Pumpkin gnocchi is served with a gently spiced, smooth pumpkin sauce. It's comforting, flavorful, and a delicious taste of fall.

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

One way that I am sure the apple-picking experience here differs from any I might have had in the UK is that here, in most cases you also pick up a pumpkin or two from the pumpkin patch.

My eldest son gets all excited about pumpkins these days, and so when we went apple picking the other week, we naturally had to get a pumpkin too.

In fairness, we all love pumpkin in various forms. Since he also loves gnocchi, funnily enough he was super excited when I said I was going to be making these double pumpkin gnocchi for dinner: pumpkin gnocchi in pumpkin sauce.

The colors might not be all that exciting, but this is one tasty and comforting meal that's perfect for fall.

Pumpkin everything

Pumpkins have become an essential part of fall eating for us. Even though they can at first seem like they'll take forever to get through, we often end up on to a second pumpkin before Halloween.

While there will probably be a pumpkin pie or some pumpkin muffins in there, on the whole we tend to have more savory dishes from our pumpkins, such as soup and stews, the pumpkin arancini I shared last year, or things like these double pumpkin gnocchi.

As a result, I usually get smaller 'Jack-o-lantern' pumpkins (the bigger ones) rather than the small sugar pumpkins. While they are often resigned to just sitting on a doorstep, they are also great for savory dishes like this and are incredibly economical once as you get a few meals out of them.

How to make pumpkin gnocchi

Pumpkin gnocchi are made in much the same way as regular gnocchi, with the potato swapped out for pumpkin.

First cook the pumpkin - I normally steam it to avoid it taking in too much water as it will be moist enough as it is.
Puree the cooked pumpkin and allow it to cool.
Mix in the flour, egg yolk and parmesan.
On a floured surface, roll out small quantities and cut into small chunks. The dough here is definitely softer than normal gnocchi, so make sure you keep your surface and your hands well floured.
Drop the gnocchi into a pot of boiling water to cook a few at a time - they are cooked when they rise to the surface.

Making the pumpkin sauce

The pumpkin sauce I have served them with here is inspired by the butternut squash sauce I have shared previously. Since the pumpkin doesn't have quite the same natural sweetness (at least when you use the non-'pie' pumpkins), I've made this sauce a little more savory with part stock and less cream, but it has a nice fall 'pumpkin spice' flavor going on as well.

Together, the pumpkin gnocchi and sauce make a really delicious, comforting meal. They're smooth, savory, and with a gently undertone of warming spices. They were devoured in no time in our house; I hope you'll give them a try and enjoy them yourself.

Try these other gnocchi recipes:

Potato spinach gnocchi
Acorn squash gnocchi
Gnocchi with pork and fennel
Plus get more fall recipes in the archives.

Double pumpkin gnocchi: pumpkin gnocchi served with a gently spiced, smooth pumpkin sauce. Comforting, flavorful, a delicious taste of fall.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Double pumpkin gnocchi

Pumpkin in the gnocchi and pumpkin in the sauce - a delicious, comforting bowl!

Prep Time45

Cook Time20

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Fusion

Servings: -4

Calories: 389kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

Save

Ingredients

For the sauce

5 oz pumpkin 140g, peeled and desseded weight
½ tablespoon butter 5g
¼ cup light stock 60ml/4tbsp
2 tablespoon cream
2 tablespoon parmesan 5g, finely grated
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the gnocchi

12 oz pumpkin 340g, peeled and deseeded weight
1 ½ cups all purpose flour 210g plain flour
1 egg yolk
¼ cup parmesan 11g, finely grated

Instructions

For the sauce

Cut the peeled pumpkin into chunks then steam approx 15min until tender. Remove from the heat and puree/blend until smooth.
Warm the butter in a small pan, allow it to brown slightly so it starts to smell nutty then add the pumpkin puree. Cook a minute then add the stock, cream, parmesan, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook for a couple minutes so that it thickens slightly and is well mixed then set aside. You can make it ahead and refrigerate until needed.

For the gnocchi

Cut the peeled and de-seeded pumpkin into chunks then steam until tender to knifepoint, around 15mins.
Puree or blend the pumpkin until smooth and allow to cool.
Add the flour, egg yolk and parmesan and mix until combined. The dough will be fairly soft.
Lightly flour a work surface to roll out and rest gnocchi on until you are ready to cook.
With floured hands, roll out large spoonfuls of the dough into logs and cut off sections about ½-3/4in/2cm thick. Roll each chunk into a ball and place onto a floured surface or a plate if chilling to cook a bit later.
Bring a shallow, wide pan of water to the boil. Drop a few gnocchi into the boiling water at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pan and keeping the water boiling.
Remove with a slotted spoon once the gnocchi rise to the top. If they don't rise after a couple minutes or some do but others don't, nudge them with a spoon as they may have stuck to the bottom.
As you are cooking, gently warm the sauce again then serve the gnocchi with the sauce and some parmesan on top.
Note - you can freeze uncooked gnocchi by laying out on a baking sheet, freezing then transferring to a freezer bag once frozen. Cook from frozen as you would normally, they'll just take an extra minute to float up.

Nutrition

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.

See all the other pumpkin recipes being shared today as part of #pumpkinweek (and follow the hashtag for more recipes all week!):

Adorable Turkey Crust Pumpkin Pie from Kudos Kitchen by Renee.
Amish Pumpkin Roll from Palatable Pastime.
Gigi's Spiced Pumpkin Pecan Bread from Family Around The Table.
Lisa's Pumpkin Soup from Cooking With Carlee.
Pecan Pumpkin Cobbler from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks.
Pumpkin Bread from The Freshman Cook.
Pumpkin Bread with Maple Glaze from Making Miracles.
Pumpkin Brulee Tart from The Redhead Baker.
Pumpkin Cookies with Butter Rum Icing from Grumpy's Honeybunch.
Pumpkin Creme Brulee from Love and Confections.
Pumpkin Glazed Bacon from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen.
Pumpkin Laksa from Culinary Adventures with Camilla.
Pumpkin Milkshake from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Pumpkin Muffins from Cindy's Recipes and Writings.
Pumpkin Pretzel Bites from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures.
Pumpkin Spice Affogato from The Bitter Side of Sweet.
Pumpkin Spice Granola from The Chef Next Door.