Sausage, Garlic & Fennel Gnocchi
This creamy sausage, garlic & fennel gnocchi is super comforting & easy to make! We’re making this pasta dish with caramelised sausage meat, fennel seeds, parmesan, cream & fresh tarragon.
Fluffy potato gnocchi served in a garlickly sausage, fennel seed, white wine, parmesan & tarragon cream sauce! This is an incredibly easy pasta dish to make at home, it’s jam packed full of flavour and is perfect for a simple midweek dinner. You can’t really go wrong with this one! All in, it only takes around 20 minutes to make.
So I used shop bought gnocchi for this dish but you can easily make your own if you like (here’s my potato gnocchi recipe!). Or if you’d prefer, you can swap the gnocchi out for another type of pasta like tagliatelle, pappardelle or rigatoni. It’ll be good whatever you use.
Now the creamy, garlic sausage sauce. This is a really straightforward pasta sauce to make & it’s all made in one pan. We start by caramelising some good quality sausage meat which we’re going to be stirring some crushed fennel seeds through. Then it’s just a case of frying onion & garlic, deglazing the pan with white wine then adding in cream, parmesan & lemon juice then letting it gently bubble away whilst the gnocchi cooks. To finish, we simply stir the gnocchi through sauce, as well as a splash of pasta water & some fresh tarragon, for that punchy Béarnaise style flavour.
For more dinner recipes, take a look at our ever growing collection of main courses! There’s something for everyone here, from more homemade pasta dishes, to steaks, pies, fried chicken, burritos & lots more.
What You’ll Need
- Gnocchi – We’re using potato gnocchi for this dish. Either shop bought or homemade gnocchi will work! Or you can swap the gnocchi out for another pasta like pappardelle or rigatoni.
- Sausages – Using good quality sausages makes all the difference when making pasta sauces! I used peppery Cumberland sausages but you can use pretty much whatever type of sausage you like. An Italian style pork & fennel sausage would also work well. I took the skins off some sausages but you could use pre made sausage meat instead.
- Fennel Seeds – Pork & fennel work really well together, so we’re stirring some crushed fennel seeds through the sausage meat as it cooks. Fennel seeds have a slightly sweet, subtle anise flavour so they cut through the rich flavour from the pork nicely.
- Onion – I used a white onion for my pasta sauce but you could use shallots or red onions instead.
- Garlic – I like to add plenty of fresh garlic into my sauce but feel free to add in as much, or as little as you like!
- Cream – I used double cream, for a rich, creamy sauce. For a lighter flavour, you could use single cream instead. You won’t need to add as much pasta water if you use single cream, so keep that in mind!
- White Wine – Don’t worry about using an expensive white wine for this dish but it should be something you’d happily drink! If you’d like to make this pasta alcohol free, deglaze the pan with a small amount of water instead or stock.
- Parmesan – For the best flavour, it’s best to buy a piece of parmesan & grate it yourself!
- Tarragon – A generous amount of finely chopped fresh tarragon adds a sweet, anise flavour, similar to the flavour from the fennel seeds. You could use fresh sage or parsley if you’d prefer though.
- Lemon Juice – Adding a splash of lemon juice to the pasta sauce cuts through the richness from the cream, sausage meat & cheese.
How To Make Sausage, Garlic & Fennel Gnocchi
This is a super easy pasta dish to make & comes together in no time at all! We start by caramelising sausage meat & frying some onion & garlic then we add in cream, parmesan & a splash of lemon juice and let it simmer away whilst we cook the gnocchi. Then it’s just a case of adding the pasta into the sauce with a splash of pasta water then stirring in some fresh tarragon…
Garlicky Sausage & Fennel Sauce
This creamy garlicky sausage & fennel sauce is made by frying sausage meat until deeply caramelised then stirring in crushed fennel seeds. Once the meat is cooked, it gets taken out of the pan then we add in diced onion & grated garlic, fry until soft then add the sausage meat back. At this point, we deglaze the pan with white wine, to release all of that flavour from the bottom of the pan!
Now that the base for our sauce is ready, all we need to do now is add in some double cream, grated parmesan, lemon juice and salt & pepper, to taste. This now simmers away gently whilst we cook our gnocchi, so that it can thicken up slightly.
