Spinach: for some color and nutritional value!
- Cheese: shredded mozzarella and grated parmesan.
How to Make Baked Gnocchi with Sausage
This delicious Baked Gnocchi is a simple, complete meal that’s ready with just 5 minutes of prep!
- Brown the sausage and aromatics: Cook the sausage and onion together in an oven-safe skillet until browned, then stir in garlic and seasonings. Cook for 1 minute.
- Make the roux: Sprinkle in the flour, then cook and stir until no white remains.
- Make the sauce: Add the chicken broth and cream and cook until slightly thickened.
- Add gnocchi: Stir in the gnocchi and spinach, mix to combine.
- Sprinkle with cheese: mozzarella and Parmesan, or choose your favorite varieties.
- Bake and broil: Cover the skillet and bake. Before removing from the oven, uncover and broil to brown the cheeses if desired.
Baked Gnocchi FAQs
I’m always able to find dried gnocchi in the pasta aisle of my grocery store. If you can’t find it there, check with the fresh pastas or in the freezer section!
There are actually multiple ways that you can cook gnocchi. Most common, probably, is boiling it. However, it can also be fried or baked. All are great options!
Yes! Gnocchi cooks beautifully in the oven. That’s what makes this recipe so darn simple. Just mix everything up, bake it, and it’s ready to go. One pan meals for the win!
Leftover Gnocchi with Sausage will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, warm either in the microwave or on low in a sauté pan until heated through. I do not recommend freezing it because the gnocchi will get too mushy.
Tips and Notes
- Use an oven-safe skillet. This is the key to the one-pan meal. You can use the skillet on the stovetop and then transfer it straight to the oven.
- If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, you can use a regular sauté pan, then transfer the mixture to a baking dish to cook in the oven.
- Don’t want to turn on the oven? You can simply cover the skillet and simmer on medium-low heat for the same amount of time until the gnocchi is tender. Keep in mind you will still need to broil the top to brown the cheese if desired.
- Use another meat. Feel free to swap the Italian sausage out for chicken or turkey sausage. If you do this, though, add 1-2 tablespoons of oil to the pan while sautéing so it doesn’t get too dry.
- Add other veggies. You can totally round out this meal by sautéing other veggies with the onion. Try mushrooms, diced bell pepper, chopped kale, etc.
Serving Suggestions
I know we all love a complete meal in one pot, but if you’re up for it, there are plenty of ways you can bulk your meal up even more.
Serve this gnocchi with a side of Garlic Bread, Green Beans with Bacon, Air Fryer Broccoli, or any of your favorite side dishes.
More One-Pot Meals You’ll Love
Baked Gnocchi
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- ¾ lb Italian sausage (380 g)
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic (3 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 1 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 lb gnocchi (500g)
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cook Italian sausage and onion in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat until browned.
- Stir in chopped garlic, italian seasoning, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute.
- Add all purpose flour, cook and stir for 1 minute or until no white remains.
- Stir in low sodium chicken broth and heavy whipping cream. Cook over medium heat until thickened.
- Add uncooked gnocchi and spinach and stir to combine. Sprinkle with mozarella Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and broil to brown slightly if desired. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Angela F says
Just made this. It was pretty easy, however it’s greasy tasting. I feel like this would be way better with chicken. I’m trying to figure out a way to cut it so it’s not so rich. I’m not sure how anyone would eat a ton of this. It looks beautiful in the dish though.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Angela! It sounds like it might be the brand of sausage. I would try a different one to see if that helps cut down on the greasy taste. I’ve not had this problem myself. We love it the way it is but you might be able to use half and half instead of heavy cream.
Joanna says
This was really a delicious meal. I folliwed the recipe exactly, but didn’t brown at the end. My only comment is that the prep time for me was way more than 5 min. All the onion dicing, garlic chopping, parmesan grating and mozzarella shredding added to the prep time but was well worth it.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Joanna! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!