Light and airy gnocchi tossed in the most dreamy cajun cream sauce loaded with delicious crawfish tails and spicy andouille sausage. Gnocchi with crawfish and andouille cream sauce is truly an impressive and luscious meal that is on the table in under 30 minutes!
So, one of the last date nights Spencer and I had before the world changed. Before restaurants adjusted and started offering family style meals via curbside delivery. Before it became completely acceptable (and preferred) to wear masks and gloves into most establishments. Before schools closed down and the home became not became the classroom, but also offices, playrooms and whatever other amazing ideas pop in mind to help keep the sanity. Before “drive by” birthday parties became a thing. Before “clicklist” grocery pick-up got slammed and all available time slots filled up as quickly as they are released. Before this slower paced, yet crazy life we are all living and learning to adjust to came into existence.
Yes, before allll that, we went on a date.
You remember what those are right?!?! Hopefully we’ll be able to go on one again sometime. But until then, I can tell you about a meal that I had one of the last times we enjoyed some quality one-on-one time together.
My mom was visiting and any time she visits she always offers to watch the kids so we can go out. When she offers, we enthusiastically accept and giddily start thinking about where we want to go and what we want to do.
So, on our last date (which seems like FOREVER AGO) we visited a local favorite that’s tucked away in a cute, quiet, little neighborhood. The menu changes with the seasons, so everything is also delicious and as fresh as possible.
All the options and descriptions were sounded amazing, so there truly couldn’t be a bad choice.
However, there was one dish that truly stood out to me. Crawfish gnocchi. I could have stopped there, but after reading the description I was sold. THAT is what I was getting and it was everything I expected and then some.
After that meal, I truly couldn’t stop thinking about my crawfish gnocchi. Little pillow-y pieces of gnocchi coated with a creamy, slightly spicy cajun sauce and bits of crawfish running throughout. Each bite was better than the last and had me coming back for more. Y’all, I literally sopped up every last drip of sauce with the crusty bread that accompanied the dish.
Spencer was just as much of a fan as I was, so it was a no-brainer that I had to recreate that meal. And I must say, this version is pretty darn close to what we enjoyed that evening.
This gnocchi with crawfish and andouille cream sauce is so simple. It comes together in under half an hour which makes it great for a week night but it’s also impressive enough for entertaining. Crusty bread is a must with this meal so all that velvety, creamy sauce can be enjoyed. Pair with that and a fresh salad and you’ve got a perfect and delicious meal.
Hopefully we’ll be out and about soon, enjoying another date night, but until then I can recreate one of the luscious meals from our most recent dates.
Gnocchi with Crawfish and Andouille Cream Sauce
Light and airy gnocchi tossed in the most dreamy cajun cream sauce loaded with delicious crawfish tails and spicy andouille sausage. A truly impressive and luscious meal on the table in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 2 Links andouille sausage, diced
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 Cup diced white onion
- 2 Sprigs thyme
- 1 Sprig rosemary
- 2 Cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Cup chicken broth
- 2 Cups heavy cream
- 12 Oz cooked crawfish tails
- 1 Pound potato gnocchi, cook according to package instructions.
Instructions
- Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook about 5 minutes, until browned. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave drippings in pan.
- Add butter to the pan and melt. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, rosemary and garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds, until herbs and garlic are fragrant.
- Add chicken broth and stir to combine, bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
- Add cream, stir to combine and cook for about 10 minutes.
- Add crawfish tails during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- {Optional}- Place 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet. Add cooked gnocchi and cook until just golden on both sides. This adds a little texture and more flavor to the dish. This step is totally optional but soooo good!
- Remove thyme and rosemary sprigs from cream sauce.
- Add gnocchi to the sauce, stir to coat. Spoon gnocchi and sauce on plates and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 808Total Fat: 54gSaturated Fat: 32gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 286mgSodium: 504mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 27g
Nutrition is gathered and calculated based on the ingredients used by Nutritionix. Nutrition can vary for a recipe based on numerous factors such as precision of the measurements, brands of products, freshness of ingredients or the source of the nutritional data.
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