More Gnocchi Recipes
Italian Sausage & Gnocchi
Italian sausage meatballs with fried gnocchi is one of my favourite comfort meals. I use good-quality sausage meat, roll it into meatballs, then pan-fry the meatballs until golden. Tossed with crispy gnocchi and a cherry tomatoes, it’s hearty, full of flavour, and perfect for nights when I want something warming but still a little bit fun. It’s easy enough for a weeknight, but feels like something you’d order at a cosy little Italian spot.
Ingredients
- 400g gnocchi
- 1 tbsp salted butter
- 1 tsp olive oil (if required)
- 400g Italian style sausage
- 150g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 60g rocket or aragula
- Shaved parmigiano reggiano (parmesan cheese), to serve
Instructions
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat until sizzling.
- Add the gnocchi and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Gently squeeze the sausage meat from the casings and roll into small, bite-sized meatballs.
- Add the olive oil to the hot skillet if needed, then fry the sausage meatballs for about 5 minutes, or until just starting to colour and cook through.
- Add the cherry tomatoes and the fried gnocchi, and stir through. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and starting to burst.
- Finally, toss through the rocket until it just begins to wilt.
- Divide between four plates and garnish with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.
Notes
- Italian-style sausages usually have plenty of fat, so you might not need the extra olive oil. If your sausages are lean or the pan looks dry, add the teaspoon of oil before frying the meatballs.
- I use this large cast iron skillet for this recipe. It's big enough to fry everything in one go without overcrowding, which is key to getting that lovely golden colour on the gnocchi.
- Shelf-stable vacuum-packed gnocchi works brilliantly here and crisps up beautifully. Fresh gnocchi can be a bit delicate for pan-frying.
- If you prefer, you can slice the sausages into rounds instead of rolling them into meatballs. It's quicker and just as delicious.
- Cherry tomatoes add a lovely sweetness and acidity that balances the richness of the sausage. Burst them slightly with the back of your spoon as they cook to release their juices.
- Rocket (arugula) has a peppery bite that cuts through the richness beautifully. Add it at the very end so it just wilts rather than cooking down completely.
- This Parmigiano Reggiano grater makes it easy to shave thin ribbons of cheese over the top for a restaurant-quality finish.
- For extra flavour, add a pinch of chilli flakes when frying the sausage meatballs, or a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat gently in a skillet over medium heat, adding a splash of water or stock to loosen everything up.
- This dish is best enjoyed fresh and doesn't freeze particularly well due to the rocket and crispy gnocchi texture.
What I Cook With
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 557Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 99mgSodium: 888mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 19g
Please note, this nutrition information is to be used as a guide only. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
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Italian Sausage Meatballs with Fried Gnocchi Recipe
A Favourite for a Reason
I don’t think it’s possible to be any more in love with a recipe than I am with my Italian Sausage Meatballs with Fried Gnocchi. This one has made its way into regular rotation in my kitchen, and with good reason – it ticks every box: comforting, quick, and absolutely packed with flavour. It’s the kind of meal I pull together when I’m frazzled and flustered but still want something that tastes like I’ve put in more effort than I actually have. That combo of golden, crispy gnocchi and juicy sausage meatballs hits every spot.
Now, I know traditional gnocchi gets boiled, but let me tell you, frying it will change your life. You get these glorious golden edges, a bit of crunch, and a pillowy centre that never feels too heavy. I actually find boiled gnocchi a bit stodgy unless it’s swimming in butter or sauce, and even then, it can feel like too much. But fried? It’s dreamy. Every bite is a contrast of crisp and soft, and honestly, once you go fried, you don’t go back. If you’ve never tried it, start with this recipe. I promise you’ll be converted.
And can we talk about sausage for a second? Here in the UK, I buy my Italian sausages from M&S, and they’re always on point. But let’s be real – unless you’ve got a butcher or fancy supermarket nearby, they’re not always easy to find. The trick is to look for sausages that have fennel or other Italian-style seasonings. But even plain pork sausages will do the trick in a pinch. You can always zhuzh them up with a sprinkle of fennel seeds or a bit of garlic – I’m all for making the most of what you’ve got.
