If you’re looking for a fall-inspired, comforting and flavorful meal, look no further than this chicken sausage, gnocchi, and butternut squash sheet pan meal. It is an easy recipe with minimal clean up. That’s a win win!
What You’ll Need
- Butternut squash
- Apple
- Refrigerated gnocchi
- Apple chicken sausage
- Olive oil
- Fresh sage
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic powder
- Fresh nutmeg
Variations of a Sheet Pan Meal
The reality is, a sheet pan meal is so versatile and you can really swap things in and out as needed. You could easily do sweet potato or acorn squash or delicata squash instead of butternut squash. You could add a nonstarchy vegetable like brussels sprouts or cauliflower. If you want to reduce the carbohydrate content, you could also give Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi a try. For protein, any variety of chicken sausage would be great, but you could also opt for any protein. Of course, pre-cooked sausages are the easiest protein choice here, but you can also alter the cooking time and use uncooked proteins. Check out our fall sheet pan blog for more ideas on how to put together your own sheet pan dinner.
Why make this chicken sausage sheet pan meal?
I love using chicken sausage in sheet pan meals because they are precooked. You can throw them on towards the end of the cooking time, just long enough to warm them up. They are also an easy clean up option for protein and they are flavorful! The other thing that sets this meal apart is the gnocchi. Many sheet pan meals rely on plain potatoes or sweet potatoes as the carbohydrate source. Gnocchi is just a different texture and quite enjoyable in my opinion!
Making Ahead/Storage
You can easily make this in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave!
Serving Suggestion
There are two things to consider when it comes to the suggested serving. One would be carbohydrate content. If you are watching your blood sugars, you may need to pair a serving of this meal with a nonstarchy vegetable to increase fiber and help balance out your blood sugars. Another reason to be mindful of serving size is the sodium content. Gnocchi and chicken sausage are sources of sodium. If you are watching your salt intake, you may want to add veggies to help round out the meal without adding more sodium.
Chicken Sausage and Gnocchi Sheet Pan Meal
Ingredients
- 5 cups butternut squash cubed
- 1 apple diced
- 12 oz gnocchi refrigerated, like Rana Skillet Gnocchi
- 12 oz chicken sausage links apple variety, sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp sage fresh, chopped
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- nutmeg fresh, grated
- sage whole leaves, fried, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Place butternut squash, apple, gnocchi, and chicken sausage onto sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sage, salt (omit if limiting sodium intake), pepper, and garlic powder. Toss to combine. Cover sheet pan with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through, until squash is soft.
- Top with fresh grated nutmeg.
- If desired, heat a neutral oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. Fry sage leaves until crispy. Remove and let cool, then use as garnish. A little extra, but adds a little tasty crunch.
Nutrition
An award winning recipe developer, Dietitian Kaitlin’s mission is to empower others to reach their health goals by encouraging them to get back into the kitchen. Co-author of Nourished: 10 Ingredients to Happy, Healthy Eating and Cooking with Diabetes.
