Pumpkin Gnocchi with Pepita Pesto is the perfect dish to celebrate the fall season. It is a simple, yet thoughtful dish to create and share with friends and family. The pepita pesto adds an extra pop of pumpkin and nuttiness that pairs perfectly with this pasta.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

PUMPKIN GNOCCHI WITH PEPITA PESTO

Hi Everyone! It's that time of the year again: Pumpkin is in season and we want to use it in whatever dish possible before the season comes to an end.

This year I wanted to find new ways to use pumpkin that are not sweet recipes.

What came to my mind was gnocchi. A basic gnocchi recipe is made with few ingredients: flour, potato, cheese, and egg.

Potato and pumpkin have a similar texture raw and cooked. In this recipe, pumpkin replaces the need for potatoes. They are both considered starchy vegetables which creates a great consistency for the pillow-like pasta I am sharing with you today.

This recipe uses canned pumpkin rather than roasting a whole pumpkin to save time. I also added ricotta to the pasta dough to make it soft in texture. The pesto sauce is made with a base of pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas), giving it even more pumpkin flavor and nuttiness. The natural and healthy fats in these seeds also give the pesto a creamy texture, while also having a slight bite to it.

After the gnocchi is rolled, cut, and boiled. You have the option of serving it as is with the pesto, or pan-frying it in brown butter for crispier gnocchi, then adding the pesto.

I personally love it both ways! The pesto can be done in a food processor or high powered blender. The garlic in the pesto really pops in this recipe along with the acidity from the lime and vinegar.

This is a great recipe for people who do not have a ricer to make potato gnocchi as well. Don't forget to pile on the freshly grated cheese for serving!

STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS

Here are some step-by-step photos to walk you through this recipe:

Web Story

• Check out our Recipe index and DIY index and visit our Home page to view our latest posts and our Shop to see our favorite kitchen tools!

If you make this Pumpkin Gnocchi with Pepita Pesto and like them, please give it a rating in the recipe card below and let us know in the comments at the end of the post.

Recipes on the Blog Popular Now

Thank you for reading and following along!

 

Continue to Content

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Pepita Pesto

Yield: 4-6

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Pepita Pesto is the perfect dish to celebrate the fall season. It is a simple, yet thoughtful dish to create and share with friends and family. The pepita pesto adds an extra pop of pumpkin and nuttiness that pairs perfectly with this pasta.

Print

Ingredients

Gnocchi

• ½ cup skim milk ricotta
• ½ cup canned pumpkin
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 3 sprigs fresh sage, plus more for garnish

Pesto

• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 clove of garlic
• ½ cup fresh basil leaves
• ¾ cup parsley
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl mix together ricotta, canned pumpkin, Parmesan, egg yolk, flour, and salt with a wooden spoon.

2. Once most of the mixture is incorporated and starting to create a dough, pour the mixture onto a clean surface and start to shape dough into a flat disk.

3. Place disk back into mixing bowl and top with a warm, slightly damp towel and leave to rest for 15-20 minutes.

4. While the dough is resting, gather your ingredients for the pesto. In a food processor or blender, pulse together pumpkin seeds (I bought pre-toasted and salted and they tasted great. If you buy pumpkin seeds not already like this, you can place them on a sheet tray, single-layered, with 2 teaspoons of salt on 350 degrees for 8 minutes), grated parmesan, garlic clove, basil, parsley, lime juice, and salt. Slowly add olive oil as you start blending.

5. Once all of the olive oil is added and it has a textured paste consistency, this is perfect! Set aside and wait to serve with gnocchi.

6. Once about 15 minutes has passed, your dough is ready to be rolled out. Cut your dough into 4 even slices then roll into a log and continue to roll until it creates a ¾ inch thick rope.

7. Once all four are rolled into a long rope, cut each into one-inch cuts.

8. If you want crispy gnocchi, melt butter into a saute pan, once it turns brown and smells nutty (creating brown butter), add sage leaves and gnocchi in one layer 4 minutes on each side.

9. Toss hot gnocchi with pesto and top with grated cheese, then serve and enjoy!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. #CommissionsEarned #ad

• 
  Gorilla Grip Original Reversible Cutting Board (3-Piece) BPA Free, Dishwasher Safe, Juice Grooves, Larger Thicker Boards, Easy Grip Handle, Non Porous, Extra Large, Kitchen (Set of Three: Black)
• 
  Victorinox Fibrox Pro Chef's Knife, 8-Inch Chef's FFP
• 
  Homestia Gold Measuring Cups and Spoons Set Stainless Steel 8 PIECE for Dry and Liquid Ingredients Engraved Measurement Heavy Duty Baking & Cooking Utensils
• 
  Vitamix 5200 Blender Professional-Grade, Self-Cleaning 64 oz Container, Black - 001372
• 
  Cuisinart DFP-14BCNY 14-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless Steel
• 
  Microplane 46020 Premium Classic Series Zester Grater, 18/8, Black
• 
  Homestia Gold Measuring Cups and Spoons Set Stainless Steel 8 PIECE for Dry and Liquid Ingredients Engraved Measurement Heavy Duty Baking & Cooking Utensils
• 
  OXO Good Grips Wooden Spoon Set, 3-Piece
• 
  Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls by Finedine (Set of 6) Polished Mirror Finish Nesting Bowl, ¾ - 1.5-3 - 4-5 - 8 Quart - Cooking Supplies

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 439Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 1353mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 11g

Please note that the Calculated Nutrition is an estimate at best.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? If you share it on social media tag us @lifeslittlesweets and hashtag it #lifeslittlesweets - Thank you in advance!

• Author
• Recent Posts

Follow me

Sara Maniez

Owner at Life's Little Sweets

Sara is an architectural designer turned work-at-home Mom. She lives in New Jersey by way of New England and New York, with her husband and 3 kids under 8. She loves design, being creative, and spending time with family and friends. She loves checking out local businesses and eats and being apart of the local farm to table community.

Follow me

Latest posts by Sara Maniez (see all)

• Fall Soup Recipes - October 4, 2025
• Pumpkin Spice Bread - October 2, 2025
• Blueberry Syrup - July 5, 2025