Spicy Sausage and Spinach Gnocchi Recipe

Looking for a delicious and easy recipe to feed your soul? Look no further than this delicious Spicy Sausage and Spinach Gnocchi recipe. Great for cold winter evenings (and perfect for a meal for 2!), this recipe is just spicy enough to make it insanely addicting!

It may seem weird to not cook the gnocchi in water before browning them, but trust me, this trick works. Pre-cooking the pasta in water makes it soft and tender and makes browning basically impossible without ruining the pasta. The “dry cooking” of the pasta gives the gnocchi a yummy crunch on the outside and still keeps the pasta tender and soft on the inside.

The spicy turkey sausage really adds great flavor to this dish, but if you’re not a fan of spice, you can easily use mild sausage as well. The reason I chose spicy sausage was that gnocchi really doesn’t have much flavor on its own and adding spicy sausage gave it a great kick that puts this recipe over the top!

Spicy Sausage and Spinach Gnocchi Recipe

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/2 large onion, diced
3 links hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 tablespoons water
1 5-ounce bag fresh spinach, stems removed
1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large broiler-safe skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, 8-10 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium-low; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and very tender, about 10 minutes more. Increase heat to medium and add sausage, garlic, and pepper. Cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, 3-5 minutes.
Add water and cook, stirring up any browned bits, until the water has evaporated, about 1 minute. Add spinach a handful at a time and cook, stirring, until wilted, 3-4 minutes.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir the gnocchi into the spinach mixture.