Tonight’s easy 25 minute weeknight dinner recipe? Oh, just a skillet full of Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, White Beans, & Tomatoes… that’s all…
Hearty dinner when you’re pressed on time? Sure! Why not try cooking up pasta a different way this week, as in this Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, White Beans, & Tomatoes. This skillet full of hearty goodness takes under half an hour to create, but looks and tastes as though you’ve been cooking away all day.
To recreate this simple weeknight dinner recipe, just pair a pack of pillowy gnocchi with hearty chicken sausage & white beans — then, punch up the meal further with delicious bursts of flavor from the tomatoes, garlic, & Parmesan. A mere 25 minutes to a skillet full of flavorful food for your family tonight! I paired ours with garlic toast, to easily feed a family of four.
Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, White Beans, & Tomatoes
Ingredients
14-18 oz pack of gnocchi
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
12 oz pack flavored fully cooked chicken sausage, sliced (see Note)
10 oz container grape tomatoes, sliced
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 small cloves)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Directions
Start water boiling for the pasta. Boil the gnocchi in salted water according to package directions and drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Return the cooked gnocchi to the pot, and toss it with 1 Tbsp olive oil.
Meanwhile, cut up the sausage into coins and slice the onion; chop the garlic if not using pre-minced.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and brown over medium-high heat for three minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the sausage is browning, slice the grape tomatoes lengthwise and rinse & drain the beans.
Push the browned sausage and onion to the sides of the pan, then add the tomatoes to the center of the skillet and continue to cook undisturbed over medium-high heat for three minutes.
Stir in the minced garlic, white beans, and seasonings, also stirring the sausage and onion back into the tomatoes. Continue to cook for four minutes over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden utensil.
Stir the cooked gnocchi, reserved pasta water, and Parmesan into the pan.
Continue to stir and heat until the cheese is melted, then serve topped with additional Parmesan if desired.
Notes: I used cauliflower gnocchi (on sale this week), and chicken apple sausage, (which I accidentally grabbed instead of the spinach feta next to it). Chicken apple sausage worked great, but either would probably do. Regular potato gnocchi (in my opinion) has a better texture, but use your own fave. If the sausage and veggies happen to finish before the gnocchi, temporarily reduce the heat under the skillet to medium-low to keep everything warm until the gnocchi is ready to go in.
Fantastically full of flavor
This was so good, let me tell you! All of the different flavors and textures meld together in delightful combination, while the gnocchi, sausage, and white beans are quite filling & satisfying. The beans, while a last-minute addition, help bulk up the meal and provide another layer of textural contrast; I’m glad I decided to throw those in.
So… I’m already plotting to cook up another batch of gnocchi with chicken sausage this summer when the fresh garden tomatoes start to come in — and can’t wait for that extra flavor from extra fresh produce. Today’s gnocchi recipe also reheats nicely for lunch the next day, so you can look forward to enjoying the leftovers… that is, if your family leaves you any.
And for a different meal idea that also combines gnocchi & sausage, you can also try this sheet pan gnocchi with sausage & veggies recipe.
Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, White Beans, & Tomatoes, printable recipe
Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, White Beans, & Tomatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14-18 oz pack of gnocchi
- 2 Tbsp olive oil divided
- 12 oz pack flavored fully cooked chicken sausage sliced (see Note)
- 10 oz container grape tomatoes sliced
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced into half moons
- 1 can cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 2 tsp minced garlic about 4 small cloves
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- Sea salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
Instructions
- Start water boiling for the pasta. Boil the gnocchi in salted water according to package directions and drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Return the cooked gnocchi to the pot, and toss it with 1 Tbsp olive oil.
- Meanwhile, cut up the sausage into coins and slice the onion; chop the garlic if not using pre-minced.
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and brown over medium-high heat for three minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While the sausage is browning, slice the grape tomatoes lengthwise and rinse & drain the beans.
- Push the browned sausage and onion to the sides of the pan, then add the tomatoes to the center of the skillet and continue to cook undisturbed over medium-high heat for three minutes.
- Stir in the minced garlic, white beans, and seasonings, also stirring the sausage and onion back into the tomatoes. Continue to cook for four minutes over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden utensil.
- Stir the cooked gnocchi, reserved pasta water, and Parmesan into the pan.
- Continue to stir and heat until the cheese is melted, then serve topped with additional Parmesan if desired.
Notes
Recipes in the real world
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