One-Pot Zuppa Toscana Gnocchi
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This One-Pot Zuppa Toscana Gnocchi takes the classic soup flavors of Italian sausage, bacon, kale and a creamy garlic-Parmesan sauce and turns them into a hearty gnocchi dinner. The potato gnocchi cooks right in the sauce, so everything comes together in one pot in 30 minutes. It’s rich, cozy and incredibly flavorful without requiring a long ingredient list or much cleanup. If you love Zuppa Toscana but need an easy weeknight dinner, this is such a delicious way to change it up.
Everyone Loves Zuppa Toscana
Zuppa Toscana is one of those recipes that just seems to be universally loved. My kids ask for my 30-Minute Zuppa Toscana Soup pretty regularly, and after making it more times than I can count, I started wondering what else I could do with those flavors.
Enter gnocchi!
Instead of potatoes, the gnocchi cooks right in the creamy sausage sauce and turns everything into more of a pasta dinner than a soup. You still get the Italian sausage, bacon, kale and creamy broth flavors that make Zuppa Toscana so good, but the finished dish is thick, scoopable and very slurpable — which feels like the appropriate word here.
And I really love how quickly this recipe moves. If you get your ingredients out, chop what needs chopping and have everything ready before you turn on the stove, you can truly get this on the table from start to finish in about 30 minutes. I actually find that kind of cooking really enjoyable. Everything goes into the pot at just the right time, dinner comes together before you know it, and you feel like you accomplished something because, well, you did!
Maybe that’s just the cook geek in me, but I get excited about these things.
Italian sausage is also one of my favorite shortcuts for making a weeknight dinner taste comforting and flavorful without adding a million ingredients. I use it in my Sausage and Broccoli Skillet with Whipped Lemon Ricotta for the same reason. Flavor, baby.
Perhaps my love of sausage is because my husband is Italian and it’s basically part of his DNA — and now my kids’ DNA. And I’m from Iowa, so sausage it is.
Sausage for the win.
How This Comes Together So Fast
The trick with a true 30-minute dinner is getting yourself organized before you turn on the stove. Pull everything out, chop what needs chopping and have your ingredients ready to go. It’s kind of like picking out your outfit the night before. It just helps move things a long.
Once the bacon starts cooking, this recipe moves quickly. The sausage and onion brown in the same pot, then the sauce comes together and the gnocchi cooks right in it. There’s no second pot of water and no potatoes to peel or boil.
That’s exactly the kind of dinner I want to make during the week: familiar ingredients, one pot and very little cleanup.
Ingredients and Instructions
Please note that these pictures are meant to provide a helpful visual overview of the recipe. Full ingredient measurements and detailed instructions are located in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post!
One More Dinner for the Rotation!
This is really what I want Stuck on Sweet dinners to be: comforting food that everyone is excited to eat, but simple enough to make on a regular weeknight.
Zuppa Toscana was already a staple in our house. Turning those same flavors into a creamy gnocchi dinner just gave us another way to enjoy something we already love — and this one disappeared very quickly.
Add some crusty bread if you want something to scoop through the sauce, serve it straight from the pot and call dinner done! Please comment, rate or reach out with questions! I love hearing from you!
One-Pot Zuppa Toscana Gnocchi
This One-Pot Zuppa Toscana Gnocchi turns the classic soup into a creamy, hearty 30-minute dinner with Italian sausage, bacon, kale and tender potato gnocchi. Everything cooks in one pot for an easy family dinner with minimal cleanup.
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 package shelf-stable potato gnocchi, approximately 17.6 ounces
- 3 cups finely chopped kale, tough stems removed
- ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, optional
- Kosher salt, as needed
Instructions
- Add 5 chopped bacon slices to a large Dutch oven or deep 12-inch skillet set over medium heat. Cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crisp. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate using a slotted spoon. Leave approximately 1 tablespoon of bacon grease in the pot.
- Add 1 pound mild Italian sausage and 1 finely chopped yellow onion to the bacon grease. Cook over medium-high heat for 5–6 minutes, breaking the sausage into small pieces, until the sausage is browned and the onion is soft. Drain off excess grease if more than 1 tablespoon remains in the pot.
- Stir in 4 minced garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Pour in 1 cup chicken broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in ¾ cup heavy cream and bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Do not bring it to a rapid boil.
- Stir in one 17.6-ounce package of potato gnocchi. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove the lid and stir the gnocchi well. Add 3 cups finely chopped kale and continue cooking uncovered this time for 2–4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the gnocchi is tender, the kale has softened and the sauce has reduced slightly.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until melted. Continue cooking for 1 minute, stirring constantly. The sauce should coat the gnocchi rather than pool heavily in the bottom of the pot.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, if using, and half of the crispy bacon. Taste and add kosher salt only if needed.
- Let the gnocchi rest uncovered for 5 minutes. The sauce will continue thickening as it stands.
- Spoon into shallow bowls and top with the remaining bacon and additional Parmesan.
Notes
Use a wide pot. A wide Dutch oven or deep skillet allows the liquid to evaporate more effectively than a narrow saucepan, creating a thicker sauce.
Do not boil the cream. Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer to prevent the cream from separating and the gnocchi from becoming too soft.
The sauce may initially look loose. Parmesan and the starch released by the gnocchi will thicken it. The five-minute resting time is important.
Do not add extra broth unless necessary. If the sauce becomes too thick before the gnocchi is tender, add chicken broth 2 tablespoons at a time.
For a thicker finish: Use only ½ cup heavy cream. The sauce will be less rich but will cling more tightly to the gnocchi.
For children who do not like kale: Chop it very finely or replace it with 2 packed cups of baby spinach. Stir spinach in during the final minute of cooking.
To reheat: Add a small splash of chicken broth or cream and reheat gently over low heat. The gnocchi will absorb more sauce as it sits.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
5Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 744Total Fat: 52gSaturated Fat: 25gUnsaturated Fat: 28gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 1714mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gProtein: 37g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated. Use as an approximation only.
