Cool weather comfort food in a bowl: Sausage Spinach Pumpkin Gnocchi. It's pumpkin-sauced sausage-filled technically-containing-a-vegetable ( spinach! ) creamy gnocchi goodness in a bowl.
I got it into my head recently that I really wanted to try using pureed pumpkin as the base for a pasta sauce.
Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.
Creamy, rich, decadent ... and that's just the pumpkin! With a hit of cream and a hefty shake of my favorite grated cheese, Pecorino Romano, this sauce goes from pumpkin-y goodness to "Everyone step away while I eat this in private, binge watching Netflix".
I added some spinach so that I could technically check off the vegetable box. I do that I lot. I don't think I've ever added spinach to something and then regretted it, now that I think about it. I think a lot of people feel the same way, if the popularity of my spinach recipes indicates anything.
That's probably why spinach is in so many of my recipes ( like my all-time-most-popular recipe: Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts )
The sauce looks lumpy, but it's not "bad" lumpy -- that's sausage.
SAUSAGE, people. So live with the slightly lumpy look -- because those lumps are delicious, delicious flavor.
Sausage Spinach Pumpkin Gnocchi
Ingredients
- ½ lb Sweet Italian Sausage loose ( or casing removed if you have links )
- 1 lb Gnocchi
- 6 ounces 1 bag Spinach
- 1 cup Pureed Pumpkin
- ½ tsp freshly grated Nutmeg
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- ½ cup Chicken Broth
- ¼ cup Pecorino Romano
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the gnocchi.
- In a medium pan set over medium heat, cook the sausage until brown, breaking up the large pieces so that the sausage cooks as crumbled.
- Add minced garlic, nutmeg, and spinach to the pan with the sausage, stirring occasionally, and cooking until the spinach has wilted.
- Add the pumpkin and cream to the pan. Stir to combine. Cook for two minutes.
- Stir in the Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Turn off the heat for the sauce pan and let the sauce sit while you make the gnocchi. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water, and cook according to package directions ( most likely 2 - 3 minutes ).
- Drain the gnocchi and add directly to the pan with the sausage spinach pumpkin sauce.
Notes
Yummy and smoothly pumpkin-y!!
This recipe looks incredible! A nice bowl of comfort food!
This looks really yummy. Is gnocchi in the pasta section, or is it a fresh food? I've never bought it, but I know I have seen it in the grocery store somewhere!
You can usually find it in the pasta section, but from time to time Whole Foods has it fresh, and it is SO good
This does sound perfect for the winter! I was nervous that I'd be making gnocchi too for this, but am happily surprised that I can actually make the recipe with my limited cooking skillz.
I do make gnocchi from time to time from scratch, but ( even though it's DELICIOUS to make from scratch ) my general thoughts on homemade gnocchi are "aint nobody got time for that"
WOW this recipe sounds so cozy and warm for winter! I love the addition of pumpkin and spinach. Delish!