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Well, aren’t you glad it’s time for a little Italian?
Cause um, I SO am.
Gnocchi with ragu? Yes, please.
Am I totally annoying you now? SORRY. I have kind of been in this mood lately where I am saying weird things and acting all funny. My random texts are even better. Pretty sure my brother thinks I am going through an early twenty’s life crisis.
Pretty sure I just really like messing with him. I think it may be all these paint fumes, they are starting to get to my brain. UGH. Workers need to be done working already. Yes, yes, yes!!
See, what I mean? It’s all just getting to me. Like my mind needs a little time without hammers and saws and paint smells. Soon though…or hopefully soon!!
Ok, so now that we have all officially witnessed my craziness let’s talk about some Italian goodness! This crockpot Tuscan sausage and white bean ragu with buttered gnocchi is definitely going to make your favorites list.
Honestly, I do not know why on earth I don’t make more dishes like this. Ragu sauces are just so good, and a giant bowl of buttered gnocchi can almost NEVER be beat. It’s incredibly cozy and delicious.
Oh and SO easy!! You do not even need to brown the sausage before adding it the crockpot. Yes, I am serious, and I promise you will not end up with a clump of sausage because instead of browning the meat, I rolled the sausage into tiny little meatballs. I do this a lot with sausage, especially when I make another recipe we all simply call Penne. Normally I would recommend browning the meat first, it just gives the meat a great caramelization, but in this case, adding the meat directly to the crockpot adds so much flavor to the sauce because all the juices drip off directly into the ragu.
Also, I totally just did not want to dirty a pan, and even worse – dirty up my new stove! What? Well, it was cold and snowing, and I believe it was also a Saturday, I just wanted to toss everything in, forget about it and go back to sleep…gosh I love cozy winter days.
Double also, I have to say a huge thank you to everyone who left a comment on my Sunday post. I have slowly been working my way through each comment and trying to respond to everyone. Sorry if you have yet to receive a response, the way my comments work is pretty wacko and it’s hard to keep track of where I left off. Anyway, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone, in case I missed ya. Your kind words and your tips all put a big smile on my face.
I feel a whole lot less embarrassed now, just excited to slowly make this place my own and show you guys what I come up with along the way! So thanks again!
Anyway, this ragu is perfect for a busy weekday or even a casual Saturday night of entertaining. I would definitely grab some extra crusty bread to mop up all that extra sauce. I’d also load up on the parmesan because, well that’s just me lovin’ my cheese, and hey, it’s winter and cheese just makes a dish that much cozier.
And even though I love gnocchi and highly recommend you use it, you can also use pasta. I think the gnocchi is spot on perfect here, but if you’re not a big gnocchi fan, like my dad (are you guys crazy?!?), or you just don’t have gnocchi on hand, any cut of pasta, or even a creamy polenta (YUM!), would work awesome.
Crockpot Tuscan Sausage and White Bean Ragu with Buttered Gnocchi.
Servings: 6 SERVINGS
Calories Per Serving: 602 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1/2 of a sweet onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced or grated
- 2 (28 ounce) cans whole san marzano tomatoes
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 leaves bay
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper
- 1 pound ground spicy Italian sausage
- 1 bunch Tuscan kale roughly chopped
- 3 cups cooked white beans
- 1 pound gnocchi
- 2 tablespoons butter
- fresh basil and parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Using your hands, crush the tomatoes over the bowl of a 4-8 quart crockpot. Add the onion, garlic, tomato paste, red wine, dried basil, dried oregano, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir.
- Now grab the sausage and roll it into very tiny, bite size balls, adding the to the crockpot as you go. The smaller you can roll the balls, the better. Gently stir the sausage into the sauce. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 30 minutes before serving, stir in the kale and white beans. Crank the heat up to high, cover and cook another 20-30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the gnocchi according to package directions and then toss with 2 tablespoons butter and a little fresh basil + parmesan.
- To serve, divide the gnocchi among plates or bowls. Top with the ragu and then garnish with basil and parmesan. Enjoy!
Just promise me one thing. You will not, for any reason, skimp on the parmesan. K? GOOD. Now let’s make some ragu!
This is prob a dumb question but when you crush the tomatoes do you throw it all into the crockpot or just the juice?
Hey there,
You are going to use all of the tomatoes. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
How would you cook this using an Instant Pot? It looks amazing!
