Spicy Taco Gnocchi Skillet
This Spicy Taco Gnocchi Skillet may not be the most beautiful dish I’ve ever made (one-color dishes can be tough to photograph), but trust me, you need to try it. The soft potato gnocchi perfectly balances out the spicy kick from the homemade taco seasoning and the cheddar and sour cream give the sauce a rich, creamy texture. The corn kernels add sweetness which stands out in this spicy dish, and the whole thing comes together really easily for a one-pot meal everyone will love. Perfect for weeknights! Each serving is only 334 calories or 9 Green, 8 Blue or 8 Purple Weight Watchers SmartPoints, but you’ll never guess it’s lightened up once you taste it. To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
So, if you read that first paragraph or looked through the ingredients, you may be looking at these photos and thinking “where’s the corn??” Sigh. When I made the recipe this time around to photograph I forgot to add the corn! /facepalm. I took the corn out of the freezer and when I took out my laptop out to read through all my recipe notes while cooking, the corn ended up behind it. It just completely skipped my mind and I didn’t even notice until I sat down to edit the photos. So…sorry that the photos don’t contain all the ingredients! I will try to make it again soon and take new pics, but I’m posting it now anyway because I wanted to get the recipe out here to you all. It’s so, so good.
Looking for more lightened up pasta dishes? Try my Sausage Tortellini Skillet, Cheesy Chicken Veggie Pasta Skillet, Chicken Cordon Blue Pasta Bake, Pumpkin Alfredo Tortellini Skillet, Tomato Soup Mac & Cheese, Creamy Pasta with Sausage and Mustard Seeds, Spicy Sausage Pasta, Spaghetti Pie, Pumpkin Mac & Cheese, Spicy Sausage and Eggplant Pasta Bake, Cheesy Taco Pasta and more in the pasta section of my recipe index!
Spicy Taco Gnocchi Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon light butter, I use Land O’Lakes
- 16 oz wheat gnocchi, I used Wegmans brand, but DeLallo, Gia Russa and other brands make it as well
- 1 lb 95% lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chunky salsa
- 1 cup reduced sodium beef broth
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- ¼ cup fat free sour cream
- 4 oz 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot)
- Chopped cilantro, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- In a small dish, stir together the chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano and red pepper flakes until well combined to form a taco seasoning. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi to the pan and stir to coat with the butter. Spread the gnocchi into a single layer and cook for 2 minutes until the bottoms begin to turn golden. Stir the gnocchi and cook on the other side for 2 more minutes. Remove the gnocchi to a side plate and reserve for later use.
- Reduce the burner heat to medium and place the ground beef in the hot skillet. Cook the beef, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until it starts to brown. Add the onion, garlic and the taco seasoning from step 1. Stir together until well combined and continue to cook until the beef is browned and the onions are softened. Drain if necessary.
- Add the salsa, beef broth, corn kernels and the reserved gnocchi to the beef mixture in the skillet. Stir together and turn the heat up until the mixture comes to a boil. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer for 5-8 minutes until the gnocchi is softened and the liquid is somewhat reduced/absorbed.
- Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the sour cream and about half of the shredded cheddar. Sprinkle the remaining cheddar over the top and cover with the lid for 1-2 minutes until the cheese melts. Sprinkle with cilantro if desired and serve.
Notes
9 per (1 cup) serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com) Adapted from Kevin and Amanda, taco seasoning mix from allrecipes