Our Baked Gnocchi with Sausage and Kale is a cozy, comforting one-dish meal, brimming with rich and savory flavors. It looks and tastes good enough for date night but is easy enough to make at the end of a busy workday. While the ingredients are simple, they combine for a decadent and filling pasta dinner you’ll love.
You can make homemade gnocchi using our Simple Homemade Gnocchi Recipe or store-bought; either will do the trick. You could even try our Sweet Potato Gnocchi for a fun and colorful twist! Whichever kind you choose, these soft, doughy potato dumplings pair perfectly with rich sausage and hearty kale. Once you love gnocchi as much as we do, you can even substitute it for noodles like we do in our favorite Chicken and Gnocchi Soup!
How to Make Baked Gnocchi
Ingredients
Process
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a large pan, add oil and place over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown for 3 to 4 minutes, breaking up into bite-sized pieces.
- Add kale and continue to sauté for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Transfer mixture into a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter into pan and add gnocchi to the pan. Lightly brown for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer gnocchi into the same bowl as the sausage and kale.
- Add shallots, garlic, and cream to the skillet and simmer over medium heat.
- Once the mixture has reduced by ⅓, add the Parmesan and stir. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the gnocchi mixture and continue to simmer over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove from heat, top with crushed pepper flakes, and serve.
Important Tools You Will Need
- A large pan or skillet for browning the sausage and gnocchi––a non-stick one like this is perfect!
- A shallow (3.5qt) baking dish for baking the gnocchi with sausage and kale in the oven.
Variations
- Replace the heavy cream with a tomato sauce or marinara for a lighter, tangy flavor. For a ‘rosé style sauce, swap half the cream for marinara.
- Add a tablespoon or two of pesto to the cream sauce for a light, herby flavor.
- Add a scoop of Calabrian chili paste for heat.
- Swap plain potato gnocchi for sweet potato, cauliflower, or whole wheat gnocchi.
- Swap all or some cheese with mozzarella, fontina, or gouda cheese.
- Use spinach or Swiss chard in place of the kale.
- Add a handful of sun-dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, or mushrooms for a unique burst of flavor to the dish.
Instructions for Using Frozen Gnocchi
You can use frozen gnocchi instead of fresh or dried gnocchi for this recipe.
To use frozen gnocchi, add them to the pan straight from the freezer (no thawing required), exactly as you would with fresh gnocchi. Just add a few minutes to the cooking time as you sauté. Frozen gnocchi will take closer to 5-6 minutes to thaw through and brown on the outside, as opposed to 2-3 minutes for fresh.
Tips and Tricks for Baked Gnocchi Success
- To avoid overcooked and mushy gnocchi, do not boil them ahead of time or let them boil in the sauce. All they need is a few minutes to brown and a couple of minutes to simmer in the sauce before adding them to the pan to bake.
- When sauteeing the kale, give it enough time to wilt. This helps the kale become tender as it bakes, so you won’t be stuck with tough, chewy pieces in your baked gnocchi.
- Use fresh ingredients if you can. There isn’t much to this recipe, so quality is extremely important. Freshly grated parmesan cheese, quality sausage, and fresh garlic and shallots will shine through in this dish.
- Be careful not to reduce the sauce too much as it’s simmering on the stove. It will continue to thicken as it bakes in the oven.
Make Ahead, Freezing and Reheating Instructions
Make Ahead
You can easily make this baked gnocchi dish up to 24 hours ahead of time by assembling the entire thing right up to the point of putting it in the oven or meal-prepping a couple of ingredients to shave time off of cooking during the week.
To meal prep the entire dish, follow the directions as written, and once you’ve added everything to the baking dish, let it cool before covering it with plastic wrap and a lid or aluminum foil. Refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. When you’re ready to bake it, remove the dish from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, then bake as directed. If it’s still cold when you put it in the oven, it may need an extra 5 minutes in the oven.
Or you can shave time off this meal by preparing separate components ahead of time and then assembling and baking when you’re ready. Brown the sausage, gnocchi, and kale let them cool and store the mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Then, when you’re ready to bake it, proceed with the recipe as written.
Freezing
Freezing dishes with cream sauces isn’t recommended, as the texture tends to be off when reheating. However, you can still freeze the entire prepared dish or leftovers by adding them to a freezer-safe dish and closing it tightly, removing as much air as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then follow reheating instructions for leftovers or bake as directed.
Reheating
For the best results, we love reheating baked gnocchi in the oven. Just add your leftovers to an oven-safe container and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in an oven preheated to 350˚F for 10 minutes or until warmed through. You can remove the foil in the last couple of minutes as long as the gnocchi isn’t dried out. (If it does seem dry, just add a splash of cream and stir.)
