Cozy Baked Gnocchi With Italian Sausage & Fontina Cheese

This baked gnocchi dish is the perfect winter comfort food.

This isn’t your new year diet dish, this is your cozy winter comfort food dish! Gnocchi baked up with sausage and melty cheese will have your kitchen smelling of Italy, and your taste buds will thank you!

Marguerite Henderson shares how to make this Italian classic. She shares how to make sure your gnocchi is cooked just right, and how to bake it all together for crispy, cheesy goodness.

Find more recipes from Marguerite on Instagram, @margueriteh100.

Baked Gnocchi With Sausage and Fontina Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 lb. gnocchi, cooked “al dente”, drained
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
• 1 tsp. fennel seed
• 5 T. butter
• 5 T. flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup half and half
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• About ½ lb. fresh spinach leaves (use a 9 oz. bag of spinach leaves)
• ½ lb. Fontina, Swiss or Gruyere cheese, shredded or cut into small dice

Directions

Place the cooked gnocchi in a baking dish (9” x 13” works well).

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the garlic and sausage. Sauté until no longer pink; add fennel seed and cook another minute. Remove to a bowl; in same skillet, add butter and melt over medium heat. Stir in the flour; whisking until combined. Stir in the broth, half and half and salt. Cook another 2-3 minutes until thickened slightly. Stir in the spinach leaves and cook just until wilted. Add the cooked sausage to the sauce. Pour over the gnocchi, sprinkle on the Fontina cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes in a preheated 375o oven. Serve at once.  Serves 6-8.