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Baked Gnocchi with Sausage and Peppers is a quick pasta recipe using a few pantry ingredients and a package of ground sausage. This 20 minute dinner is my kind of weeknight meal!
You know- cooking doesn’t need to be complicated. Think of something you like to eat in a restaurant. Go ahead….I’ll wait. Now- do you have that dish in mind? Good. Now try to think of how you would make it. Do you know what flavors you are tasting? What textures? Once you have figured this all out you are already on your way to cooking something you love to eat- in your own kitchen!
Recently I had a dish in a mediocre Italian chain restaurant. It was not really what I was in the mood for but we were traveling and I was outvoted. I quickly scanned the menu and decided the safest bet for me was soup and a salad. The salad was standard bagged salad fare but the soup- it was a real treat. The sauce was merely watered down pasta sauce but the components in the soup really worked. It needed a lot of work and more seasoning- but it was a good start.
Later when we were home I wanted to recreate the ingredients in a more substantial meal. After two attempts, this baked pasta dish was created. The best part of this is the ingredient list. Except for the fresh bell peppers- the list of ingredients is comprised of common pantry and freezer items. Are you new to gnocchi? Good! This would be a great first recipe to try.
Gnocchi
Where can you find it? I have bought it locally at every grocery store in my area. It ranges in price from $1.70 at Fresh Thyme Farmers Market to $2.99 at Meijer for a 1 pound package. There are even whole wheat varieties which is what I buy when I can find it. Be sure to read and follow the cooking directions. They only need about 2 minutes in the boiling water. Any more than that and you have a pasty mush!
The glory of this baked gnocchi recipe is that while you are cooking the sausage, you can prepare the gnocchi and cut the peppers. Once the sausage is browned, you just add everything else in, toss it in the oven and let the cheese melt.
Making this baked gnocchi recipe is so easy!
Total Servings 4-6
15 minPrep (inc. refrigeration & rest time)
10 minCook Time
25 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh gnocchi
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 2 bell peppers of your choice
- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 C of shredded Italian blend cheese
- 2 TB of dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp of dried garlic powder
- 1 tsp of minced onion flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Brown the sausage. Meanwhile, prepare the gnocchi to package instructions and drain and chop the bell peppers.
- In the skillet with the sausage, layer the peppers, and gnocchi.
- Open the can of crushed tomatoes and stir in the garlic powder, minced onion and 1 TB of the Italian seasoning. Pour over the gnocchi mixture.
- Sprinkle surface with the cheese and dust with the remaining Italian seasoning.
- Place in preheated oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is browned.
If you love Italian dishes like the baked gnocchi, I bet you will enjoy these recipes, too:
