If you never made pumpkin gnocchi, you'll love this simple recipe. It has ricotta, making them soft and tender. Once you have the ingredients measured, this dish is ready in less than 40 minutes! And they can be frozen, so make a large batch and enjoy them fresh every time.
Homemade pasta
This is technically the easiest homemade pasta in my opinion.
Making gnocchi is a wonderful and pretty easy process. You'll need to get a hang of how much flour to add so they hold their shape but are soft and not tough.
And, as if pumpkin gnocchi from scratch wasn't good enough, I went ahead and drowned them in brown butter flavored with blue cheese. So they got a little saltier and flavorful in the best possible way.
I took a fantastic plate of pillowy gnocchi to the next level. I know I'm self-congratulating, but this plate of pasta deserves it.
Not a fan of blue cheese? No problem! Add some thyme or sage leaves to the brown butter, or just a sprinkle of parmesan cheese with a splash of cream and a drizzle of olive oil.
Use simple sauces that pair with the pumpkin flavor. Tomato sauces like marinara are not the best for this dish. Just like I would not use a pungent pesto like I use for this potato gnocchi dish.
Ingredient Notes
Quantities are listed in the recipe card towards the end of this post. The Ingredients page has more details and lists the brands I use.
- Ricotta is an Italian soft cheese with a mild flavor. It gives these gnocchi moisture and texture. The soft type is needed for this recipe, which is easily available in supermarkets.
- Pumpkin or butternut squash: I use homemade pumpkin purée but pure canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) works fine too.
- Cheeses: I'm very partial to good parmesan cheese, but asiago works well, too. And blue cheese, if you're making the sauce.
- Brown butter: It's very easy to make it, and we have a post with detailed video instructions on how to make brown butter. The flavor is magical and perfect for these gnocchi.
How to make pumpkin ricotta gnocchi
Making gnocchi is, in my opinion, the best way to start making homemade pasta.
Though it's not the pasta we think of when we think of eating homemade noodles, it is a great way to practice with dough consistencies, moisture, etc.
First step
- Mixing - I use a large wooden bowl but any other works. Make sure it's large enough to accommodate all the ingredients. Also, I use a wooden spoon, but if you're more comfortable with a spatula, use it. I find that a wooden spoon mixes everything better.
Second step
Add cheese, flavorings and flour.
Grated cheese - beware of Microplane graters that are too small-holed, as the cheese tends to clump and doesn't distribute well. I like to use medium-sized graters.
Mix it by hand
We want to incorporate the ingredients well but not beat them; that would add too much air to the dough and it's not what we're after.
Use a wooden spoon or spatula until you have a nice, well-integrated pumpkin ricotta mixture.
Important
This recipe works, and I have made homemade gnocchi a million times over the years. However, the type of ricotta cheese and/or squash puree you use will add more or less liquid to the dough, and because of that, we almost always need to adjust.
Adding flour
So, we have our homemade gnocchi dough ready. Now comes the tricky part, and what is, in my opinion, the crucial step for making light and airy gnocchi vs. tough, average gnocchi:
It all comes down to how much flour you add to it.
Doughs, in general, behave differently depending on many factors.
Temperature and moisture play a big role, and that includes both the temperature of your kitchen or room where the gnocchi are being made, the amount of moisture in the ingredients (ricotta and pumpkin puree can vary a lot depending on the brand or how you drain it) and the temperature of your hands.
So, how much flour is enough?
The dough should feel soft and you should be able to roll it into a thin rope with your hands. But, it should not be as firm as, for example, a pie crust dough or bread dough. That would mean you added too much flour.
It should not be sticky either, but you should only add enough flour to roll it and be able to cut small pieces.
Adding flour until we get the right texture is the key to great gnocchi.
That's why I will forever say that practice is everything regarding pasta, doughs, and bread.
Practice, practice, practice! Become a master at knowing how the gnocchi dough should feel and not only be guided by the amount of flour in the recipe.
Make a test boil first
This is the best way to see if your gnocchi holds or not.
- Make the initial mixture according to the recipe.
- Have ready a pot of softly boiling salted water.
- Take a small amount, maybe ¼ cup, and roll it on a floured counter until you have a rope.
- Cut the gnocchi and add it to the softly boiling water. Let them rise to the surface, take them out with a skimmer or hand colander and try them.
- You will know instantly. They will either rise with their original shape, or they will disintegrate and you will have more of a boiled puree than gnocchi.
- I recommend putting them in the freezer for 5 minutes before boiling them. They tend to keep their shape better.
- If done right, you'll bite into pale orange pumpkin with ricotta so smooth they will make you a convert, in case you had any doubt about making homemade gnocchi, which is only a matter of practice and lightness of fingers.
How to freeze gnocchi
One of the best parts of making homemade gnocchi is that you can spend a few hours once in a while, make a large quantity and then freeze it. That way you have made-to-order fresh pumpkin ricotta gnocchi every time you crave it!
- Roll the dough and cut it in small pieces.
- Put them in a lightly floured baking sheet (image above) separated from each other.
- Freeze directly in the sheet. When they are completely frozen and rock-solid transfer the gnocchi to a plastic bag or container and keep frozen.
- When ready to cook, boil them directly from the freezer.
Kitchen notes
- Organization: Making gnocchi is easy if you organize yourself, much like making marshmallows. There's no need to panic if you've read the recipe and have enough table space to work on.
- Moisture: ingredients vary a lot in moisture content, which is the main reason for failure in my experience. Not enough flour and you have pumpkin ricotta puree, the balls melding into one big mess; too much flour and they keep their shape wonderfully, but you run the risk of cracking a tooth - an exaggeration I know, but then you should've seen my first attempt at potato gnocchi.
- Texture: It's all about knowing what the right texture is, which in this recipe's case is about being able to make a rope but not lift it easily from the table. That way, you'll get gorgeous gnocchi that freeze perfectly well, so spend some time making a big batch and then freeze them for later. Talk about a great quick dinner.
- Butter sauce: Pumpkin and pasta are commonly paired with butter and herbs, especially sage. The idea is not to overpower the soft flavor of the pasta. So the amount of blue cheese is given by how strong it is.
- Ridges: I don't roll them down the fork to make the characteristic ridges, because they are too tender, and I'd have to make a much firmer dough (read: add more flour) to be able to make the indentations.
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Homemade Pumpkin Ricotta Gnocchi
Ingredients
For the pumpkin gnocchi:
- 2 cups cold butternut squash or pumpkin puree, if using canned, make sure it's unsweetened.
- 6.5 ounces soft ricotta cheese, drained if too watery
- 3.5 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1 ½ to 2 cups flour, plus more for the working surface
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- extra salt for the cooking water
For the blue cheese brown butter:
- 8 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme leaves, plus extra for sprinkling, optional
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the pumpkin gnocchi:
- In a large bowl, mix 2 cups cold butternut squash or pumpkin puree with 6.5 ounces soft ricotta cheese. There's a whole post for making homemade pumpkin puree.
- Add 3 egg yolks, 3.5 ounces parmesan cheese, a little salt (keep in mind that the cheese is salty), pepper and mix well.
- Add 1 cup flour and start combining with a fork. It should be thick.
- Heavily flour the board or surface where you will be shaping the gnocchi and dump the pumpkin mixture. Add ½ cup of flour on top of the mixture, and, with floured hands, start gathering the dough until you have an irregular ball. Don't knead it or work it too much.
- Take a piece of pumpkin dough and shape it into a log. You should be able to make a rope, so add flour as needed, a little at a time, and make sure you stop when you can cut it in pieces and they hold their shape. They will still be very soft. That is fine.
- Transfer them to a floured baking tray and scatter the gnocchi, not touching each other. Repeat with all of the dough. At this point, I always put them 15 minutes in the freezer or at least the refrigerator before cooking them. The cold will aid in keeping their shape when cooking.