Sticky Fingers and Quick Wins
Making the meatballs from sausage means yes, your hands will get sticky. No, it’s not glamorous, but yes it is worth it. I like to make mine quite small – about the size of a teaspoon – so they cook quickly. That’s the goal here: quick and tasty. Of course, you can just chop the sausages into chunks if you’re not in the mood to roll them out, or you could go really rogue and use pre-cooked sausage. I’m not here to judge! Just do whatever gets dinner on the table fastest and still makes you feel a little bit more at peace than you were when dinner started.
What I love most about this dish is that it feels like it gives a lot without asking much. You get those rich Italian flavours with very little fuss. It’s not one of those meals where you’re left with ten different bowls and pans to wash either. Just one pan, maybe two if you’re being extra. It’s perfect for when your energy is flagging but your tastebuds still want to party.
I know I say this a lot, but honestly, this is one of those recipes that just works. Whether you’re exhausted, lazy, or just not in the mood for anything too complicated, this dish will love you back. It’s comforting, delicious, and ridiculously easy. And when you find a recipe that does all that? You keep it close. This one’s not going anywhere.
Ingredient Breakdown
Gnocchi
Shelf-stable vacuum-packed gnocchi is the one you want here, same reasoning as the other pan-fried recipes in this collection. It crisps up reliably in butter without falling apart, and that golden crust it develops in the first few minutes of cooking is what carries the whole dish. Fresh gnocchi is too delicate for this kind of heat. Fry it first, set it aside, and add it back in at the end so it keeps its texture rather than going soggy in the pan.
Salted butter
Butter instead of olive oil is what sets this recipe apart from the others in this series. It gives the gnocchi a richer, nuttier flavour as it crisps up, and the slight caramelisation you get from butter in a hot pan is genuinely better here than oil alone. Keep the heat at medium so the butter sizzles without burning, and watch it because it can turn quickly.
Olive oil
The olive oil is optional and entirely dependent on your sausages. Italian-style sausages are typically fatty enough to render out plenty of cooking fat on their own, so you may not need it at all. If the pan looks dry after the butter has been absorbed by the gnocchi, add the teaspoon of oil before the sausage meatballs go in. Use your judgement rather than adding it automatically.
Italian-style sausages
Rather than cooking the sausages whole or slicing them into rounds, you squeeze the meat out of the casings and roll it into small, bite-sized meatballs. It sounds fiddly but it takes about two minutes and completely changes the dish. You get more surface area for browning, they cook faster, and they distribute through the gnocchi and tomatoes much more evenly than sliced sausage rounds would. Italian-style sausages are usually seasoned with fennel and garlic, which is exactly what you want here.
Cherry tomatoes
Halved cherry tomatoes go in towards the end and cook just long enough to soften and start to burst. As they break down they release their juices into the pan and create a loose, light sauce that coats everything without making it heavy. Help them along by pressing them gently with the back of a spoon as they cook. They add sweetness and acidity that cuts through the richness of the butter and sausage beautifully.
Rocket
Rocket, or arugula if you’re reading this from the US, goes in right at the very end and gets tossed through just until it starts to wilt. You want it barely cooked rather than fully collapsed, because the peppery bite is the point and that disappears if you cook it too long. It’s doing the same job the lemon juice does in the creamy tomato recipe, cutting through the fat and keeping the dish from feeling too heavy.
Parmigiano Reggiano
Shaved over the top at the table rather than grated into the dish, which gives you those thin, delicate ribbons that melt slightly from the heat of the food as you eat. Parmigiano Reggiano has a sharper, more complex flavour than standard Parmesan and it’s worth using the real thing here because it’s the finishing touch and you’ll actually taste it. A good vegetable peeler works perfectly for shaving if you don’t have a proper shaving grater.
Serve This With
- A simple mixed leaf salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil
- Crusty bread or garlic focaccia on the side
- Roasted Mediterranean vegetables like capsicum and zucchini
