Pumpkin Sage and Sausage Baked Gnocchi

It doesn’t get any more comforting than pumpkin sage gnocchi. Fall is here to stay, so celebrate the fall season with this cheesy, baked pasta! And it proves pumpkin can go savory, too!

Dish Count :: 1 Saucepan, 1 Skillet, 1 Baking Dish

The Purge has begun. No, no this isn’t the box office Ethan Hawke movie bomb… The Purge of the last five years of one-bedroom apartment life has begun. It’s not until you start undoing the last however-many-years-you’ve-lived-in-one-place of stuff that you realize how much utter crap you have, like a $3 flower vase that hasn’t actually held flower in probably just as many years. I’m all for keeping the useful, but getting rid of the fluff. This is coming from the girl that wants a tiny house, so maybe that says something.

Or, it says that I severely take after my own mother who dispenses with the useless like it’s no tomorrow. My mom and bonus dad are champion “tiny house livers”, not because they live in a tiny house per se… they live in small quarters but it’s not a house. It’s a small travel trailer that they have lived in while building their dream house.  Over the last years they have mastered the living situation and I’m taking note. We aren’t moving into a tiny house either – much to my dismay – but never the less, it’s time to get rid of the junk. 

With Ben and I on different schedules, the move is going to prove challenging (*cough* already is…), because I’m getting rid of stuff as he sleeps, only to find him standing over the PILE of throw away stuff I’ve deemed junk only to have it questioned – like said $3 vase. If it wasn’t me in this situation, it would be completely comical to see grown adults bickering over a cheap glass vase, but right now I’m in a mood to purge and once it’s in the pile, there is no turning back.

Don’t worry, I haven’t been lurking and throwing his stuff out, just my own. But he will probably be sleeping with one eye open from now until the move is done.

The other side of the Purge is that the food in the fridge is going to all get eaten before we move, too. Moving time is the perfect chance to eat through those stores you have of canned goods that well, they’re just to heavy to haul. I’d rather eat those 75 cent cans of green beans than haul them to the new place. I mean, I was cleaning out the back of my baking cupboard and found a can of condensed milk I bought that I actually needed a can opener for!

How old was this can? It was so old that it had turned into dulce de leche in the back of the cupboard. And I didn’t even need a slow cooker to do it! I should shudder, but it was fine and I’m still alive to tell the tale, so it wasn’t like prehistoric…

But regardless – it’s time to purge and one of the other things I found to get rid of was a package of gnocchi! Talk about the perfect way to purpose it in this pumpkin sage and sausage baked gnocchi! And with pumpkin, sausage and goat cheese, you will be seeing STARS friends. STARS. Clean out your cupboards ASAP and make this tonight!

Ingredients Needed for Pumpkin Sage and Sausage Baked Gnocchi

• Gnocchi – use packaged for quick cooking, or use this homemade gnocchi recipe
• Onion
• Pork
• Pumpkin Puree – don’t use pumpkin pie mix, puree is the key here.
• Spaghetti Sauce – any brand, or homemade pasta sauce will do!
• Garlic
• Basil – Fresh basil adds light flavor
• Mozzarella
• Goat Cheese
• Red Pepper Flakes – adds a little heat, or omit if desired.
• Salt and Pepper

Pumpkin Sage and Sausage Baked Gnocchi

• Author: Country Cleaver
• Prep Time: 20 Minutes
• Cook Time: 25 Minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6
• Category: Main Course
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: Italian

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Description

Fall is here to stay, so celebrate the fall season with this cheesy, baked pasta! And it proves pumpkin can go savory, too!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 package Gnocchi, prepared according to package directions
• 1/2 Onion, caramelized
• 1 pound Sage Pork Sausage (or use Plain Pork Sausage, add 1 Tbsp Dried Sage), cooked and drained
• 1 1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1 1/2 cup Spaghetti Sauce (your choice of flavor and brand, I used Newman’s Own Fire Roasted Tomato)
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Basil Leaves, chopped
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 cup Goat Cheese, crumbled
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt and Pepper

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, cook sausage until browned and cooked through. Drain and set aside.
2. Caramelize onion over medium high heat. Set aside. 
3. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions in one sauce pan with salted water.
4. In saucepan that the gnocchi was cooked in, stir together pumpkin puree, spaghetti sauce, chopped basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, half of the goat cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a simmer and heat through.
5. Add in gnocchi, sausage and caramelized onion.  Fold the items together until gnocchi are completely coated in sauce.
6. Pour the mixture into a baking dish. Top with remaining mozzarella and goat cheese.
7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes until the cheese has melted and the casserole has heated through. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

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Keywords: Pasta, Pumpkin, Recipe, Cheese