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    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes

    Maple Sausage Gnocchi Skillet

    Published: Nov 27, 2017 · Modified: Jun 17, 2022 by Alyssa · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    Maple sausage, gnocchi, and sweet potato in a skillet.

    Looking for a maple sausage dinner recipe? This maple sausage gnocchi skillet comes together all in one pan for a relatively quick weeknight meal. No boiling is needed for the gnocchi, which are combined with sweet potato, maple sausage, and sage for a flavorful dinner recipe the whole family will love.

    Maple sausage, gnocchi, and sweet potato in a skillet.

    This recipe began as a mistake. And a pretty big one, at that!

    Intending to make this gnocchi with Italian sausage recipe, I realized the ground Italian sausage I’d pulled from the freezer was still a solid block. Rather than mess around with quick defrosting methods, I chopped up some fully-cooked chicken sausage links in its place.

    About three seconds after they went into the pan (and thankfully before I poured in the marinara) I realized they were maple chicken sausage. Whoops!

    With a few ingredient adjustments to adapt to this flavor swerve, we actually ended up LOVING this unlikely maple + sausage + gnocchi flavor combination so much that this version, with a few tweaks, found its place in our regular dinner rotation.

    Reasons to Love This Recipe

    • Using maple sausage in particular along with sage makes this dish just scream comfort food. I crave this flavor combination!
    • Everything cooks in one pan, from the sausage to the vegetables to the gnocchi, reducing the number of dishes needing to be washed.
    • Extra portions reheat very well for a top-notch lunch or quick leftover dinner.

    Recipe Ingredients

    Labeled maple sausage gnocchi skillet ingredients in separate containers.
    • Maple sausage: Any type of maple-flavored sausage product will likely work here (more discussion on the various kinds below). Even my homemade breakfast sausage recipe, with its hearty dose of maple syrup, would be a good option.
    • Gnocchi: I use the shelf-stable kind found in the dry pasta aisle, keeping in mind they’ll be pan-toasted and not boiled.
    • Chicken broth: Though it’s hard to tell in the finished pictures, two cups of broth reduce down to provide the base for an ultra creamy “sauce”. It’s one of my favorite tricks to employ when making gnocchi. I always use reduced-sodium.
    • Sage: This pairs with the maple sausage and sweet potato well to bring a warm and cozy flavor. You can use only dried sage varieties if it’s inconvenient to get fresh sage.

    What Type of Maple Sausage to Use?

    Wrapped ground maple sausage and maple chicken sausage links on a marble board.

    While the maple flavor makes the type of sausage used kind of particular, I’ve tested this maple sausage gnocchi recipe with several different types.

    Ground maple sausage, found in a tube near the bacon in the supermarket, is a great option if you can find it. This is raw so you’ll need to fully cook and crumble it.

    If you can’t find ground maple sausage, this also works with sliced maple chicken or turkey sausage links. These will likely be fully cooked already, so they’ll just need to be heated thoroughly until browned in the pan as the first step. Then slice and add back to the pan at the end.

    Step-by-Step Instructions

    1. Brown the ground sausage in a pan, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks. Transfer the cooked sausage to a plate so you can use the pan again.
    2. Heat a portion of the olive oil in the (now empty) pan and cook the sweet potato and onion until softened and golden. Transfer the veggies to another plate so you can use the pan one more time.
    Browned sausage in a pan (left) and sauteed onion and sweet potato in a pan (right).
    1. Now swirl together the remaining olive oil and the butter until melted. Add the gnocchi to the pan and toast it, stirring so that all sides turn golden-brown and no gnocchi are left sticking to one another.
    2. Next pour in the chicken broth. It will look very soupy at this point, but keep it cooking over medium heat.
    Browned gnocchi in a pan (left) and with broth just poured in (right).
    1. The broth will bubble up and begin to reduce. Stir everything up periodically.
    2. You want to aim for the broth to coat the gnocchi like a thick sauce, as seen in the bottom right photo.
    Broth halfway reduced over the gnocchi (left) and fully reduced (right).
    1. Add back the cooked and crumbled maple sausage and sweet potato, then add the sage, salt, and pepper. Stir everything up to combine, adjust the seasonings to taste, and then serve.
    Cooked sausage and sweet potato added back to the gnocchi pan.

    Recipe Tips and Tricks

    • You don’t have to dice the sweet potato so small, but I wanted smaller pieces that wouldn’t take a long time to cook. If using larger sweet potato chunks, increase the cooking time as appropriate before adding the onion.
    • Rubbed sage is used in this maple sausage gnocchi skillet, which consists of dried sage leaves that have been rubbed into a fluffed up powder. I find it more easily incorporates into a recipe in an even manner, so one bite isn’t super heavy on the sage and the next it’s missing entirely. You’ll notice a few fresh sage leaves as garnish here simply because I found I had a few leftover from other recipes, but they’re not necessary. See the recipe card below for substitution quantities for other forms of sage.
    An overhead picture of the gnocchi skillet in a pan with a wooden spoon.