Hey Tracy,
You could do the instant pot, but I have not tested this so I am unsure of the cook time. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Wondering if anyone has tried this in the Instant Pot?
Hey Lynda,
I haven’t tried this but it should work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hey Lynda,
I haven’t tried this, but I’m sure it would work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Since we are not big kale fans. (I should whisper that part since everyone is lovin’ kale these days). Can I substitute fresh spinach instead?
HI! Spinach will be delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
I made this recipe last night, though we cooked it on the stove due to time constraints, and turned out great! We loved the flavor profile and variety of textures in the dish. I did have one question, do you normally drain the liquid from the tomatoes before adding them? The finished sauce seemed a bit thin, but I wasn’t sure if that was because we didn’t cook it in a crockpot for a longer amount of time. Thanks for such a tasty recipe, we’ll be making this one on a regular basis!
HI! I don’t like to drain my tomatoes. If you’d like a thicker sauce, I recommend leaving the top off the crockpot during the last 30 minutes of cooking. That should thicken it! Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
I’ve got this in the slow cooker now and am very excited. I’m running short of time though… think it would be ok to increase to high and cook for less time?
In creasing the heat to high should be just fine. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I love this recipe! One of my absolute favorites, and go to! Can you make it without the crockpot? If so, how would you do it? You are the best!
Sure! I would just combine everything in a large pot and simmer on the stover over low hear for 2-3 hours or up to all day, stirring often. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Not sure what the point of manually crushing the tomatoes is, since you can buy crushed tomatoes, as I did. Also used 40 oz. can of Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained. Result was delicious! This recipe is a keeper. I will definitely make it again.
I am so happy you liked this recipe Kathy! Thank you!
For the tomatoes is it 2 28 ounce cans or ??? And is there a substitute for red wine? Thanks so much! We have loved the few recipes we have tried so far on your site. Thanks for sharing your talent of cooking. It’s amazing!
Just a question….about to make this…it says 2 ounce cans of the tomatoes and then 28 at the end. Is it 2 28 ounce cans or what does it mean? And is there a substitute for red wine? Thanks so much! We have tried several of your recipes: the mushroom tacos and the zucchini gyros….loved them both! Thanks for sharing your awesome talent of cooking!
SO SORRY for the trouble the recipe was reading incorrectly. I hope you where able to make this and enjoy it still! Recipe is all fixed and again, so sorry for the trouble!
Useful info. Lucky me I found your website by accident, and I’m surprised why this accident did not happened earlier!
I bookmarked it.
Thanks!
Hi there – just found your site through Instagram…Amber Interiors, I think, mentioned you. Such a beautiful blog and story! Just tried the gnocchi recipe. It was delish! Mine was quite watery as well. After I crushed the tomatoes by hand, I added the remaining tomato sauce from the can…was that right? Trying to get to the bottom of why it was watery. Appreciate your thoughts! I’ve got a handful of your recipes on the docket this week. Looking forward to trying them out – all slow cooker! Best of luck!
Hi Tara! Thanks so much for searching me out, so glad you are enjoying my recipes! 🙂 So, I am thinking to reduce the water, try leaving the lid off your crockpot for the last 30 minutes of cooking. A lot of times crockpots can trap so much moisture and none is ever released. My lid is a little loose, so I think mine let’s out more moisture than most crockpots. You could also omit the juice from the tomato can, but I include it. Let me know if you have any questions. SO glad you enjoyed this. Thank you!
This is the first time I made one of your recipes and it was delicious! It was perfect on this cold wintery night and I can’t wait to eat the leftovers on top of some rigatoni. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe!
Thank you Ceceil! I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe and I hope you continue to love others!!
This has been in the crockpot for about 5 hours now, and I just snuck a taste and WOW. Tastes SO good. I can only imagine what it’ll taste like once I add in the kale and beans and serve it with the gnocci yummmmm. Thanks for the recipe!!!
excellent! i wanted to be able to put everything together the night before then just throw it in the crock-pot in the morning. i was concerned that the sausage would end up in a big lump so i scooped it into little balls then put them on a tray in the freezer for about 30 min. Once frozen i put the balls in a zip-lock bag and left them in the freezer overnight. in the morning i pulled them out and dumped them into the pot with the other ingredients, hit start and headed off to work. the one complaint my family had was that they wanted more meat – next time i will double the italian sausage (i may pre-cook it slightly to render some fat). There WILL be a next time —