This gnocchi marinara recipe pairs pillowy gluten-free gnocchi with garlicky marinara, sautéed veggies, and zesty sausage. Ready in just 20 minutes, it’s fancy enough for date night yet easy enough for a simple weeknight meal for the whole family. Honestly, it’s what homemade dinner dreams are made of!
Who doesn’t love gnocchi?! The little potato pasta is definitely on my list of favorite foods. I use them regularly in recipes like my date night gnocchi, chicken piccata with gnocchi, and comforting chicken and gnocchi dumplings. You hungry yet?
As much as I’d love to be an organized meal planner, I’m just not. So, more often than not 5 o’clock rolls around, and with it comes my family asking what’s for dinner. That’s when marinara gnocchi comes in to save the day! Quick and easy, it’s a lifesaver on busy nights and is a cozy, homemade meal that beats any last-minute takeout.
Jump to:
🌟 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Easy: All you have to do is sauté, boil, and combine. With just a skillet, a pot, and 20 minutes you’ll have dinner on the table ready to eat!
- Versatile: I love to sneak in extra veggies, using up any scraps I have on hand. Feel free to get creative with different flavors and mix-ins.
- Great for Meal Prep: Leftovers store well and can be quickly reheated in a skillet or microwave. I highly recommend making an extra batch while you’re in the kitchen. You’ll thank yourself later in the week.
- Flavor! Thanks to Italian sausage and garlic-infused marinara, every bite is full of flavor and may cause your tastebuds to do a little happy dance.
- Kid-Friendly: In my experience, kids love gnocchi just as much as adults. And when tossed with marinara, they sometimes don't even notice that they’re eating their veggies. I call that a win!
🛒 Ingredients & Suggestions
- Olive oil: Personally, I love the slightly peppery flavor of olive oil, but you can use avocado oil if you prefer a milder taste.
- Chicken sausage: I usually opt for ground mild Italian chicken sausage. However, if you love spice, hot Italian chicken sausage tastes great, too. Italian pork sausage is a great option too.
- Veggies: I make my gnocchi marinara with sautéed onion and a combination of red, yellow, and green bell peppers, but anything goes! Feel free to incorporate extra veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, or even broccoli if you have it on hand.
- Gnocchi: I recommend using mini gluten-free potato gnocchi so you get a little bit of everything in each bite, but regular-sized gnocchi will also work.
- Garlic marinara: To save time, I use store-bought garlic marinara sauce, but you can absolutely make your own if you'd like to.
For a full list of ingredients and quantities see the recipe card at the end of this post.
📖 Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and onion to the skillet and sauté until sausage is slightly browned and onions are softened, about 7-9 minutes.
Step 1: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and onion to the skillet and sauté until sausage is slightly browned and onions are softened, about 7-9 minutes.
Step 3: Add garlic marinara and allow the mixture to simmer until the sauce is warmed through.
Step 4: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions.
Step 5: Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked gnocchi from the pot to the sausage marinara mixture in the skillet. Gently stir to combine.
Step 6: Serve with fresh chopped basil, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and salt and pepper to taste.
👩🍳 Recipe Tips!
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer gnocchi from the pot to the skillet. Cooked gnocchi are fragile and using a colander to drain the gnocchi can cause them to clump and stick together.
- Use a large pot when cooking the gnocchi. Gnocchi tends to release a lot of starch, and you’ll get better results and a pillowy, fluffy texture if the gnocchi have plenty of room to cook. If you don’t have a pot that’s large enough to cook the gnocchi all at once, add fewer gnocchi at a time and cook them in two or three batches.
- Avoid overcooking. Keep a close eye on your gnocchi, and remove them as soon as they begin to rise to the surface of the boiling water. Gnocchi cooks quickly, and continuing to cook will cause them to become mushy.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Keep a close eye on the gnocchi while they boil, and remove them from the water as soon as they begin to rise to the surface. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi from the pot to the sausage marinara mixture to avoid adding excess water to the sauce, and you shouldn’t have any problems!
Once cool, you can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
I recommend reheating leftovers in a skillet over medium heat on the stove. Add extra marinara as needed to freshen them back up, and they’ll taste as delicious as the day they were made!
Gnocchi Marinara with Sausage and Peppers, you're welcome at my dinner table any night. ♡
✨ More Tasty Dinner Recipes!
💕 Follow Along!
Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook for more tasty recipe inspiration!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If so, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment and a star rating below! I greatly appreciate your feedback and it is also so helpful for other PMST readers who are thinking about making the recipe. Remember to snap a photo and tag @passmesometasty on Instagram so I can see!
📖 Recipe
Gnocchi Marinara with Sausage and Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ pound ground mild Italian sausage chicken or pork
- ½ medium-sized onion thinly sliced and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- ½ each red, green, and yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 (12 oz packages) mini gluten-free gnocchi
- 24 oz prepared garlic marinara
- fresh basil chopped (for topping)
- Parmigiano-Reggiano finely grated (for topping)
Instructions
- Sauté: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and onion to the skillet and sauté until sausage is slightly browned and onions are softened, about 7-9 minutes. Add bell peppers and sauté an additional 3-4 minutes, just until bell peppers are tender. Add garlic marinara and allow mixture to simmer until the sauce is warmed through.
- Boil: Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions.
- Combine: Use a slotted spoon to transfer cooked gnocchi from the pot to the sausage marinara mixture in the skillet. Gently stir to combine.
- Serve: Serve gnocchi topped with fresh chopped basil, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and salt and pepper to taste.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information should be considered an estimate only; please consult a registered dietician, nutritionist, or physician for specific health-related questions.
Disclaimer: All brand recommendations are purely my own opinion. I am in no way sponsored by the brands mentioned or compensated by the brand for my recommendations. This post may also contain affiliate links which I may receive a small commission (without any additional costs to you). The money earned from these commissions helps me to maintain this website. Thank you for your support!
Leave a Comment & Rating!