If you are looking for the best sauce for gnocchi you've come to the right place! This easy butternut squash & chorizo based gnocchi sauce with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and creamy goat's cheese is not only quick enough to make as a midweek meal but also extremely wholesome and delicious!
What are gnocchi?
Gnocchi are the most wonderful little pillows of potato deliciousness! No really, they are, although that might not be a very technical term for it I'm afraid. They are, however, an Italian specialty and in really simple terms they are potato dumplings. Even though they are not technically classed as pasta I think of them as such and it would be hard for me to break that link.
Ingredients you'll need to make the best sauce for gnocchi! (and possible substitutions)
Vacuum packed gnocchi - I love making my own potato gnocchi when I have time but I always have a packet of readily available vacuum packed gnocchi in my cupboard. It's simply perfect for quick and easy midweek dinners and cooks in mere couple of minutes!
Butternut Squash - One of my favourite veggies available pretty much all year round. It keeps really well in cool storage and you simply can't beat it roasted.
Fresh or frozen spinach - To make this sauce even healthier I like to use some spinach and whether you use fresh or frozen it simply doesn't matter here. When using frozen simply defrost it as per packaging instructions and add to your sauce at the same time as you would fresh one.
Sun-dried tomatoes - One of my favourite store-cupboard staples, I always have a jar on the go. Their intense flavour really makes this dish and the herby oil they are in is perfect for using up in your cooking. I like drizzling it over my butternut squash when roasting it.
Chorizo - My all time favourite and again a staple I always keep in my fridge as only a small amount will transform any dish. I tend to use dried (cured) variety most often, however, fresh will work really nicely here as well.
Goat's Cheese - I love using creamy goat's cheese here and on this occasion I went for garlic and herbs variety but plain one would do just fine. If you are not a fan of this lovely cheese feel free to substitute it with any creamy cheese - either plain cream cheese, mascarpone or stronger gorgonzola would go really nicely here.
Sage - Perfect pairing for both butternut squash and gnocchi. I love its earthy and almost perfume like aroma. Use either dried or fresh.
Tips on how to make this Easy Butternut Squash & Chorizo Gnocchi truly a midweek dinner!
Despite having to roast butternut squash, this easy dinner can be on your table in mere 40 minutes! It's all about multitasking here. There is a bit of prep involving cutting and peeling butternut squash which you get on with while your oven is pre-heating. Once squash is roasting you can get on with all the other components of your feast like making the base for your lovely sauce as per recipe below. Approximately 10 minutes before taking butternut squash out of the oven put the pan of salted water on to boil your gnocchi. As you can see all is happening during the time your butternut squash is roasting. No time is wasted!
If you are a bit of a planner, you can always roast it the night before and save yourself some peeling and cutting time on the day!
How to serve the best sauce for gnocchi plus reheating and freezing tips!
This sauce is really simple yet very moreish so it doesn't really need anything extra and is perfect served as is. If you are feeling particularly hungry though, nice slice of fresh bread or toasted sourdough would go really nicely here (it always does).
We very rarely have any leftovers but when we do I am the one who reheats what's left the following day for lunch and I must say it always tastes as good as when it was cooked. I froze Easy Chorizo and Butternut Squash Gnocchi before as well and it freezes really well. Simply pop it in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Don't forget to label it to avoid playing freezer roulette later and to know when you should use it by too. Defrost in the fridge overnight or if you are in a hurry microwave will do too (tried and rested)!
Easy Butternut Squash & Chorizo Gnocchi - the best sauce Step-By-Step
📋 Recipe
Easy Butternut Squash & Chorizo Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 500 g pack of vacuum packed gnocchi
- 1 butternut squash 1kg/2lb unpeeled weight
- 1 tablespoon dried sage or few fresh leaves (chopped)
- 150 g fresh spinach or baby spinach leaves washed and roughly chopped or left whole if using baby spinach
- 100 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil roughly chopped
- 100-125 g chorizo sausage see notes below
- 150 g soft goat's cheese (plain or garlic & herbs) see notes below
- rapeseed or olive oil for drizzling over butternut squash for roasting see notes below
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Peel and chop your squash into small chunks, pop onto baking tray with a drizzle of oil and sprinkle of dried or fresh sage, some sea salt and pepper and roast for 20-30 min until soft but holding its shape.
- While squash is in the oven skin (if using dried) and chop your chorizo and fry it in a dry pan until it starts releasing its lovely fat. Let it colour nicely for couple of minutes and add washed and roughly chopped spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Follow with the goat's cheese and mix well until the veggie mixture looks nice and creamy. Set aside.
- Boil your gnocchi as per instructions on the packet (put the pan of salted water on approx. 10 minutes before your butternut squash is ready).
- Check on butternut squash and when ready add it to the sauce and mix in gently.
- Once gnocchi are cooked transfer them with a slotted spoon onto the pan with your creamy butternut squash and chorizo mixture. You might want to add a splash of water from cooking gnocchi to loosen the sauce a bit
- Plate up and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate and should be treated as a guideline only.
- You can use either dried (cured) or fresh chorizo in this recipe.
- You could substitute goat's cheese with any soft creamy cheese of your liking. Mascarpone works particularly well here.
- I like using oil from sun-dried tomatoes to drizzle over my butternut squash when roasting.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published on 08 March 2017, but was republished with new recipe card, updated photos, step-by-step process photos, tips and other useful info in February 2019.
MAKE SURE YOU STAY UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE LATEST RECIPES FROM JO’S KITCHEN LARDER
Other quick dinners you might enjoy!
Butternut Squash & Chorizo Risotto
Easy Prawn & Chorizo Cheat's Paella
One Pot Leftover Ham & Pea Pasta
Cheat's Jerk Chicken with Rice & Peas
Have you tried my Easy Butternut Squash & Chorizo Gnocchi? Leave a comment at the bottom of this post, I love reading them! You can also come and say hello over on my Facebook page, Twitter, or Instagram.
Pin Easy Butternut Squash & Chorizo Gnocchi For Later!
Linkies:
Cook Once Eat Twice and Cook Blog Share
Kristen says
What a great recipe!! I was told “this is a restaurant quality meal”! Thanks for creating
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Kristen 🙂 We do love it for its ease and how wonderfully comforting it is too 🙂
Corina Blum says
This sauce sounds delicious! I love using chorizo too and it goes so well with butternut squash and goat's cheese. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice! x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Corina! 🙂 Chorizo is such a fantastic ingredient isn't it, my favourite fridge staple for sure! 🙂 x
Anna | Once Upon A Food Blog says
Ooh, this looks yummy, and a little bit different to the kind of thing I normally serve for dinner. Chorizo always goes down well in my house so I'm sure it wouldn't last long!
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Anna! It is soo good! Such a lovely plate of delicious comfort food for sure! 🙂
Monika Dabrowski says
Great comfort food! I like the goats cheese in this recipe. Thank you for joining in with #CookBlogShare
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you Monika! 🙂 Goat's cheese is perfect for adding lovely creaminess to this dish.