Sausage and Peppers Sheet Pan Gnocchi

March 3, 2022 Laura

A lot of the Italian recipes I share in this space are either family dishes or inspired by family favourites. Growing up in an Italian household, sausage and peppers sandwiches were something my dad enjoyed on the weekend for lunch. He always made such a big fuss about his sandwiches, flaunting his stuffed-to-the-brim roll that oozed with sauce. Like the food-obsessed usually do, he had a song, and even a dance, that accompanied this weekend ritual. To say he loved the sandwich is a gross understatement.

This sheet pan supper is definitely inspired by my dad. He always used a combination of red and green peppers, but we have some green pepper skeptics in this house, so yellow it is. You use the peppers you love since those are the rules my dad set. I also coated the gnocchi, sausage and vegetables with a simple sauce because that’s the way my dad enjoyed it. He believed the soggier the bread the better. I took a more cautious approach, but ramped up the cheese; something he would never do. In fact, he didn’t believe in adding cheese to his sammie but this is my dish so I get to follow his lead for making it about what I love. The trick to this sheet pan is to make sure your peppers and onions are cut to the same thickness and I recommend not making them thicker than 1/2 inch so they cook in the time I’ve recommended. The same goes with your chunks of sausage; make sure they’re not too big. You’ll love the crispy edges of the gnocchi against the pillowy middle but, more importantly, you’ll appreciate the ease of this truly weeknight ready sheet pan. If you’re inspired to sing and dance like my sweet daddy, then I know this dish has done its job.

Sausage and Peppers Sheet Pan Gnocchi

This sheet pan has everything you love about a sausage and peppers sandwich including tender peppers and sweet onions as well as the extra bonus of melty mozzarella. Instead of bread it has pillowy gnocchi. Don't tell your Italian bread, but this switch may be the better carb!

Print Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

1 cup passata
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
500 gram package of gnocchi
1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced into equal sized pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced into equal sized pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced into equal sized pieces
4 mild Italian sausages, removed from their casing and broken up into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup cubed pieces of fresh mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh parmesan
fresh basil

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Line a large sheet pan with foil or parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the passata, oil, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano and pepper.
Scatter the peppers and onion across the sheet pan in a single layer. Add the sausage meat and break it up into chuncks.
Scatter the gnocchi across the sheet pan.
Pour the sauce over everything; mix to coat and finish with everything in a single layer.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes then give everything a stir and sprinkle mozzarella chunks over top and put back in the oven to cook another 10 minutes, or until the mozzarella is melted and peppers are soft.
Remove sheet pan from oven and sprinkle with paremsan and fresh basil. Serve.