To be honest, the recipe did not come out looking very pretty which is why we covered it in extra sage and basil for this photo. But it tastes a lot better than it looks! Creamy, salty, a little sweet, savory, hearty. And it has your daily dose of greens with the spinach cooked into the dish.

This is obviously not a traditional Thanksgiving side dish but it is oh-so-yummy and could spice things up a bit next to a turkey!

Butternut Squash, Spinach, and Sausage Gnocchi

Serves 6

Ingredients:

– 1 tbsp, olive oil
– 3 tbsp, unsalted butter
– 1 lb, ground sweet Italian sausage (Anel doesn’t eat pork so I buy turkey or chicken sausage)
– 1 small butternut squash, cut into small cubes
– 1 yellow onion, diced
– 4 cloves garlic, minced
– 1 tsp, red pepper flakes
– Salt to taste
– 1 tsp dried sage (plus optional fresh sage for garnish)
– 1/4 tsp, ground nutmeg
– 2 cups, chicken or veggie broth
– 1 lb, gnocchi
– 5-6 handfuls, baby spinach
– Grated parm for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Warm your olive oil in a large skillet and add the sausage over medium heat. Break apart the meat as you cook it until it is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a plate.

2. Add the butter to the pan (don’t clean it in between), and the squash and onion once it’s melted. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 10 minutes.

3. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and sage and cook for another minute.

4. Add 1.5 cups of chicken broth and the gnocchi to the skillet and increase the heat to medium-high. Stir to coat the gnocchi, then cover the pan.

5. Cook, covered, until the gnocchi is just tender, about 5 minutes. Uncover and stir in the sausage. Stir in the spinach a few handfuls at a time, allowing it to wilt. Once everything is cooked, add a few more dashes of chicken broth until it’s the consistency you want.

6. Sprinkle with Parmesan and enjoy!

Photo by Julia Dags.