Gnocchi Chili Bowls
Chili is the best topping for a baked potato, so I was thinking, why not use gnocchi as the base for chili – the Gnocchi Chili Bowl was born! Imagine for a minute you are ready to eat a baked potato with chili on top, but instead of a potato, it’s a big pile of creamy tender pillowy gnocchi! You can really tuck into this bowl of gnocchi and chili and load up the perfect bite every time! Instead of having to fight with the potato to balance every bite, you have the perfect ratio of potato and gnocchi on your spoon already! And instead of some of the potato being seasoned and some not, every bite of gnocchi is perfectly seasoned inside and out and coated with a thin creamy layer of sour cream!!!
Inspiration for Gnocchi Chili Bowls
I made loaded gnocchi a while back, and I was thinking of updating that recipe, but I decided it needed a full new recipe overhaul. The older recipe treats the gnocchi like a baked potato with toppings, chili being one of them, but I thought the focus should be the chili and gnocchi and how they taste as a combo.
And how they taste as a combo is: AMAZING. I toss the gnocchi in a simple sour cream sauce that goes so well with chili. I also make the chili with Italian sausage and a hint of inspiration from Bolognese sauce, so it feels like it really belongs on the gnocchi.
Let’s make gnocchi!
Look, you could definitely use store bought gnocchi for this recipe. I won’t make fun of you. I would rather you make it with store bought gnocchi than not make it at all! But for me, I love making gnocchi and I think they taste more like potatoes when you make them yourself.
I have been roasting the potatoes for gnocchi lately. I used to prefer boiling, but now that I have the potato ricer and have mastered the process, roasting definitely gives the gnocchi the best potato flavor. For a dish like gnocchi chili bowls, we want the potato flavor to come through cause it goes so well with the chili!
Roll the gnocchi on the back of a fork to form the classic gnocchi shape. If you want more tips on how to make good gnocchi at home check out this guide!
Build the gnocchi chili bowls
After the gnocchi cooks, put it into a pan immediately with some butter. Toss it together to slightly toast on all sides. Then kill the heat and add the sour cream.
The butter, garlic, milk, and sour cream come together to form a simple sauce on the gnocchi.
The chili is made with 50/50 ground beef and Italian sausage. It’s just a simple chili recipe with lots of spices and oregano. Like I mentioned above I wanted it to feel like a cross between a chili and Bolognese.
Topping the gnocchi chili bowls
Anything you like to put on chili would be great on these gnocchi chili bowls! I topped mine with some cheddar and scallions and it was so good! Obviously sour cream is a common chili topping, but it’s already coating the gnocchi so you are good with that. Some other toppings would be jalapenos (pickled or fresh), red onion, shallot, cilantro, crushed up tortilla chips, avocado, radish, or cotija cheese. You could also think like Bolognese and top it with some grated parm.
Twists and variations on gnocchi chili bowls
I mentioned earlier don’t be afraid to swap out store bought gnocchi for homemade. You could also use any of the toppings I mentioned in the previous paragraph to make this dish your own.
I made a very specific chili for this that I thought would pair perfectly, but you could also use your favorite chili recipe instead! Love beans? use them! Want to make it vegan? You could easily swap out the butter and sour cream for vegan versions and use a nice hearty vegan chili!
I use a potato ricer, gnocchi board, and skimmer ladle to help me make this recipe.
Gnocchi Chili Bowl
Ingredients
Gnocchi
- 2.5 pounds russet potatoes
- 1 cup flour plus more
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more
Chili
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound loose spicy Italian sausage
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 poblano peppers diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups water or stock
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo plus a teaspoon of the sauce from the can
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 pinch clove
- 1 pinch cinnamon
Gnocchi Sauce and Toppings
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- shredded cheese
- chopped scallions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Clean the potatoes and pierce them with a fork in a few places. Place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with some oil and salt and roll the potatoes around to coat. Bake about an hour until fork tender.
- While the potatoes are baking, start the chili. Cook the beef with a little olive oil in a large pot to brown. Remove from the pot and repeat with the sausages, leaving the fat from the meat in the pan.
- Add the onions and peppers to the pan with the fat from the meat. Cook about 5 minutes to soften. Add in the garlic and cook 2 minutes.
- Add in all the remaining chili ingredients. Stir to combine. It will be thick, but if it seems too thick, you can add a little more stock or water. Cover and simmer gently for about a hour, stirring occasionally. Keep covered when not stirring.
- When the potatoes are done, run them through a food mill or potato ricer. Stir the egg into the potatoes, then add the flour. Stir to combine but do not knead or overwork. Add more flour if it feels too wet.
- Split the dough into 6ths and roll the first one into a long log. Use a fork or butterknife to cut the log into small pieces. Roll the pieces in flour, then one by one use a fork or gnocchi board to roll them into the traditional gnocchi shape by pressing your thumb and rolling it down the fork or board.
- Continue to form the gnocchi and place them onto a flour dusted kitchen towel
- Bring a pot of salted water to a simmer. Add in the gnocchi and stir.
- Bring a frying pan to medium heat and add the butter. Once the gnocchi start to float, cook about 1 more minute, then drain them and add directly to the frying pan with the butter. Cook a few minutes to toast and add the garlic. Cook 2 minutes and stir in the milk.
- Bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Allow to cool for 2 minutes, then stir in the sour cream to form a sauce.
- Pour the gnocchi into serving bowls and dump a big ladle of chili on top. Top with the cheese and scallions and serve.
There’s no egg in your recipe. I assume it’s just one egg?
Yes, one egg – fixing now