It is imperative that I know some quick meals and this is one of my family’s favorites. It takes a few shortcuts, but sometimes you have to do that. Even though I wish I could tell you all to make a homemade sauce on a weeknight after you’ve gone to gymnastics, dance, and soccer practice, you’d swear I was lying about actually having children myself. By the time dinner comes around – in my house it’s 7pm – I know you are exhausted. I know this because I am. So, in the interest of full disclosure, we all use jarred pasta sauce every once in a while.
I only have 1 rule when it comes to jarred sauce – no added sugar. It’s not necessary. There are excellent pasta sauces without added sugar. And let me tell you, pasta sauce is not where I want my added sugar to come from, that’s for sure.
I’m also not going to tell you that you need to make homemade gnocchi. I LOVE my homemade gnocchi, but I certainly do not expect you to make it. This dish was made with vacuum sealed potato gnocchi – and my kids love it.
The 3rd main ingredient to this dish is turkey sausage – whatever kind you like. I used hot Italian, although it’s not that hot. That’s not a shortcut, but it is pretty tasty.
There are a few other ingredients that take this quick meal and make it taste like a slow cooked and flavorful dish – fresh basil and parmesan cheese. I wouldn’t say they are essential, but it definitely wouldn’t be the same without them. The basil adds a freshness you need when using packaged ingredients. The parmesan, especially when it’s freshly grated, adds a umami flavor that you also can’t get with the packaged gnocchi and jarred sauce.
Using the 2 extra ingredients don’t add extra time when making this dish. If fact, if you’re good, you can get this done in 15, but I’ll give you an extra 5 just in case you have some slow boiling water.
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Turkey Sausage and Gnocchi
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
1, 16oz package potato gnocchi
16 oz hot Italian turkey sausage
24 oz jar tomato sauce – no sugar added
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
Instructions
In a medium stockpot, fill half way with water and bring to a boil over high heat
While water is coming to a boil, brown sausage over high heat in a large saucepan or skillet
If there is grease, drain the grease, rinse the sausage and return the sausage to the pan
Over medium low heat, add the jar of sauce
When the water is boiling, add gnocchi and boil until gnocchi floats to the top – about 2-3 minutes
Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water
Drain the gnocchi and add to the sausage and sauce
Add the reserved cooking water and stir
Stir in the parmesan cheese
Sprinkle fresh basil on top
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