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This roasted pumpkin gnocchi is the perfect homemade comfort food for a night in. It features light, cheesy, golden gnocchi which is crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Tossed in pesto and topped with spinach, bacon and pine nuts. It’s one of my absolute favourite go-to dinners for a warm and filling meal with a bit of green. Rich, flavourful, melt-in-the-mouth delicious!
Here’s a confession… I have a soft spot for gnocchi. Ever since the first time I tried it. Which if I remember correctly, happened to be at an Italian restaurant some time ago that I can’t even remember when. What I do remember, however, is staring at the menu and wondering what it was. This was followed by my swift decision, out of curiosity, to order and taste it for the first time. Pretty sure that I was partially persuaded by the very appealing description (which often gets me). And I was not disappointed at all I was delightfully surprised. Light, fluffy, soft pillows of potato coated in an equally delicious butter sauce. That was enough to get me seriously addicted and wanting more!
About Gnocchi
Gnocchi, although often assumed to be pasta, is a type of dumpling. It tends to include a combination of flour, potato and egg to bind it all together.
I however had other intentions after I had the idea of making it with pumpkin and haven’t looked back since.
If I’m completely honest, making gnocchi, for the most part, does take a bit of work. That being said, it is worth the effort and shouldn’t throw you off from making it yourself.
Coincidently, for this recipe, I wanted to simplify the process and ingredients ever so slightly, for a little less of the fuss. That way it’s even more tempting to make!
Ingredients for this Roasted Pumpkin Gnocchi
Pumpkin
Pumpkin, although it has a higher water content than potato, does give it a slight sweetness. A flavour that further develops and heightens through the roasting process. That way all kinds of flavour is packed into the gnocchi dough of flavour before it gets tossed with a sauce.
My personal favourite is butternut pumpkin, mainly because it’s so easy to cut. You’re welcome to use any other type of pumpkin that’s in season and readily available.
Flour
Use plain flour as opposed to strong flour to get the desired pillowy softness gnocchi are known for. Strong/high-grade flour ends up in chewy dumplings and that’s not what you signed up for. Not for this recipe anyway. Save that for all your bread-baking adventures.
Red Onion
Mainly for the pop of colour and contrast. Just as easily swapped out for a white onion.
Chicken Bacon
Also known as chicken rashers. Looks like bacon, but is made with chicken, as a healthier alternative. Replace it with bacon if you can’t find any or even leave it out to make it vegetarian.
About this Pumpkin Gnocchi Mixture…
The mixture for this dough is unlike the typical standard gnocchi you may be familiar with. And that’s not because it involves pumpkin and cheese! The dough tends to air on the soft and slightly sticky side. But that is generally what you want. The aim is to add in just enough flour until the mixture combines for it to hold together and for you to handle. Particularly as you will be rolling it in more flour throughout the next stages of portioning.
The less you knead it the better, as too much handling will cause it to become tough and chewy.
When it comes to portioning out the dough and rolling it, this is where flouring generously helps and is much needed. Transfer to a well-floured surface, flour your equipment and hands to ensure it doesn’t stick. Perfectly fine to add in additional flour when needed so it’s easier to handle.
It is a soft dough, but that’s also what makes it so light.
Tips:
- Don’t forget to use your dough scraper (as previously mentioned in my baking tips and tricks) for this one! It comes in great use, particularly when you need to divide the dough.
- The best way to roll the dough into the snake-like logs is by drawing it towards you and rolling it to yourself. See the picture below. You start with the dough furthest away from you and pull it towards you. This motion tends to start with the dough sitting near your palms and then moves towards your fingertips. Then you can gently pick up the dough, put it back to where it started and repeat until you get the desired thickness.
Recipe time!
Roasted Pumpkin Gnocchi with Spinach Bacon and Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 kg Butternut Pumpkin produces about 670g cooked pumpkin
- 2 Sprigs of Thyme
- 2 tbsp (30ml) Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- ¼ cup (20g) Grated Parmesan
- 2½ cups (310g) Plain Flour plus extra for dusting
To Assemble
- 2 tsp (10ml) Oil + 1 tbsp (15ml) Oil
- 1 (180g) Red Onion Thinly Sliced
- 200 g Chicken Bacon Diced
- 3 cups (50g) Baby Spinach
- 2 tbsp (30g) Pesto
- ¼ cup (42g) Toasted Pine Nuts
- Fresh Basil Leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to bake at 200°C.
- Cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and place on a lined baking tray with the thyme. Drizzle with olive oil, then generously season with salt and pepper.
- Place the pumpkin cut side down on the tray, then roast for 1 hour or until soft. Let cool slightly.
- When cool enough to handle, spoon out the pumpkin flesh and push through a sieve into a bowl.
- Add the parmesan to the bowl of pumpkin and mix to combine.
- Then add in flour, ½ cup at a time until the dough just comes together. It should hold its shape but will still be quite soft and may still be a little sticky* (see notes and images above about this step) You don’t want to add too much flour or mix too much otherwise it will make it tough doughy gnocchi.Â
- Transfer the dough to a well-floured surface. Then divide the dough into 8 and gently roll each portion into a thin sausage-like log about 2 ½ – 3 cm thick. Flour as needed to prevent it from sticking.
- Cut each log into 1 ½ cm pieces.
- Working in batches, cook the gnocchi in well-salted boiling water. When they float to the surface, this indicates they are almost done. Allow them to cook for a further minute then remove from the water with a slotted spoon and then rinse in cold running water. Set aside.
Assembly
- Heat 2 tsp oil in a frypan over medium-high heat. Add in onions and cook until just starting to colour (3-5 minutes), before adding in the bacon.
- Cook until the bacon begins to colour and onions start to soften, about 5 minutes or so. Remove from the heat, transfer to a dish and set aside.
- Using the same frypan, heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium-high heat.
- Pan-fry the gnocchi until golden.
- Add in the pesto, spinach, cooked bacon and onion. Cook for a few minutes just to heat through then remove from the heat. Â
- Garnish with toasted pinenuts and fresh basil leaves.
- Enjoy while still nice and hot!
Don’t forget to pin this recipe for future reference and follow me on Pinterest while you’re at it!
If you make this roasted pumpkin gnocchi recipe mention @theculinaryletter or tag #theculinaryletter, I’d love to see your amazing creations!
If you need something a little sweet for dessert, why not check out this s’ mores hot chocolate recipe?!
Until next time, stay curious!
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