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overhead shot of spoon dipped in butternut squash gnocchi in skillet
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Butternut Squash Gnocchi

With just a few ingredients, you can make homemade gnocchi with butternut squash that is tossed in a delicious brown butter sage sauce.
Course Pasta
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 482kcal
Author Ryan Beck

Ingredients

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

  • 1 lb butternut squash
  • 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

  • ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds with a spoon. Place cut side up on baking sheet and brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 45-50 minutes or until tender. Let cool then scoop out flesh. Mash with potato masher or place in food processor and puree until smooth.
  • Place butternut squash in large bowl. Add in the ricotta, egg, Parmesan cheese, salt and nutmeg and mix until combined. Add in flour ½ cup at a time. Mix until just combined and you form a ball. Do not over knead, otherwise it will be tough. The dough should be sticky.
  • Flour a clean surface and place the dough there. Cut into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll and stretch the dough until it forms a long skinny rope, about 1 inch thick. Cut about 1 inch wide and then transfer to a baking sheet, making sure each gnocchi is covered in flour so they don't stick to each other.
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the gnocchi until they float, which should be about 3-4 minutes. Drain and toss with some olive oil so they don't stick.
  • Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi and pan-fry on one side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. You will have to do this in batches if you can't have gnocchi in single later. Remove from skillet and set aside.
  • In same skillet, bring heat to medium and add butter. Cook until the butter is browned and fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and sage and cook for 30 seconds. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the gnocchi, so it's coated. Serve immediately with some Parmesan cheese.

Notes

  • Add just enough flour. Let me be clear. While most times, you need 2 cups of flour for this recipe, there are times you need slightly more or slightly less. Every butternut squash is different in moisture content which is what controls the amount of flour you use. Use either a wooden spoon or your hands to mix in the flour until just incorporated and where the dough forms a loaf. It should be a soft dough.
  • Don't overmix. Just like anything with flour, if your overmix or knead too much, you'll get a tougher gnocchi. It won't be soft and pillowy. You want to mix until it just comes together.
  • Don't make them perfect. Gnocchi doesn't have to be perfect shapes or have ridges. Mine never look exactly the same but they taste great! Also you can skip the ridges. It's time consuming and not worth the effort.
  • Sprinkle with flour when cutting and transporting. Gnocchi can get sticky if there isn't flour sprinkled on it. As I'm rolling out the dough to cut and then cut into gnocchi and then transfer to a sheet, I sprinkle with flour to make sure it doesn't stick. Learn from me as I didn't do this in the past.
  • Boil until they float. When cooking gnocchi, boil it until they float and then remove and add to a sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 482kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 389mg | Potassium: 360mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 9900IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 890mg | Iron: 1mg