If you want to whip up dinner quickly after work, gnocchi, potato noodles, and other types of pasta are super convenient. Most of them can be bought pre-cooked in supermarkets these days – this means you only have to heat everything up quickly, add a quick sauce, and your dinner is ready almost instantly. These Quick Gnocchi & Meatballs in Tomato Sauce are on the table in about 20 minutes. Even a local delivery service would have a hard time keeping up with that… at least during rush hour, when everyone is ordering at the same time. ;P
In an ideal world, you would not have to cook in the evening in case you don’t feel like it. In this imaginary world, food would simply appear on the table when needed, and it also would taste delicious, of course! Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world… and I am not talking about politics this time. Food. It’s all about food here! ;P
Well… what can we do then? Cook quick and easy meals. This comes quite close to food appearing magically on the table. Right? ;P Well, almost. You still have to put in a little work, but as long as you keep it simple, you should be fine.
Anyway. We already have a few easy recipes with pasta and gnocchi here on the blog – for exactly those days when you want everything quick on the table. You don’t have to do a lot, and can still fill your stomach with something delicious. There’s no need to make it harder than it has to be, right?
To make the preparation of the dish even easier, we used Salsiccia sausages in the sauce. The Italian sausages you can fry in a pan or throw on a grill. You could use regular ground meat and make meatballs, but using sausages like that is a little quicker. The meat is already seasoned, so you don’t have to worry about that, and if you squeeze the meat out of the casings, you instantly get small meatballs. Making them from scratch takes much longer. ;P
If you work effectively, your meal will be ready in no time! Probably only half an episode of your favorite Netflix show and you are good to go! We always have a tablet next to the work station and watch stuff when nothing else is going on… ;P
As already mentioned – we got many more recipes like this one here. In case you want to try something else… how about Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Spinach & Chorizo? Sounds good, right? The combination is awesome and really delicious! In case you prefer something more cheesy, you should try our Gnocchi Chicken Alfredo – a version of the popular Fettuccine Alfredo. ;)
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
(4 servings)
some olive oil for frying
21 oz. (600g) gnocchi (ready-to-use)*
1 large red onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
12.4 oz. (350g) Salsiccia sausages (for grilling)* or similar
25 oz. (700g) tomato passata*
5.3 oz. (150g) Greek yogurt
1-2 tsp. chili flakes*
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt, pepper
3.5 oz. (100g) baby spinach leaves
(4 Portionen)
etwas Olivenöl zum Braten
600g Gnocchi (aus der Kühltheke)*
1 große rote Zwiebel, gewürfelt
2-3 Knoblauchzehen, fein gehackt
350g Salsiccia Würstchen (zum Kochen/Grillen)* o.ä.
700g Tomaten Passata*
150g griechischer Joghurt
1-2 TL Chiliflocken*
1 TL Oregano
Salz, Pfeffer
100g Babyspinat
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
1. Start by preparing the ingredients. Squeeze out the sausage meat out of the casings and shape it into small meatballs. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Set aside. Wash the spinach leaves and let them drain.
2. Heat up a large Dutch oven with some olive oil. Add the gnocchi and fry them from all sides for a few minutes until slightly browned. Take out and set aside on a plate. Add more oil, if necessary, then add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy. Add the Salsiccia meatballs and fry them from all sides until nicely browned – about 4-5 minutes. Next, add the tomato passata, Greek yogurt, chili flakes (start with less if you are sensitive to heat), and dried oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer for 5-6 minutes, then add the baby spinach and continue cooking, until the spinach has wilted. Add the gnocchi back in and let them warm up with the sauce for a few minutes. Season with more salt, pepper, and chili flakes to your liking and serve in bowls.
1. Die Zutaten vorbereiten – dazu das Wurstbrät der Salsiccia aus den Därmen entfernen und zu kleinen Fleischbällchen formen. Die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch schälen und würfeln bzw. fein hacken. Zur Seite stellen. Den Babyspinat verlesen, waschen und abtropfen lassen.
2. Einen großen (gusseisernen) Topf mit etwas Olivenöl erhitzen. Die Gocchi kurz im heißen Öl anbraten, bis sie rundum etwas gebräunt sind, dann aus dem Topf nehmen und zur Seite stellen. Falls notwendig, noch etwas Öl nachlegen und dann die Zwiebel und den Knoblauch anschwitzen. Als Nächstes die Fleischbällchen dazugeben und von allen Seiten anbraten, bis sie schön gebräunt sind – etwa 4-5 Minuten. Tomaten Passata und Joghurt dazugeben und mit Chiliflocken (erst einmal etwas weniger und später ggf. nachlegen), Oregano, Salz und Pfeffer würzen. Die Soße etwa 5-6 Minuten köcheln lassen, dann den Spinat dazugeben und alles weiter köcheln lassen, bis der Spinat komplett zusammengefallen ist. Die Gnocchi zurück in den Topf geben und einige Minuten in der Soße aufwärmen. Nach Belieben noch einmal mit Salz, Pfeffer und Chiliflocken abschmecken und dann alles auf Schüsseln aufteilen und servieren.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Quick Gnocchi & Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
- Prep Time: 00:05
- Cook Time: 00:15
- Total Time: 00:20
- Yield: 4
- Category: Pasta
- Cuisine: International
Description
These quick & easy Gnocchi with meatballs in tomato sauce are done in no time – the perfect no-fuss weeknight dinner! We love it!
Ingredients
some olive oil for frying
21 oz. (600g) gnocchi (ready-to-use)*
1 large red onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
12.4 oz. (350g) Salsiccia sausages (for grilling)* or similar
25 oz. (700g) tomato passata*
5.3 oz. (150g) Greek yogurt
1-2 tsp. chili flakes*
1 tsp. dried oregano
salt, pepper
3.5 oz. (100g) baby spinach leaves
Instructions
1. Start by preparing the ingredients. Squeeze out the sausage meat out of the casings and shape it into small meatballs. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Set aside. Wash the spinach leaves and let them drain.
2. Heat up a large Dutch oven with some olive oil. Add the gnocchi and fry them from all sides for a few minutes until slightly browned. Take out and set aside on a plate. Add more oil, if necessary, then add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until soft and glossy. Add the Salsiccia meatballs and fry them from all sides until nicely browned – about 4-5 minutes. Next, add the tomato passata, Greek yogurt, chili flakes (start with less if you are sensitive to heat), and dried oregano. Season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer for 5-6 minutes, then add the baby spinach and continue cooking, until the spinach has wilted. Add the gnocchi back in and let them warm up with the sauce for a few minutes. Season with more salt, pepper, and chili flakes to your liking and serve in bowls.
Notes
Make something amazing in the kitchen!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
