If you need an easy dinner that’s going to be ready quickly, reconsider the takeout order and just make this sheet pan gnocchi with pesto instead. You just toss everything on the sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes, it really doesn’t get easier! When it’s done you’re left with a meal that costs you less than $5 per serving and is packed with veggies, plus you get about 19g of protein per serving.

Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Pesto Ingredient Notes:

Cauliflower gnocchi: A lighter, gluten-free alternative to traditional gnocchi made with cauliflower and cassava flour. It crisps up beautifully in the oven without boiling first. Its neutral flavor makes it a perfect base for bold toppings like pesto and sausage.

Cherry tomatoes: These burst in the oven, creating juicy pockets of sweetness that complement the savory ingredients. Roasting intensifies their natural sugars and adds depth to the dish. They balance the richness of the pesto and sausage.

Zucchini: A mild, tender vegetable that roasts quickly and soaks up the seasoning. Its soft texture contrasts nicely with crispy gnocchi. It also adds color, fiber, and volume to the meal without overpowering it.

Ground sweet Italian chicken sausage: This lean protein adds savory depth and herbaceous flavor to the sheet pan. Shaping it into small pieces helps it cook evenly and integrate throughout the dish. It’s lighter than pork sausage but still rich and satisfying.

Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Pesto

Recipe by Jenn Lueke

4.3 from 126 votes

Servings

–

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

If you need an easy dinner that’s going to be ready quickly, reconsider the takeout order and just make this sheet pan gnocchi with pesto instead. You just toss everything on the sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes, it really doesn’t get easier! When it’s done you’re left with a meal that costs you less than per serving and is packed with veggies, plus you get about 19g of protein per serving.

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Ingredients

24 ounces frozen cauliflower gnocchi or shelf stable gnocchi
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 small zucchini, sliced into half moons (about 1 cup)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1 pound ground sweet Italian chicken sausage or hot Italian sausage
1 cup pesto of choice, I use this dairy-free one

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
Add the gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini to the sheet pan. Cover with the oil, salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Use clean hands to toss and evenly coat. If preferred, add the ingredients to a large bowl, toss to combine, then transfer to the sheet pan.
Divide the chicken sausage into about twenty 1/2-inch-sized meatballs and place on the sheet pan. Bake until the sausage meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165ºF and the gnocchi is crispy, 30 to 40 minutes.
To serve, drizzle the pesto over top the sheet pan and divide evenly among 4 plates.

Notes

Store it: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Freeze the prepped sausage and veggies in a sealed container for up to 3 months, add the frozen gnocchi and pesto when you’re ready to bake.
Reheat it: From refrigerator, microwave until warm, about 2 minutes or heat in the oven until warm. From frozen, thaw in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight, then heat as instructed.
Swap the ground sausage for 12 ounces of pre-cooked chicken sausage, sliced. If your grocery store does not carry ground sausage meat, get 12 to 16 ounces of sausage links and remove the meat from the casings before shaping into meatballs.

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22 Comments

Another fabulous recipe! So delicious, quick, easy and inexpensive. Thank you so much for sharing it!

Sierra says:
August 2025 at 12:45 am
They gnocchi was so mushy.
Reply

This was DELICIOUS!

Any idea how to adapt if you don’t have access to frozen gnocchi?

Alexandra says:
August 2025 at 11:38 pm
This is a winner! Will be adding to the dinner rotation. My husband loved it. No leftovers. We did swap for the shelf stable TJs gnocchi cause we are not gluten free. Otherwise followed the recipe as is.
Reply

Super easy and very tasty. I added two yellow onions in thin wedges plus about 5 garlic cloves sliced thin, also plussed up the tomato and zuc quantity a bit. Had only 1/4 cup of pesto around, was plenty. Fed four hungry adults happily.

Love the idea of this recipe but I’ll skip the frozen gnocchi next time. I have never had luck with cauliflower gnocchi, the smushy texture and I don’t get along. However— I’ll make this again and put it over penne or another pasta.

Would like to make this, but also not a fan of TJ’s cauli gnocchi. Can I use regular gnocchi?

Made this for dinner and I agree with everyone else, it was so good! I subbed regular, non frozen gnocchi and it worked well. My kids (4 and almost 2) even ate it up!

I am using he regular gnocchi but cooked them prior to hitting the oven.

This was so good and so easy!! I have never tried the cauliflower gnocchi before, but I loved it! And was surprised at how good the TJ kale pesto was. This was a really easy & nutritious weeknight meal.

Loved this! I made sure to stir the cauliflower gnocchi on their own with some olive oil to help them crisp up while roasting. Can’t wait to make this again!

Love this recipe. This meal kept me alive last week, lots of leftovers. I used pre cooked chicken sausages from the store. The TJ’s Cauli gnocchi can be a bit mushy later, so you could sub regular gnocchi, any other kind of pasta or I was thinking I might even try tater tots or sweet potato!

try it with vacuum sealed gnocchi (dry pasta section) that you cook then bake! i did that tonight – worked out so deliciously 💛

This recipe is amazing. It’s on a regular rotation in our house. Anything with gnocchi and pesto is a win in my books. This is a recipe i would suggest on a busy weeknight.

Did you bake the non frozen gnocchi just like the recipe? I was wondering if I could do that and how it would turn out

Can you freeze this recipe? I am cooking for one and I struggle with all that left-over pesto.

jenneatsgoood says:
July 2024 at 12:23 am
If you feel like this makes too much to eat in 2-3 days, I recommend cutting the recipe in half! You can definitely freeze leftover pesto for when you want to make it again, and the gnoochi is pre-frozen so it will keep until you’re ready to make it again as well!
Reply

My family loved this recipe. I had everything but the chicken sausage on hand so I subbed Trader Joe’s party meatballs. It was delicious and our cauliflower gnocchi was not mushy at all. I found it to be a little rich with the pesto. Next time I will double the amount of tomatoes for a little extra acidity.

This is a holy grail recipe. Healthy, cheap, fast, and DELICIOUS. My 6 yr old even loved it (minus the zucchini- but hey, ill take whatever win i can get). I cant wait to make this again and again. Thank you so much!!

I made a version of this with homemade chickpea gnocchi that I froze (uncooked) and it worked wonderfully. I made it as a single serving meal with one chicken sausage rolled into balls and I absolutely loved what it added. I used a red bell pepper, half of a Mexican squash, and all the cherry tomatoes I could fit on the pan and pulled some homemade pesto from last year’s garden out of the freezer. I will be making this ALL SUMMER LONG!