Stove-Top Meatballs and Gnocchi

In just an hour, on the stove-top, in one pan, you can be serving this super cozy meal. Delicious turkey meatballs and gnocchi cook together in a scrumptious tomato sauce. Add a rustic bread and call it a day!

I'm all about cozy meals that cook all day and fill my house with delicious aromas. However . . .

When life is busy and I still want a comforting stew-like dish, I make a recipe like this one. It tastes like it has cooked all day and my house smells amazing -- but, it comes together in only an hour.

Similar to a turkey meatball stew, and loaded with delicious spices and red wine, I can almost guarantee you're going to absolutely love this!

The Ingredients

• ground turkey - I like to use about 85% lean. A 15% fat content helps keep the meatballs juicier. (Pasture-raised, if possible.)
• paprika - Paprika is a spice made from dried, ground red peppers. It ranges from mild to hot -- unless otherwise stated, I use mild-smoked paprika in my recipes. You can use whatever intensity you like. I love smoked paprika because it adds a delicious smoky flavor to the other ingredients.
• dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, dried thyme
• extra virgin olive oil
• red onion - Try to choose onions that are firm, heavy for their size and without bruises.
• fresh garlic - Look for firm heads of garlic without any soft spots or green shoots, which are an indication it's old and likely bitter. Raw garlic cloves should be firm without any dark spots. (Pro tip: if there are green shoots in your garlic cloves, slice them in half, lengthwise, and remove the green root with the tip of a knife. The rest of the clove should still be good.)
• tomato purée - Try to choose the best possible quality canned tomatoes. This is one of my favorites.
• chicken stock - Preferably unsalted.
• red wine - A drier red wine is best, like Cabernet, Merlot or Shiraz. And be sure you like it — the alcohol cooks off, not the flavor.
• gnocchi - Gnocchi are Italian chewy, dumpling-like small mounds of cooked dough. They're typically made of a combination of wheat flour, mashed potato, egg, and salt. You can buy frozen, fresh or dry ready-made gnocchi in most grocery stores. I use frozen in this recipe.
• fresh basil - Always choose fresh herbs that are a deep green, perky, and without dark spots.

Substitutions

• Ground turkey. You can swap the turkey for ground chicken or ground beef.
• Red onion. I like the red onion in this recipe because it's a bit sweet, but yellow onions are great, too.
• Tomato purée. The tomato purée can be substituted with crushed tomatoes. You can also use about 2 ½ cups of chopped fresh tomatoes that are cooked a bit and then and blended.
• Chicken stock. Turkey or vegetable stock will both also work well. (Turkey stock isn't usually as readily available.)
• Red wine. To substitute the red wine, you can use a 1 to 1 blend of red wine vinegar and water. (In this case 2 tablespoons of each.) You can also omit the wine and make up the difference with more of the stock.
• Gnocchi. My stove-top meatballs are also delicious with pasta or rice. If you choose to use either one, they should be cooked first. (You'll want to have about 3 cups cooked rice or pasta.)

Variations

• Gluten-free version. Good news, while it might not seem like it, you can make this entire meal gluten-free. My turkey meatballs are made without breadcrumbs and you can find really good gluten-free gnocchi. They're typically available at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and sometimes in larger mainstream grocery stores. There is a cauliflower version that's gluten-free, and one that's closer to the traditional potato gnocchi, which is the one I use. (The gluten-free gnocchi are generally priced much lower in stores than online.)
• Additions. The gnocchi and meatballs are lovely with added vegetables, like spinach, peas, carrots or broccoli.

Recipe Tips

• I make meatballs that are approx. 3 tablespoons each. You can make them as large or as small as you'd like, keeping in mind cooking times will vary depending on size.
• The turkey meatballs in this recipe are on the sticky side, which is why it's best to scoop them directly into the sauce in the pan.
• The gnocchi gets cooked in the tomato sauce. The cooking times might vary slightly, depending on whether you use fresh, frozen or dry gnocchi-- in most cases it'll just take a few minutes, but read the package instructions to see what the manufacturer says.
• If your bunch of basil has small leaves, you don't need to chop it into smaller pieces.

What to Serve With it

Since this is a one pan meal, I instinctively want to say "nothing" -- however, I love it with bread to sop up any sauce remaining in your plate. Herbed Garlic Bread, No-Knead Asiago Bread and Glute-Free Cauliflower Bread are all delicious options.

And of course you can always add a beautiful side salad for good measure. 😉

Making it Ahead

• The meatballs are at their juciest as soon as the dish is ready, but it's truly delicious the next day, too!
• Cool it to room temperature before storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
• Gnocchi and meatballs can also be kept in an airtight container in the freezer up to a couple of months. Defrost it the night before you want to use it in the refrigerator, and heat it on the stove.

How to Make it

- Combine the ground turkey with the egg, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, 1 of the dried thyme, salt and a pinch or two of pepper. Mix only until combined and set aside.


- Coat the bottom of an approx. 14-inch (or larger) nonstick skillet with olive oil and place it over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 7 minutes. Add the remaining 1½ teaspoons of dried thyme and stir to blend.


- Add the tomato purée, chicken stock and red wine to the pan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.



- Keeping the heat low, use an approx. 2-tablespoon cookie/ice cream scoop to scoop the turkey mixture into approximately 2 dozen meatballs, gently adding them to the pan as you go. Spoon a bit of the sauce over each one, cover the pan until they are about halfway cooked, about 6 minutes. 



- Flip each one over, add the gnocchi and basil leaves and very gently mix them into the sauce between the meatballs. Cover and continue to simmer until the gnocchi is hot, and the meatballs are cooked through, approx. another 8 minutes or so.



- Serve!



More Scrumptious One-Pan Dinner Recipes

• Apricot Chicken with Olives
• Cuban Chicken Fricassee with Alcaparrado
• Salmon Bites with Broccoli and Potatoes
• Creamy Coconut Shrimp and Gnocchi

I hope you love this Stove-Top Meatball and Gnocchi dinner as much as my family and I do.