10 Easy Fall Gnocchi Recipes Worth Making on Brisk, Busy Nights

Cozy, comforting and practically failproof

skillet gnocchi with sausage and broccoli rabe: skillet gnocchi with sausage and broccoli rabe on a linen
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

Fall has become synonymous with pumpkin spice and soup season, but there’s one underrated dish that deserves more attention: gnocchi. Those pillowy little dumplings are hearty enough to satisfy on even the chilliest evenings, but they’re also incredibly versatile, making for a great entrée on their own, as well as a base for sheet pan dinners and soups alike.

I’ll prove it with this editor-approved, curated list of some of the best fall gnocchi recipes I’ve come across. I’ve organized them from shortest time commitment to longest, so you can see at a glance what you’re getting into (and what you have time for on a hectic Wednesday night).

Let them inspire you to mix things up this fall (because one can only have so many bread bowls of broccoli cheddar, am I right?).

1. Bacon Pumpkin Gnocchi

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, one pan
  • Serves: 4

Pumpkin is a fall staple, and it shouldn’t be confined to pies and bisques. Here, it makes for a creamy, silky sauce with a sweetness that pairs beautifully with smoky, salty bacon. Spring for the thickest cut you can get; it makes for a heartier dish overall.

2. Skillet Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, one pan
  • Serves: 6

If you can’t find broccoli rabe near you, sautéed Brussels sprouts are a great alternative (just slice ‘em into ribbons and cook at the same time as the onions). Pre-cooked sausage is a huge timesaver here, giving the gnocchi a more robust flavor. All that’s missing is a full-bodied cab to go with it.

3. Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Sausage, Peppers and Onions

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: sheet pan recipe, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
  • Serves: 4

Who needs a hoagie when you’ve got equally pillowy gnocchi on the plate? While fresh gnocchi is recommended for this dish (you can find it in the refrigerated section), the shelf-stable kind also works here. The oven bake gets the dumplings crispy on the outside, retaining their tenderness inside, no boiling necessary.

4. Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup

  • Time Commitment: 35 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, make ahead
  • Serves: 8

If you love the Olive Garden starter, you’ll go wild for this homemade take. It’s loaded with chicken, carrots, spinach, celery, onions and, of course, gnocchi, but the surprising star ingredient is…a teaspoon of Dijon. It provides a mild tanginess and livens up the whole dish.

5. Buckwheat Gnocchi with Cabbage, Potatoes and Fontina

  • Time Commitment: 40 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
  • Serves: 6

Bookmark this gnocchi dish as a soul-warming dinner to get you through even the chilliest of nights. You’ll be making your own buckwheat gnocchi from scratch, but even then, the whole meal takes 40 minutes from start to finish, so it’s not as big of a commitment as it seems. (You can totally swap in store-bought to cut your prep time in half though. No judgment here.)

6. Chicken Gnocchi Soup

  • Time Commitment: 40 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, one pot, make ahead
  • Serves: 6

The classic chicken noodle soup gets a more satisfying twist, courtesy of good ol’ gnocchi. Store-bought dumplings and a rotisserie chicken help this meal come together in no time, with very little effort on your part, yet it’s every bit as satisfying as if you made it all from scratch. Consider it your new sick-day staple.

7. Skillet Gnocchi Bake with Sausage and Kale

  • Time Commitment: 45 minutes
  • Why I Love It: one pan, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
  • Serves: 6

You’re known for bringing your famous ziti or lasagna to parties, but it can be labor intensive. When you’re short on time, sub in this skillet bake instead. It’s cheesy, it’s gooey…and it also gets a nutritional boost from cooked kale, making it a semi-virtuous meal.

8. Italian Chicken Gnocchi Soup

  • Time Commitment: 50 minutes
  • Why I Love It: one pan, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
  • Serves: 6

Rosemary bacon, sun-dried tomatoes and a creamy tomato sauce take this soup to next-level decadence. Serve it with crusty garlic bread for dipping, and you’ve got the makings of a cozy-chic dinner party—with minimal dishes to clean up afterward, too.

9. Butternut Squash, Sausage and Kale Gnocchi

  • Time Commitment: 50 minutes
  • Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, one pan, special occasion-worthy
  • Serves: 4

When it comes to fall recipes, few combine so many quintessential flavors (butternut squash! Cranberries! Rosemary!) quite like this one. It has such a nice mix of sweet, salty and savory flavors you’ll want to serve it all the time, but it makes for a particularly impressive showstopper around the holidays. Consider your Friendsgiving contribution all figured out.

10. Sweet Potato Gnocchi in Herbed White Wine Sauce

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, vegetarian
  • Serves: 6

Date night in? I’ve got just the meal. Pour a glass of white wine (saving half a cup for the recipe itself) and get to cooking together. This five-ingredient sweet potato gnocchi is simple to cook and shape together, though you could also make it up to a day in advance, storing it in the fridge until you’re ready to boil the gnocchi and whip up the 9-minute (!) sauce.


candace davison bio

Candace Davison

VP of editorial content

  • Oversees home, food and commerce articles
  • Author of two cookbooks and has contributed recipes to three others
  • Named one of 2023's Outstanding Young Alumni at the University of South Florida, where she studied mass communications and business