One pot Fennel & Spinach Sausage Gnocchi – comes together quickly and effortlessly in under 30 minutes with less than 10 basic ingredients. This easy gnocchi recipes makes for a fantastic weeknight dinner that delivers in taste, comfort and satisfaction! Enjoy as is or play up the flavours by adding extra seasonal herbs and veggies for an even more healthy and vibrant dish. | Gluten Free + Dairy Free

How to Make This Fennel & Spinach Sausage Gnocchi

Say hello to your new weeknight favourite. This recipe comes together in little time, with little effort and few ingredients while packing in SO much flavour!

The steps are all fairly straight forward and all you need is one pot or skillet and you’re on your way. To sum it all up:

1. Sauté the onion. Cook about 5-7 minutes to sweat and soften the onion.
2. Add sausage and spices. Brown the sausage by cooking a few minutes on a low heat.
3. Add tomatoes. Mix everything together into a meaty tomato sauce.
4. Stir in the gnocchi and salt. Coat all the little gnocchi pieces in tomato sauce.
5. Cover & cook. Give the gnocchi about 5 minutes to soften in the tomato sauce.
6. Add the spinach. Stir it in to your pot and mix a minute or two until wilted.
7. Enjoy! Add a sprinkling of fresh herbs or parmesan cheese if desired and dive in!

What type of gnocchi should I use?

While gnocchi is actually quite easy to make gluten free it often sold with wheat flour. I recommend shopping the gluten free section of your grocery store to find your gnocchi. Look for where you might also buy your gluten free pasta and just double check that it’s safe for your consumption. A few things to look out for when selecting your gnocchi:

• Look for Gnocchi di Patate – this is a type most people are familiar with. It’s gnocchi made from mashed potatoes, flour and egg yolks.
• Avoid Gnocchi alla Romana as this type of gnocchi is made with semolina flour (coarsely ground durum wheat).
• Check labels for dairy: gnocchi is sometimes made with the inclusion of ricotta or other types of dairy. If you need this recipe to be dairy free make sure to double check the labels.
• Make it lower carb: If you can find it, some stores like Trader Joes sell cauliflower gnocchi (typically found in the freezer section). If you’re up to the task you can also make it from scratch. Gnocchi is the type of food that’s worth making at least once but I would be lying to you if I didn’t also mention how much of a pain it is.

What does fennel taste like?

Fennel is an interesting one because it can be a love-or-hate thing for a lot of people. It’s got a very distinct fresh, mild and and liquorice-like flavour to it. I know that can sound off-putting if you’re not keen on liquorice, but it’s fantastic in a lot of Italian dishes. There’s just something about the combination of fennel, pork and tomatoes that just works. Once cooked, the liquorice flavour is toned down into subtly sweet, nutty and almost grassy flavour that really shines.

If you’re still feeling a bit dubious I recommend you give this thread from Serious Eats a read as it’s full of people who don’t like liquorice but still really enjoy cooked fennel.

Can I use fresh fennel bulbs?

Absolutely! If you’ve got a fresh bulb that needs using – throw it in! I recommend using just the bulb portion in place of the fennel seeds (and maybe throw in a few fronds at the end). Slice it up and cook the fennel with the onion and that’s it.

Serving Suggestions

For a big and hearty dish like this – you can’t go wrong with a simple salad on the side:

• Sun Dried Tomato & Cannelini Bean Salad
• Garlic & Chili Roasted Broccoli Salad
• Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Apples & Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
• Chickpea Kale Antipasto Salad

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Recipe

Fennel & Spinach Sausage Gnocchi

Yield: 6 servings Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes

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Comes together quickly and effortlessly in under 30 minutes with less than 10 basic ingredients. This easy gnocchi recipes makes for a fantastic weeknight dinner that delivers in taste, comfort and satisfaction! | Gluten Free + Dairy Free

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons | 30 ml olive oil
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 6 pork sausages, casings removed (ensure gluten free)
• 2 teaspoons dried fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cans | 15 oz each chopped tomatoes (can sub with tomato puree or passata)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 ounces potato gnocchi (ensure gluten free)
• 2 big handfuls fresh spinach
• Fresh basil for serving, optional

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the onion. Cook 5-7 minutes to soften.
3. Add the sausages removed from their casings along with the fennel and oregano. Use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage into small chunks. Cook 4-5 minutes until sausages is browned and mostly cooked.
4. Stir the tomatoes in to the sausage mixture.
5. Add salt and gnocchi. Stir again making sure to coat the gnocchi in tomatoes. Cover with a lid, lower the heat down to low and let the gnocchi simmer and cook, covered for about five minutes or until the gnocchi has softened.
6. Remove the lid. Stir in the spinach until wilted. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
7. Top with fresh basil and enjoy.

Notes

• Use fresh fennel: Ditch the fennel seeds in place of a fennel bulb. Slice up the bulb and add in with the onion and continue with the recipe as usual.
• Feel free to add grated parmesan, mozzarella or a few spoons of ricotta in the final few minutes of cooking.
• You can use kale in place of the spinach. Just make sure to give the kale a few extra minutes to soften from the heat.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 6

Serving Size:

about 280 grams Calories: 328Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 2gSugar: 7gProtein: 15g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Mains Cuisine: Italian

Hungry for more gnocchi recipes? Check out my Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup and my Chorizo & Red Pepper Baked Gnocchi!