You know those meals where when you’re eating it, you barely speak to your loved ones because it’s just SO dang good? This One-Pan Butternut Squash + Turkey Gnocchi recipe was one of those dishes. DadChef and I looked at each other wide-eyed knowing the feeling was mutual – this recipe is YUM-aze! It almost feels fancy, but I’ll tell ya, there is certainly no fuss about this one. We used up some near spoiling veggies from the fridge & made this in under 15 minutes. If you’re having an intimate gathering this Thanksgiving and don’t feel like making the big bird, this would be a nice alternative. All the holiday flavours in one simple dish!
About the ingredients for Butternut Squash + Turkey Gnocchi
Gnocchi
Is it a pasta? Some European cultures consider gnocchi a potato dumpling, but the way it was made and cooked in our family (with homemade meat sauce), it was definitely served as a type of pasta. We absolutely love & respect classic, homemade Italian Gnocchi (“nyow·kee”). DadChef and I both had the privilege of devouring both my Nonna’s and Dad’s “Gnocchi di patate” and my family’s freezer was usually stocked with a tray of made from scratch, especially during cold weather months and before special holidays. If you want to give from-scratch a try, make my Dad’s made from potato your go-to. Find is recipe HERE. Although I’ve yet to try this, you could add cooked butternut squash to the riced potatoes step & try to make a butternut squash gnocchi of your own.
There’s no replacing homemade Gnocchi, but the pre-packaged, flavour infused variety is a runner up & one of our favourite dinner cheats: 1) because it’s one skillet-friendly; 2) it takes just minutes to cook – no boiling water necessary. We love the “Splendido” line by President’s Choice, but use whichever type you like.
Garlic
Whole-pressed garlic is one of my favourite additions to any dish and I especially love the fact it removes the steps from cooking of de-skinning & mincing the garlic cloves. I share how to cook using skin-on, whole pressed garlic in THIS RECIPE. By all means if you prefer your garlic minced, carry on & do that instead for this recipe.
Leeks & Greens
Our one-pan gnocchi is a favourite when we need to use up near-spoiling ingredients in the fridge. While I used a leek for this recipe, you could also substitute with half a red onion or 1 small yellow onion. Note: wash leeks REALLY well, especially if you picked them up fresh from a farmer’s market. They have lots of layers & it’s easy for dirt to linger even after what you think is a good rinse. After I chopped off the tough, dark green leaves & bottom roots, I sliced the leek in rounds & soaked in a bowl of water for a bit before I chopped them up for the recipe.
I love adding baby spinach to most of our one-pan pasta dishes but you could also add other dark leafy greens to this one – escarole or baby kale for instance. Note: the cook time will be a bit longer for escarole/kale in this step of the recipe.
Butternut Squash
Adding Butternut Squash is totally optional for this recipe, as the gnocchi is already full of it’s flavour. We added it simply because we had some leftover. If you want to add more, or cook some extra to pair with this dish, use our Sheet Pan recipe we apply to all seasonal veggies this time of year – sweet potato, squash, potatoes, carrots & more!
Turkey
While I personally think the flavour of Turkey sausage is best for this recipe’s combo of ingredients, you could certainly use Thanksgiving turkey leftovers for this one too!
Other Ingredients
Other ingredients we’ve tried in one-pan gnocchi include frozen veggies (like peas), leftover brussels sprouts, ham, and any other roasted seasonal veggies, like we did for this One-Pan Veggies & Ham Gnocchi Recipe.
What to serve it with…
This One-Pan Butternut Squash + Turkey Gnocchi is FILLING!!! We needed only a scoop or so each & it would pair nicely with something light like a seasonal salad or complimentary roasted veggies like squash or sweet potatoes.
One-Pan Butternut Squash & Turkey Gnocchi
Equipment
- Saute Pan with Lid
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Turkey Sausage *remove meat from casings*
- 4 garlic cloves whole pressed
- 1 leek *wash well then cut off tough, dark green leaves & root end; chop light green/white portion*
- 1 tbsp dried sage + thyme combined *or a few pinches of each*
- 700 g Packaged Skillet Gnocchi with Butternut Squash *we used 2 pkgs of President's Choice "Splendido" brand*
- 2 cups low-sodium broth *vegetable or chicken flavour*
- 1 handful baby spinach *or baby kale*
- 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
- ¼ cup cooked Butternut Squash *optional*
- Red Chili Pepper Flakes *optional*
Instructions
- Warm olive oil in saute pan on medium heat. Add turkey sausage, breaking up into smaller bits with your spatula/turner as it heats. Cook 2 mins, then add garlic, leeks, butternut squash (*optional*) & dried sage + thyme seasoning, mix nicely then cover pan. Cook until sausage browns & is cooked thoroughly with no hints of pink (approx. 4 mins).
- Add Butternut Squash Gnocchi & broth (*optional - sprinkle in some red chili pepper flakes here*). Toss & cover until mixture begins to simmer nicely (approx. 3 mins).
- Add parmigiano reggiano cheese & dark greens (baby spinach or kale) & cook until sauce thickens & greens soften and are cooked to your liking. Sprinkle with freshly grated parm cheese & serve. That's it! Buon appetito! Tag us if you try @House_of_Kerrs on Instagram.
We hope your family enjoys this One-Pan Butternut Squash + Turkey Gnocchi recipe as much as we do. Let us know if you try it in the comments or tag us @House_of_Kerrs on Instagram.
And to all our Canadian friends/family/readers, however you’re celebrating this Thanksgiving, we wish you one filled with love, light & delicious food.
Keep well, eat well,
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