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Baked Gnocchi with Italian Sausage makes even the pickiest eaters happy! Tender gnocchi smothered in ricotta, spinach and sweet Italian sausage to create the ultimate comfort food meal.
Back a few months ago, my husband Jack and I went to New York City for our anniversary (we talked about that trip here). During that trip we visited Eataly – a popular Italian foods market – where (among other things) we bought some freshly made gnocchi to take home!
Once we arrived home from our trip, we decided to freeze the gnocchi because we had quite a few other wonderful Italian treats to eat – and then with the holidays upon us, we promptly forgot about that delicious gnocchi in the freezer!
So we were thrilled to discover those packages of gnocchi a few weeks ago – and immediately made this delicious Baked Gnocchi with Italian Sausage that we’re sharing with you today.
This Baked Gnocchi with Italian Sausage is classic Italian comfort food at its best! We layered soft and tender cooked gnocchi in a baking dish with a mix of sautéed sweet Italian sausage, peppers, onions and garlic, and another layer of spinach mixed into ricotta cheese with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil added for even more wonderful flavor!
Bake until warm and bubbly – and dinner is served!
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Baked Gnocchi with Italian Sausage
Baked Gnocchi with Italian Sausage makes even the pickiest eaters happy! Tender gnocchi smothered in ricotta, spinach and sweet Italian sausage to create the ultimate comfort food meal.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 1/2 cups bell pepper, diced (any bell pepper combination such as red, green, yellow or orange)
- 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 pound Italian sausage, out of casings
- 2 14–ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 pound gnocchi
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup fresh Italian leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Place a medium pot of salted water on to a boil and place a strainer into the water. Add spinach and after one minute, remove strainer and drain but leave water on heat. Squeeze spinach and place in medium bowl and set aside. There will be another step to cook gnocchi and at that point, you will bring the water back to a boil.
- In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium high and add onion, peppers and pepper flakes. Cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Move vegetables to outside edge of the pan and add sausage meat. Cook until browned. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and stir entire mixture and cook until thickened. Remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Return water to a boil and place gnocchi into water. As soon as they float, remove to a strainer and discard water. Add heavy cream and drained gnocchi back to pan and heat over medium until gnocchi absorbs the cream. Remove from heat.
- While gnocchi is cooking, in the medium bowl with the spinach, add ricotta, egg, parsley, salt, pepper, basil and ¾ cup of the Parmesan cheese. Mix to combine.
- In a 2 quart casserole dish, layer half the meat sauce, all of the ricotta mixture, all of the gnocchi, the second half of the sauce and the remaining Parmesan. Top with the mozzarella and bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
- Let set for ten minutes and serve.
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Myrna says
It was delicious, my family enjoyed this recipe very much and I would definitely make it again! The only thing I did is add an extra lb. Of the gnocchi!
Martha says
Thanks Myrna!
Michael says
Made this tonight and VERY happy with the results. I did cut the amount of mozzarella for the topping (maybe half?) but it was excellent. Next time I’ll halve the recipe as we’re just two. We’ll be eating leftovers for a few days….nothing wrong with that, though!
Martha says
Thanks Michael!
Christine Karasiuk says
do you have the nutritional information for this recipe
Martha says
Hi Christine – My apologies for the delay in responding. I’ve added the nutritional information to the bottom of the recipe card.
Terra says
This recipe is fantastic! I have made it several times with minor variations ( I used cacciatore cured sausage instead of regular sausauge, a decent primavera sauce instead of tomato paste, and added sautéed mushrooms). I am not Italian but my in-laws are and even they enjoyed this! Thanks for sharing!
Martha says
Your variations sound delicious Terra! Glad you all enjoyed the recipe!
T says
Ummm maybe use 1 can of diced tomatoes instead of two. I was very disappointed when mine came out of the oven a soupy mess, especially when it takes so long to make
Martha says
I’m sorry to hear you had some issues with the recipe T. Did you cook the sauce until thickened? (See step #2 – if you try the recipe again, you might need to simmer it a bit longer?)
Colleen (Souffle Bombay) says
Gorgeous! Comfort food at its finest!
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
Aaah. Discoveries like that are the best! And this looks absolutely amazing. 🙂