    Related Recipes

    • Breakfast Sausage Recipe
    • Chicken Parmesan Gnocchi Skillet
    • Pesto Gnocchi Bake with Sausage and Spinach
    • Roasted Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts

    If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating in the recipe card and/or a comment review below!

    Maple sausage, gnocchi, and sweet potato in a skillet.

    Maple Sausage Gnocchi Skillet

    Looking for a maple sausage dinner recipe? This maple sausage gnocchi skillet comes together all in one pan for a relatively quick weeknight meal. No boiling is needed for the gnocchi, which are combined with sweet potato, maple sausage, and sage for a flavorful dinner recipe the whole family will love.
    4.37 from 11 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 28 minutes
    Total Time: 38 minutes
    Servings: 5
    Calories: 504kcal
    Author: Alyssa

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb ground maple sausage (or sausage links, see note)
    • 3 ½ Tablespoons olive oil divided
    • 1 medium/large sweet potato cut into ¼-inch cubes
    • 1 medium onion diced
    • 1 16-ounce package gnocchi uncooked
    • 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
    • 2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
    • 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
    • ⅛ teaspoon salt or to taste
    • ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste
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    Instructions

    • Add ground sausage to a pan set over medium heat. Break the sausage up into crumbles and cook until it's browned and no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer the cooked crumbled sausage to a paper towel-lined plate and place skillet back on the stove over medium heat.
    • Add 1 ½ Tablespoons of the olive oil to the now-empty pan and then add the diced sweet potato. Cook for 2-3 minutes, occasionally moving the potatoes around the pan so that all sides brown evenly.
    • Add another 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil along with the diced onion and continue to cook everything for 5-6 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and the onions are golden. Remove the potatoes and onions from the pan to a plate.
    • Place the pan back on the stove again and raise the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and 1 Tablespoon of unsalted butter to the pan. Swirl the olive oil and butter around until combined and the butter is melted. Add the gnocchi and stir to coat the gnocchi evenly.
    • Cook for 8 or so minutes, stirring frequently, until all sides of the gnocchi are golden-brown.
    • Reduce the heat to medium and pour in the chicken broth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the broth has nearly all reduced. The mixture won't be soupy, rather the gnocchi will be coated in a thick sauce.
    • Add the cooked sausage, sweet potato, and onion back to the pan with the gnocchi and stir to combine. Stir in the sage, salt, and pepper to taste and serve.

    Notes

    Sausage: Ground maple sausage can usually be found in the breakfast meats area of the grocery store, near the bacon. Other maple/breakfast meats can be used here in its place if you can’t find it, including chicken and turkey maple sausage links. Just cook them according to the package directions, slice them up, and continue with the recipe.
    Gnocchi: The variety of gnocchi I use are made up of 80% potato, and are found in the dry pasta aisle.
    Sage: If you do not have rubbed sage, you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon of ground sage or 1 1/2 Tablespoons of finely diced fresh sage. Start with those amounts and adjust as you see fit. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 504kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 1268mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 3.4g | Sugar: 3.7g | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1.6mg
    Tried this Recipe?Tag @mysequinedlife – I love to see what you’re making!

    Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.

    Food Safety and Nutrition Disclaimer
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    Comments

    1. Tammy says

      December 02, 2021 at 6:30 pm

      5 stars
      This is definitely different and I found because I searched dinner using maple sausage ideas (bought too much-needed to use); anyway, I couldn’t be happier about finding it! Easy to follow directions and tasty! My husband & I both went back for more!

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        December 06, 2021 at 10:00 am

        I’m so happy you and your husband liked this recipe, Tammy! Thanks for letting me know how it went. 🙂

        Reply
    2. Chelsea says

      November 17, 2021 at 12:23 am

      5 stars
      Made this tonight and oh boy! It was a hit with the family and definitely on the ‘make again’ list. Followed the recipe as is and it was delicious!!

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        November 18, 2021 at 8:09 am

        I’m so happy you and your family liked this one, Chelsea! Thanks for letting me know how it went. 🙂

        Reply
    3. Angela says

      October 29, 2019 at 3:58 pm

      5 stars
      I made this with butternut squash gnocchi. This is a delicious quick and easy meal. Thank you for sharing. It is nice to have a variety of go to recipes this is definitely on the top 5 list

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        October 30, 2019 at 9:12 am

        I’m so glad you liked it! It sounds delicious with butternut squash gnocchi – I’ll have to try that.

        Reply
    4. Allie says

      October 27, 2019 at 8:12 am

      I couldn’t find maple sausage, can I use regular sausage (jimmy dean) and add maple syrup for the flavor?

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        October 27, 2019 at 6:37 pm

        I think that would work! I haven’t tried it that way, but I’d add it towards the end once the broth is reducing.

        Reply

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