Chicken Sausage and Mushroom Cauliflower Gnocchi

This one-pan recipe pairs frozen cauliflower gnocchi with mushrooms, chicken sausage, and a garlic pepper tomato sauce to create a flavor-packed meal in about 30 minutes. Each high volume, 10-ounce serving has 24 grams of protein with just 23 grams of carbs and 310 calories. And in case you have veggie haters in your house like I do, this dish reheats beautifully. Leftovers for the win! 

Recipe Walkthrough

Below, you’ll find a tutorial with photos for each step in case you’re a visual learner. I’ve included notes for ingredient substitutions and alternatives in each step. While you can pick up all the ingredients in one quick Trader Joe’s run, I’ve dropped a few suggestions for those without access to TJ’s. 

You’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post. 

Step 1: Prepare your ingredients. 

The only ingredient missing in the photo above is the Trader Joe’s frozen cauliflower gnocchi that you’ll pop in the microwave. If you don’t have access to Trader Joe’s, Green Giant made cauliflower gnocchi now. You can find it at Walmart, Target, HEB, or use their store locator. Though I’ll add I’ve not tried the Green Giant version.

If you can’t find either cauliflower gnocchi product, use the real deal. Or you could even use another pasta and throw in a few extra vegetables like in my Italian sausage pasta bake or creamy ground turkey and broccoli pasta.

Step 2: Brown sliced chicken sausage and mushrooms in a nonstick skillet.

Take note that the recipe calls for a nonstick skillet and doesn’t call for oil. I’ve included a note in the recipe card below that if you’re using stainless steel or cast iron, you may want to incorporate some olive oil. Either that, or use the red wine vinegar intermittently to deglaze the pan as needed. 

For the garlic herb chicken sausages, each one has 130 calories, 17g of protein, and 7g of fat in case you need to find something similar. I like to stock up while I’m at Trader Joe’s so I can make other recipes like my chicken sausage pasta for two and one-pan creamy sausage and mushroom pasta.

If you’re having trouble finding chicken sausage, any leaner fully cooked sausage link would do the trick. My cajun sausage pasta bake calls for a turkey sausage by Johnsonville.

And while the recipe calls for baby bella mushrooms, you could use just about any white mushroom. And I definitely used pre-sliced mushrooms to save time! 

Step 3: Add minced garlic and hot pepper sauce.

These two ingredients add a ton of flavor. If you don’t have access to Trader Joe’s, you could use another pepper sauce or paste (think: sriracha, chili garlic, etc.). You could also try mixing some red pepper flakes in olive or chili oil. Add these ingredients carefully to avoid over-spicing the dish. 

Side note: If you’ve been on the fence about buying the Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba sauce, it’s definitely worth picking up. Check out my Trader Joe’s recipes guide to see all the TJ’s products you need to add to your shopping list.

Step 4: Add red wine vinegar.

Since you’ll be using a nonstick skillet, you shouldn’t need to do much deglazing here. The red wine vinegar is primarily for flavor and to add acidity in addition to the marinara (coming up next). 

If you don’t have red wine vinegar on hand, you can probably get away with just about any vinegar. If you have red wine on hand, that’ll do the trick as well. 

Step 5: Add your choice of marinara. 

The recipe calls for Trader Joe’s traditional marinara which has 30 calories per half cup. Flavor wise, it’s a fine marinara, but you’ll be perfectly fine substituting your choice of pasta sauce here. 

Step 6: Add cherry tomatoes.

Trader Joe’s sells San Marzano plum tomatoes that would be great in this recipe, but any ol’ cherry or grape tomato will work just fine. 

Step 7: Add microwaved cauliflower gnocchi. 

Ah, finally, the big how to cook cauliflower gnocchi reveal. Like I mention in the recipe card below, feel free to use other cooking methods to bring your gnocchi to life. I’ve tried every method from pan sauté to air fry, and I can’t tell much difference in texture if I’m being honest.

Just get it warm and in the pan so the magic you’ve created with all the other ingredients can get to work. 

Depending on how long your cauliflower gnocchi has been resting, you may want to test a piece to make sure it doesn’t need a bit longer in the sauce to come up to temperature before serving. 

P.S. If you’re looking for more recipes to make with frozen cauliflower gnocchi, check out my oven roasted cauliflower gnocchi, air fried cauliflower gnocchi, and creamy Italian turkey soup recipes. They both make great side dishes or snacks.

Step 8: Top with grated cheese and serve!

You should be ready to rock. If you have any questions about this sausage and mushroom gnocchi, drop a comment at the bottom of this post.