This Pumpkin Gnocchi is the perfect fall comfort food. It’s rich, savory, and ready in just one skillet. With creamy pumpkin, spicy chili garlic sauce, and hearty Italian sausage, it’s a cozy weeknight dinner that feels holiday-worthy.
Creamy Fall Gnocchi
It’s the first day of the fall season and I just heated up a bowl of this creamy Pumpkin Gnocchi to enjoy while typing this blog post. While chili recipes are often the star of the show this time of year, I think one pot skillet recipes could be too, simply for how easy they are to make (no waiting 4-6 hours in the crockpot) and they don’t require the oven (a sacred space during holiday season!).
This easy pumpkin gnocchi recipe is packed with flavor. I usually think sweet pumpkin in the fall (pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin butterscotch muffins), but this recipe takes a savory direction with the chili garlic sauce, tomato paste and Italian sausage to balance the flavors and make your taste buds dance!
This is easy enough for a weeknight dinner but complex enough in flavor to make its way to your holiday feast (along side this sourdough stuffing – yum!). And if you love gnocchi, also try my Pizza Gnocchi, Creamy Pesto Gnocchi or Cauliflower Gnocchi Soup!
Recipe Ingredients
- Sausage – I used ground mild Italian sausage.
- Veggies – White onion & lacinato kale with stems removed.
- Lite Coconut Milk – If preferred, you can also do 8 oz heavy cream and 8 oz water.
- Pumpkin Puree – I used a can for convenience, but feel free to use fresh pumpkin, too!
- Tomato Paste – Balances the pumpkin in our creamy sauce.
- Chili Garlic Sauce – Chili Garlic Sauce is NOT Chili Oil. The sauce is a thick, paste-like condiment. Think of it like chicken bouillon stock. It’s concentrated and meant to blend into the recipe and expand its flavors. Whereas chili oil is oil infused with chilis. It’s thinner and more fragrant – it will also separate the sauce instead of blended.
- Potato Gnocchi – I used store-bought gnocchi for this pumpkin gnocchi recipe (no potato ricer, egg yolks or extra flour involved!), but feel free to get your hands and work surface dirty with a homemade gnocchi instead! Or use Trader Joe’s sweet potato gnocchi or cauliflower frozen gnocchi instead.
- Optional Toppings – Grated parmesan & red pepper flakes.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Any protein would work in this – ground chicken, beef or turkey. Crumbled tofu could work, too! Just be careful with cook times & not to dry out the protein while cooking.
- Substitute any noodle! Make a pumpkin penne or pumpkin ravioli. You will want to cook your pasta beforehand though, as there isn’t enough liquid in this recipe to boil the noodles.
- Add in extra veggies: Diced mushrooms, zucchini, peas or spinach.
- Herbs: Fresh thyme or rosemary would taste great with the fall flavors in this dish. If you want to get super fancy, make a sage butter sauce to drizzle on top. Just fry a few fresh sage leaves in an excess of butter, then once you have crispy sage leaves with golden brown edges turn off the heat. Pour the sage sauce over the gnocchi for an extra decadent touch.
How to Make This Recipe
1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil to medium heat. When warm, add the white onion and pinch of salt. Stir and when the onions are semi-translucent, add the italian sausage bits. I like to use the back of a wooden spoon and break off small pieces that resemble loose meatballs/clumps. It gives the skillet better texture than just ground meat.
2. When the sausage is halfway cooked, add the diced kale.
3. Once the kale is wilted and sausage is 85% cooked, pour in the coconut milk, pumpkin purée, tomato paste, and chili garlic sauce (we used this one). Stir consistently until sauce forms together and everything is evenly distributed. Bring to a simmer, careful not to burn the bottom.
4. Add the water into the skillet and place the gnocchi in the skillet. Fold it all together, coating the gnocchi in sauce and ensuring to break the individual pieces apart. Cover with a lid to steam the gnocchi (3-5 minutes) until gnocchi is fork tender and soft.
5. Once the gnocchi is cooked through, garnish with cracked pepper and grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano cheese (optional). Serve warm and enjoy!
PRO TIPS
- The gnocchi may take slightly longer than package instructions to cook since we are cooking it in the sauce, rather than of boiling water.
Recipe FAQs
Store leftover pumpkin gnocchi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of water, broth, or coconut milk as a little trick to loosen the sauce, or warm in the microwave, stirring halfway through.
Yes! This Pumpkin gnocchi with sauce will freeze for up to 2 months in an airtight container or freezer bag. The gnocchi may soften a bit when thawed, but the flavor stays delicious. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm gently on the stovetop with a splash of broth, coconut milk, or water to refresh the sauce.
No. The pumpkin in this recipe makes the sauce creamy and slightly sweet, but the chili garlic and sausage balance it with savory heat.
Serving suggestions
With a side of fresh sourdough, garlic toast or Cheesy Monkey Bread. Make this Fall Kale Salad as a yummy app.
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Pumpkin Gnocchi
Equipment
- skillet
- Wooden Spoon
- knife & cutting board
- measuring cups / spoons
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 medium White onion, diced
- 1 lbs Mild italian sausage
- 3 cups Lacinato kale, stems removed and finely diced
- 1 can Lite Coconut Milk
- 1/2 can Pumpkin puree, 7.5 oz
- 1 ½ tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 ½ tbsp chili garlic sauce, (NOT chili oil)
- 17 oz Potato gnocchi
- 1/2 cup water, optional use beef bone broth
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Pepper
- Grated parm, optional
- Red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil to medium heat. When warm, add the white onion and pinch of salt. Stir and when the onions are semi-translucent, add the italian sausage (break it off into bits). I like to use the back of a wooden spoon and break off small pieces that resemble loose meatballs/clumps. It gives the skillet better texture than just ground meat.
- When the sausage is halfway cooked, add the diced kale.
- Once the kale is wilted and sausage is 85% cooked, pour in the coconut milk, pumpkin purée, tomato paste, and chili garlic sauce.
- Stir consistently until sauce forms together and everything is evenly distributed. Bring to a simmer, careful not to burn the bottom.
- Add the water into the skillet and place the gnocchi in the skillet. Fold it all together, coating the gnocchi in sauce and ensuring to break the individual pieces apart.
- Cover with a lid to steam the gnocchi (3-5 minutes) until gnocchi is fork tender and soft.
- Once the gnocchi is cooked through, garnish with cracked pepper and grated parmesan cheese or pecorino romano cheese (optional). Serve warm and enjoy!
Nutrition
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find PUMPKIN GNOCCHI calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
talk about DELISH. so so easy and so delicious. Next time im going to try wtih homemade gnocchi
The perfect fall dish!! It’s like gnocchi and vodka sauce with a pumpkin twist!
Ok, this was amazing
this is so wonderful. Cozy & flavorful!