Name: Chicken Sausage Gnocchi Skillet Meal Viva Bertolli
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 T olive oil; 1 onion (sweet vidalia, diced); 2 garlic cloves (minced); 1 lb chicken sausage (spicy or mild, removed from casing); 17.5 oz potato gnocchi (dry); 1 jar Bertolli® Riserva Marinara; 1/2 C vegetable broth (or chicken); 2 C packed baby spinach; 20-24 ciliegine (mini mozzarella balls); Optional: fresh basil garnish

Chicken Sausage Gnocchi Skillet Meal Viva Bertolli - A quick and easy skillet meal that is made a bit lighter by using chicken sausage. This dish will quickly become a family favorite!

I've really been focusing on skillet meals lately. They are easy and quick and the way I make them, they are full of flavor!

I usually make my skillet meals with pasta or noodles of some sort but I wanted to really mix this one up, so I used gnocchi. If you aren't familiar with gnocchi, you can get it right in the pasta aisle at your grocery store. When they cook up they are fluffy little pillows of goodness! One of these days I'll get around to making gnocchi from scratch, but for now, I just rely on my grocery store.

Hey, did you guys realize it's spring yet? We are having the wackiest weather here in New England. Last week, we had a day close to 70 and then snow the next. So crazy. Anyway, now that spring has sprung, I feel like I need green in my dishes. It lightens and brightens and usually adds a bit of healthy stuff. I added a good helping of spinach into this dish. Just because.

While I do enjoy making my own marinara. I just don't have the time during the week. I like to keep a jar of Bertolli® Riserva Marinara on hand for mid-week meals. I have mentioned in the past, one of my criteria for store bought sauces is it must have a short ingredient list. That is something to keep in mind next time you are purchasing a marinara.

Oh, I wanted to mention, for this skillet meal, I used a spicy chicken sausage. If your kiddos can't take the heat, just use a mild version.

So for this recipe all I did was soften up some onion and garlic in a large skillet. Then I added in the sausage and cooked it until no longer pink in the middle. Next I added the gnocchi, broth and marinara. I let it cook only about 5 minutes and then I wilted in the spinach. Finally, I finished it off with some tiny mozzarella balls. You know, because everything is better with cheese!

When all is said and done, the entire thing took less than 30 minutes.

Keep the Tuscan theme going and serve a loaf of Pane Tuscano (Tuscan bread) alongside this skillet meal to sop up all that delicious marinara sauce!

Is this Chicken Sausage Gnocchi Skillet Meal the kind of Italian meal your family will enjoy? For more Tuscan inspiration please visit the Viva Bertolli Cooking School page.

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