Cooking Gnocchi
If you’re using shop bought gnocchi, like I did, you’ll need to cook it in boiling salted water following the instructions on the packet. If you’ve made your own, you’ll need to cook it in boiling salted water until it floats. Either way, the gnocchi will only take a few minutes to cook & you’ll need to keep hold of the cooking water, to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
Finishing & Serving
Once the gnocchi is cooked, we use a slotted spoon to transfer it into the sauce, plus enough of the pasta water to give the sauce a flossy finish & a thin enough consistency to coat the pasta. You probably won’t need a lot! To finish, we stir some finely chopped tarragon through the sauce then spoon the gnocchi into bowls & top with grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil & a few cracks of black pepper.
Frequently Asked Questions
To cook sausage gnocchi on an Aga, use the boiling plate to brown the sausage meat, to cook the onion & to deglaze the pan. Move over to the simmering plate to add the cream & cheese in then cook the gnocchi on the boiling plate.
You can use pretty much whatever type of sausage you like when making pasta sauces! For a creamy pasta sauce, I often opt for a Cumberland sausage that has a peppery flavour, a classic English breakfast sausage or an Italian style pork & fennel sausage.
It’s best to make & serve creamy sausage gnocchi fresh as the texture of the sauce will start to thicken as it cools. However, if you’ve got any leftover it will keep in the fridge for a day or two & can be reheated in a pan on the stove, with a splash of water to loosen the sauce off.
Yes, gnocchi can definitely be swapped out for regular pasta if you’d prefer. I’d recommend using pappardelle, rigatoni or farfalle.
Yes, cream based pasta sauces can be made without alcohol. Usually white wine is used to deglaze the pan before adding in the cream but to make it without alcohol, you could use a splash of water or stock instead.
More Dinner Recipes To Try!
- Gochujang Fish Cakes
- Classic Confit Duck Legs
- Honey Roast Ham, Egg & Chips
- Korean Style Buttermilk Fried Chicken
- Curried Chicken & Coconut Rice Traybake
- Beef Burritos
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Sausage, Garlic & Fennel Gnocchi
Equipment
- Large Saucepans
- Microplane/Grater
Ingredients
Sausage, Garlic & Fennel Sauce
- 400 g Pork Sausages (6 Sausages)
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds (Crushed In A Pestle & Mortar)
- 50 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 White Onion (Finely Diced)
- 6 Garlic Cloves (Grated)
- 150 ml White Wine (See Notes)
- 250 ml Double Cream
- 60 g Parmesan (Grated)
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Tarragon
- 500 g Gnocchi (See Notes)
To Serve
- Grated Parmesan
- Olive Oil
Instructions
Sausage, Garlic & Fennel Sauce
- Remove & discard the skins from the sausages then crumble the meat into small pieces.
- Next, place a large pan over a medium heat then add in the olive oil & leave to heat up for a minute. Once the oil's hot, add in the crumbled up sausage meat then fry, stirring occasionally until it's well browned & caramelised. This will take 4-5 minutes.
- Once the sausage meat is cooked, stir in the crushed fennel seeds then fry for another 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to a bowl, leaving any fat/oil in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Add the butter into the pan then once melted, add in the diced onion & a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions are soft & translucent. This will take around 10 minutes.
- Next, stir the grated garlic into the onions, cook for another 30 seconds then stir in the sausage meat. Turn the heat back up to medium.
- Pour the white wine into the pan then cook, until reduced almost completely. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, to deglaze the pan & release all the caramelised bits!
- Whilst the pan is deglazing, bring a separate, large pan of salted water to the boil over a high heat. This is for cooking the gnocchi in.
- Once the pan has been deglazed, add in the double cream, grated parmesan & lemon juice then stir to combine & season to taste with salt & pepper. Leave to simmer gently over a low heat whilst you cook the gnocchi.
- Next, cook the gnocchi in the pan of water following the packet's instructions. You'll know when the gnocchi's cooked when it starts to float. This only tends to take around 3-4 minutes.
To Finish & Serve
- Once the gnocchi is cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer it into the sauce then stir to combine. If needed, add in a small ladle of the pasta water to the sauce, so that it's thin enough to coat the gnocchi. You'll only need a small amount of water, if any.
- To finish, stir the chopped tarragon through the sauce then spoon the gnocchi into bowls. Top with extra grated parmesan, a drizzle of olive oil & a few cracks of black pepper.
