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

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Pumpkin Gnocchi with Pepita Pesto

Name: Pumpkin Gnocchi with Pepita Pesto
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds; 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan; 1 clove of garlic; 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves; 3/4 cup parsley; 1/2 cup olive oil; 2 tablespoons lime juice; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup skim milk ricotta; 1/2 cup canned pumpkin; 1/2 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

Yield: 4-6

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Gnocchi

1/2 cup skim milk ricotta
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 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

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup parsley
1/2 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 3/4 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!

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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.

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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.