Gnocchi Sausage Pizza
Have you ever had a pizza topped with sausage and gnocchi? It might seem weird but the flavors really work together well. I have had potatoes on pizza many times and pasta too, so why not gnocchi? More than the flavors though, it was the textures that I really loved about this one. I made the gnocchi extra crispy and it was awesome on the pizza!
The inspiration for this recipe
I have no idea where the idea came from, but I wanted to do a gnocchi pizza for a while now. Maybe a few years or so. I tried it with some different toppings and it was always good but never great. I tried it with a pesto and some prosciutto. Again – good but not great. Finally this pizza I made with some sausage, caramelized onions, crispy gnocchi, and a creamy tomato sauce was the winner! I think crisping up the gnocchi in a frying pan and leaving it on top of the pizza to get more crispy in the oven was what really made it great.
Make the pizza dough
I have made so many pizzas over the years and lately I have been using the recipe from 101 cookbooks and the recipe from Serious Eats as my main guidelines. I have actually been using the recipe from 101 cookbooks ever since the first time I made pizza on this blog 17 years ago! It’s funny how you sometimes move away from something thinking you have outgrown it, only to go back and realize it was the best all along.
Add the gnocchi and sausage pizza toppings
Once the pizza dough is rolled out, start with a simple sauce that is just crushed tomatoes and cream mixed together with a little salt. Then add a layer of caramelized onions. Then I added Italian sausage, some cheese, the gnocchi, and the more cheese to finish the pizza. I crisped up the gnocchi in a pan with butter first. Make sure the gnocchi is mostly uncovered so it will get even more crispy in the oven.
Bake the pizza
I cook my pizza as high as my oven will go. Right now it is 525. If you have convection in your oven, use that setting! it will make it even better and cook it quicker. After the pizza cooks, let it cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Serve the sausage gnocchi pizza
Time to dig in! The textures and flavors of this sausage gnocchi pizza came out perfectly.
It tasted especially good to me because I have been wanting to make a gnocchi pizza for a long time and finally my dream came true!
The layer of caramelized onions was really what brought it all together.
Twists on sausage gnocchi pizza
You could always make this gnocchi pizza with vegan sausage if you are going for a vegetarian version. I actually think the caramelized onions and buttery gnocchi would be enough for an awesome pizza. Feel free to play around with toppings and let me know what works best for you with the gnocchi. Just remember to crisp them up and leave them mostly on top of the other toppings.
I have been using the recipe from 101 cookbooks and the recipe from Serious Eats as my main guidelines.
For more fun pizza ideas, check out my french onion detroit style pizza, Italian sub deep dish, or my loaded nacho pizza!
Gnocchi Sausage Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza dough
- 1 1/2 cups bread flour 210 grams
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2/3 cup water 140 grams
Pizza
- 2 yellow onions sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large hot italian sausage
- 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 30 gnocchi
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup grated mozzarella
- 2 slices provolone
- 1/4 cup grated parm
Instructions
Make the dough
- Add the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add in the oil and water and process for about 15 seconds to form a ball. Use a spatula to break it up and incorporate any ingredients that aren't combined. Process another 15 seconds to finish kneading.
- Pour onto a wok surface with a little flour and fold over itself a few times. Form a ball and place into a well oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rest overnight.
Prep the pizza
- Pull the dough from the fridge. Dump it out to a floured surface and gently fold over itself a few times. Form a ball again, making sure it is well floured on the outsides of the ball. Cover and allow to rise and rest for 2 hours.
- Add the onions to a frying pan with the oil and cook slowly about 45 minutes, stirring often, until caramelized.
- Remove the sausage meat from the casing and cook on high heat to brown and cook through.
- Mix the tomatoes and cream and add a pinch of salt.
- If your gnocchi need boiling, you can boil them for a few minutes first in well salted water according to the package instructions. If not, go to the next step.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the gnocchi. Toss and cook on high heat to brown on all sides.
Make the pizza
- Preheat oven with a stone or baking steel as high as your oven will go. Mine is 525.
- Prepare a peel and work surface with some flour and cornmeal.
- Gently stretch the dough to form the pizza and raised crust. transfer the dough to the peel.
- Top with the tomato sauce, then spread the caramelized onions to form a layer. Next add the sausage and about 3/4 of the cheeses.
- Add the gnocchi and all the butter from the pan. Top with the remaining cheese.
- Transfer the pizza from the peel to the baking stone. Cook about 8 minutes or until the crust is browned and cooked through.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.