Creamy Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Italian Sausage

As autumn rolls in, warm up your kitchen with this cozy Creamy Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Italian Sausage! Everything comes together in one skillet and cooks in under 30 minutes, for a hearty and delicious meal that's so comforting!

This recipe is a paid partnership with our friends at Zoup!, using their creamy butternut squash soup. Thanks for supporting brands that allow us to bring fresh new content to A Full Living!

If you're on the hunt for a cozy fall dinner that's packed with flavor and easy to make - this meal is the ticket. You don't need to dirty a bunch of dishes, just one skillet, which is a huge win in our book.

Not only are one-skillet meals fuss-free, but they also build extra layers of flavor. This dish has loads of fresh sage, thyme, garlic, and onion, and pillowy gnocchi gets nice and tender when it bubbles away in the butternut squash soup, heavy cream, and a bit of water.

We add Italian sausage, parmesan cheese, and a little spinach for veggies, and voila! A full meal! We know you're going to be making this recipe on repeat for all of the cooler months!

You may also enjoy this chicken and butternut squash skillet, this pumpkin pasta sauce, this chicken and pumpkin risotto, or this maple glazed chicken and vegetables for more hearty fall flavors!

❤️Why We Love This Recipe

• Cozy fall meal. This dish is nice and savory and starts with lots of garlic, onion, and herbs like thyme and sage that pair perfectly with the butternut squash soup! Italian sausage is a wonderful addition to this dish, with tons of flavor! We think red pepper flakes, cream, and parmesan cheese really seal the deal in making this dish incredibly flavorful!
• Quick and easy. This meal is ready in 30 minutes or less, all in one pan! We love meals like that, and we're sure you do too!
• Made with simple ingredients. This dish is so flavorful but is made with really approachable ingredients. Zoup! Butternut Squash with Brown Butter & Sage Soup is available for purchase at retailers across the country, through Instacart, and online at ZoupBroth.com, Walmart .com, and Amazon.com. Right now, you can use code “20FULLZOUP” to get 20% off your ZOUP! order on Amazon. (Limited to one code use per customer.)

🧄Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.

• Zoup! Butternut Squash Soup. This ready-to-eat soup has brown butter and sage already in it, so it makes the perfect base for this dish. We love the homemade taste, combined with the heat-and-eat convenience of this product. It also comes packed in recyclable glass jars which is also a bonus! We don't always want to start by roasting butternut squash for an hour ourselves. This soup is kettle cooked in smaller batches without any artificial ingredients or preservatives, with high quality ingredients, including a base of Zoup! Veggie Broth.
• Italian sausage. We recommend removing Italian sausage from the casings or buying it ground up for this recipe.
• Butter. We'd recommend using unsalted butter for this recipe so you can control the salt level of the dish easier.
• Gnocchi. We used the store-bought, pre-packaged gnocchi for this, and it works like a charm!
• Parmesan cheese. Grate the cheese yourself for best results.
• Spinach. This is optional, but we wanted a little bit of veggies in our meal! We recommend chopping it up a bit so that you don't have huge chunks of spinach throughout the dish, but it's up to you!

Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.

✨Substitutions & Variations

Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.

• Use dried herbs. To substitute dried sage and thyme for fresh, you'll want to make sure to use about ⅓ of the amount of dried that you would fresh. Dried herbs have a much more pungent flavor, so this will ensure you don't go overboard.
• Lightened up. You can swap the heavy cream for half and half, or whole milk for a slightly lighter version of this recipe.
• Swap the protein. We have also tried making this recipe with chicken sausage, and it was delicious! Feel free to use whatever type of sausage you prefer. Chicken or ground turkey would also be great choices.
• Vegetarian. Swap the Italian sausage for your favorite sausage substitute. Everything else about this recipe is naturally vegetarian-friendly.
• Gluten-free. To ensure this recipe is gluten-free, just make sure to buy gluten-free gnocchi, because everything else about this recipe is naturally gluten-free!
• Add more veggies. This dish is a great base to add more veggies to, like mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, or bell peppers!

This recipe hasn't been tested with any other substitutions or variations, so we can't guarantee any results. If you make a change, let us know how it goes in the comments below!

🔪Prep Work

Pro tip: This recipe comes together so quickly, so we highly suggest having everything fully prepped and ready to go before beginning!

• Mince the garlic.
• Dice the onion.
• Chop spinach.
• Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Grate parmesan cheese.
• Remove sausage from the casings (if needed).
• Measure out the remaining ingredients.

Cook the Italian sausage

Add olive oil to a hot skillet over medium-high heat, followed by Italian sausage. Cook until browned and cooked through completely. (Image 1)

Remove from the skillet and set aside.

Sauté the aromatics

Reduce the heat to medium-low, and in the same pan, without draining it, add the butter, followed by the onions with a large pinch of salt to cook.

Cook until softened and translucent, about 4-5 minutes, then add in the sage, thyme, red pepper flakes, and garlic. (Image 2)

Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds - 1 minute.

⭑Pro tip: Stir often, and don't burn the garlic! This is very important, or your dish will become bitter!

Add the gnocchi & start the sauce

Add the gnocchi to the pan and toss to coat in the garlic, herbs, onion, and spices for a few seconds, then immediately pour in the Zoup! Butternut Squash Soup, heavy cream, and water. (Image 3)

Bring the mixture to a boil for about 3-4 minutes to cook the gnocchi, stirring occasionally.

⭑Pro tip: Pay attention to the package directions on the gnocchi, as some brands may take longer to cook than others. Stir occasionally to prevent anything from sticking to the bottom of the pan and test them for doneness.

Add cheese & spinach

After the gnocchi is pillowy soft, add parmesan cheese, spinach, and black pepper. (Image 4)

Stir to wilt the spinach and melt the cheese. (Image 5)

Add back the sausage

To finish the dish, simply add back the Italian sausage, stir to combine, and adjust the seasonings to taste. (Image 6)

Now, garnish with more parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

✨Top Tips

• Make sure all of the ingredients are prepped ahead of time. This dish comes together so fast, you'll want to make sure everything is all prepped and ready to go before beginning. This will make cooking really easy!
• Adjust heat to taste. We like a little kick of heat in our food, but feel free to leave the red pepper flakes out, or scale them back if you prefer!
• Take it easy on the salt. This is one of those dishes we recommend salting lightly because multiple elements bring a lot of salt into the dish. Your Italian sausage may be very salty on its own, and then there's the parmesan cheese as well. Add some salt to the onions, but then be careful about adding too much more until the cheese is added! Taste, then adjust.
• ​Don't burn the garlic. It's important to keep the heat on low when sautéing the garlic, or it can easily burn. Burnt garlic can give the dish a bitter taste, and no one wants that! Stir constantly to prevent it from sticking, and keep the liquids close by to deglaze the pan.
• Don't pre-boil the gnocchi. Seriously! There's no need! It comes together perfectly fine in the sauce, trust us! Why make extra dishes when everything can come together in one pan?
• Use freshly grated parmesan cheese for the best melt. Cheese that comes pre-shredded from the store has anti-caking agents that can prevent it from melting properly. For a nice creamy, smooth sauce, shred the cheese yourself.

🍂More Fall Recipes to Consider

• Sirloin tip roast (slow cooker recipe)
• Roasted butternut squash with brown sugar
• Pumpkin and cauliflower soup
• Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and balsamic glaze
• Pork sausage stuffed apples
• Roasted pumpkin wedges
• Sweet potato cornbread