- When ready to eat them, cook them in abundant salted water, adding them directly from the fridge or the freezer (no need to defrost them). The water should be between a simmer and a boil. Avoid rapid boiling as it will probably disintegrate parts of the gnocchi.
- Once they float to the surface they are done.
- Take them out with a skimmer or slotted spoon, draining the water well, and transfer to the serving plate. Drizzle with the butter on top, sprinkle with extra thyme, some freshly ground black pepper and more blue cheese if wanted.
- Eat immediately.
For the blue cheese brown butter:
- Melt 8 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. It will bubble and make loud chirping noises. Then the bubbles will subside and it will foam. That's when it'll start to brown, so watch it carefully. You want a golden color.
- Remove from the heat, add ½ cup crumbled blue cheese, 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme leaves and mix. Some bits of cheese might remain.
Kendra says
This is my new favorite recipe. The gnocchi turned out perfect, and the brown butter blue cheese sauce is amazing. We have added mild Italian sausage and spinach, and that was delicious too.
Paula Montenegro says
Happy to know this Kendra! They're a staple around here too. Have a great weekend.
Dina Santin says
Have you ever added nutmeg?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Dina! I add it to potato gnocchi (and mashed potatoes), but never to this recipe. It should work well though.
Suzy says
Hi Paula
Can you tell me please, would sweet potato work as well as the pumpkin does?
Cheers, Suzy
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Suzy, it should work just fine. Make sure it's not watery and go easy on the flour in case it needs less than the pumpkin, as sweet potato tends to be drier.
MARY H HIRSCH says
This will be a true test, Paula, and my money's on you. My gnocchi efforts have never been successful. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.
Paula Montenegro says
You can Mary! You should've seen my first attempts, they were unedible!
Juliana says
What a great recipe for this weird weather!
Reverse Mortgage Broker Redmond says
What a wonderful comfort style dish! Thanks for this recipe.
Anonymous says
I'm so excited to make this! looks amazing!
Nancy @ gottagetbaked says
Paula, your gnocchi look pillowy soft and absolutely perfect. I hated gnocchi until very recently. I had a bad experience eating them a few years back and was of the opinion that I didn't like it. A friend convinced me to try it again a few months back and I couldn't believe how delicious it was. My first attempt would probably be like your potato gnocchi experience so maybe for now, I'll just have pros like you make it for me 😉 These photos are beautiful. What I wouldn't give to spend an afternoon in the kitchen with you!
Marissa | Pinch and Swirl says
Where to begin? These photos! This gnocchi! You are one amazing woman Paula.
The Ninja Baker says
All my favorite cheeses plus pasta! Perfect! And with the pumpkin even more so 🙂
vanillasugarblog says
oh my gosh woman!
now this is kicked up comfort food!!!
Sowmya Dinavahi says
This looks delicious !! I love gnocchi.... Glad to follow you !!
Laura Dembowski says
This looks like the most comforting dish ever! Gnocchi are so hard to make so you deserve to be congratulated on a great job. I've had some from supposedly amazing restaurant chefs that were like bricks.
Gourmet Getaways says
What a delicious flavour combination. I love gnocchi... but I have never made it before, I will have to try.
Liz Berg says
Oh, yeah...this is such a marvelous savory flavor combination!!! And exquisite meal!!!
Cher Rockwell says
1) these are lovely
2) yes, I have made a batch or two of those little lead balls before. I think my favorite gnocchi recipe is from Barbara :Lynch's STIR.
3) you've reminded me that I just cooked up the last batch of gnocchi out of my freezer and its time to make more
4) I can't stop thinking about browned butter and blue cheese
5) you are pretty awesome 🙂
Viviane Bauquet Farre - Food and Style says
Holy moly, Paula! You've outdone yourself with this one. I love the idea of flavoring the butter with blue cheese. Truly mouth-watering!