You could also place any leftovers in a microwave-safe dish and microwave (covered) for 60-90 seconds or until warmed through.
More Delicious Baked Pasta Recipes You Will Love
Baked Gnocchi (with Sausage and Kale)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound gnocchi (or store-bought)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ pound mild Italian sausage
- 1 bunch tuscan kale ribs removed and torn into bite sized pieces
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 minced shallot about 1/3 cup
- 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 ounces freshly grated Parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
garnish
- crushed red pepper flakes optional
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a large pan, add oil and place over medium-high heat. Add sausage and brown for 3 to 4 minutes, breaking up into bite-sized pieces.
- Add kale and continue to sauté for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
- Transfer mixture into a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter into pan and add gnocchi to the pan. Lightly brown for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Transfer gnocchi into the same bowl as the sausage and kale.
- Add shallots, garlic and cream into the skillet and simmer over medium heat.
- Once the mixture has reduced by ⅓ add the Parmesan and stir. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add the gnocchi mixture and continue to simmer over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to a shallow baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until sauce has thickened.
- Remove from heat, top with crushed pepper flakes, and serve.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
tag @SpoonForkBacon and #SpoonForkBacon on Instagram
HL
Easy to prep, make, and enjoy! With kids ranging from HS to preschool, finding a dinner that is a homerun is hard. My picky eater even went crazy for this! Thank you for helping my get some Kale into that little body.
Ash
Ive made this recipe about 4 times since I discovered it and it’s so good every time. Its hands down one of my favorite ways to eat gnocchi.
Lauren
When you say a bunch of kale, is that like a handful of stalks or the bundles that come pre-grouped in the grocery store? Can’t wait to try it this cold and wet weekend!
Jenny Park
The bundle that comes in the store! :)
Theresa Hare
I have made this recipe and my family & I love it. I will be making this for a a dinner party on Tuesday Nov. 28th. Do you think it would work to assemble this ingredients in the casserole dish ahead of time in the morning or late afternoon and bake just before serving?
Jenny Park
Totally! I would just make sure to add a tad bit more of the cream so make sure your dish doesn’t dry out!
Linette
This has become a family favorite. And it’s so easy and quick to make. The only drawback is that it disappears way too fast! Thanks for a great recipe! Keep it up!
Kelsey
I made this with store-bought potato gnocchi, frozen spinach, and red onion instead of shallot because my quick grocery trip did not yield the recipe’s specific ingredients, and it was amazing! The spinach creamed with the sausage and cream mixture so well and the red onion did not overpower. Spinach is a great alternative for tbose of you who can’t find or don’t like kale! My mom loved the dish too!
Paola
I usually don’t comment, but I just finished this recipe and It is amazing! I used store bought gnocchi and instead of kale I used some spinach. So tasty!
Liz
I just LOVE baked gnocchi! It’s one of my favorite comfort foods. And I think we all need a little comfort food right now. Definitely good timing with this re-post!
Marj
Hi, is there any way to substitute at some or all of the heavy cream? I’m lactose sensitive and am not completely sure I can handle all the dairy. Thank you!
Jenny Park
You can substitute with some coconut cream, although it will impart a coconut flavor to the dish. You can also sub with some cashew cream or you can blend up some silken tofu and stir it into the dish
Food Mumbai
Superb & mouth-watering recipe with sausage!!! Really love it, & also your blog… Thanks from Food Mumbai Blog
Ashley Huddleston
I just made this and it was amazing! I will definitely be making this again!
Brie
This looks AMAZING. Just wondering though – say I were to be lazy (hypothetically speaking, of course) and wanted to use store bought gnocchi, how much would I need?
Thanks in advance – can’t wait to try this recipe out!
Jenny Park
You should be good with about 16-18 ounces or gnocchi!
Brie
Made this last night – omg, it’s so good. I’ll definitely be adding this into the winter rotation. Thanks so much for sharing!
Brie
Question: if I were (hypothetically speaking, of course) to be lazy and user store bought gnocchi, what size package should I buy?
Ann
About how long do you heat the cream mixture to reduce it by one third
Jenny Park
Depending on your stove, about 10 to 15 minutes
Amanda
It just started raining buckets here in the Pacific NW so this might get put into dinner rotation. Looks delish!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings
I can’t believe I’m admitting this, but I’ve never made gnocchi. How is that possible? This looks like the best way to eat it; slathered in creamy goodness.