Northern Italy's gnocchi tradition skips potatoes entirely here—roasted pumpkin's natural starch binds flour alone, no egg required for that pillowy texture.
Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi with Only 2 Ingredients
Indulge in the cozy flavors of fall with these delightful pumpkin gnocchi, crafted with just two simple ingredients: velvety cooked pumpkin and wholesome oat flour! Tossed with aromatic herbs and a sprinkle of nutty Parmigiano Reggiano, this dish transforms into a heartwarming lunch that celebrates the season. Get ready to savor the taste of autumn in every bite!
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
3
people
Level
beginner
The Story
This so-called two-ingredient gnocchi is actually Mantua's 16th-century pumpkin obsession colliding with modern Instagram minimalism—northern Italian nobility stuffed squash into tortelli for Renaissance feasts, and some clever soul in Emilia-Romagna figured out you could skip the egg-and-wheat faff entirely, proving that even stubborn Italian grandmothers occasionally embrace a shortcut when pumpkin's doing the heavy lifting anyway.
Regional Twist
In Mantua, birthplace of pumpkin pasta obsession, cooks would crumble amaretti biscuits into the dough alongside the zucca for a sweet-savory punch, then finish with brown butter instead of plain olive oil, letting the nutmeg sing even louder.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 3🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 2 cucchiai di olio extravergine d’oliva (30 ml)
- 150 g di farina d’avena (o altra farina, regolando la quantità) (1.2 cup)or other flour, adjusting the amount
🧂Spices & Seasonings(3)
- Noce moscata q.b.
- Rosmarino e salvia q.b.
- Sale q.b.
📦Other(2)
- 250 g di zucca cotta (8.82 oz)
- Parmigiano Reggiano q.b.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
335
Protein
11g
Carbs
39g
Fat
15g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Blend the cooked pumpkin with a pinch of salt and nutmeg until you get a smooth and homogeneous cream.
- 2
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and gradually add the flour, mixing until you obtain a soft and workable dough. The amount of flour may vary based on the moisture of the pumpkin.
- 3
Move the dough to a lightly floured surface, divide it into logs, and cut it into small pieces. Shape the gnocchi by hand.
- 4
Finely chop the sage and rosemary and sauté them in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil.
- 5
Cook the pumpkin gnocchi in plenty of boiling salted water. When they float, gently drain them.
- 6
Transfer them to the pan with the herbs, add the Parmigiano Reggiano and a splash of cooking water. Toss for about a minute until you achieve a creamy sauce.
- 7
Plate and finish with more Parmigiano and a few sage leaves.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Press cooked pumpkin through a fine-mesh sieve or food mill after blending to reduce moisture content to ~80% before adding flour, preventing a gluey dough that requires excessive flour and produces dense gnocchi.technique~80% moisture target
- ✓Add flour in 3-4 increments (roughly 40g per addition) and knead only 8-10 times between additions, stopping when dough barely sticks to your finger—overworking develops gluten and toughens the gnocchi by 30-40%.technique8-10 kneads per increment
- ✓Cut gnocchi into 12-15g pieces (roughly hazelnut-sized); smaller pieces cook unevenly and larger ones stay gummy inside, as heat penetrates at ~1cm per 2 minutes in boiling water.ingredient12-15g per piece
- ✓Reserve 120-150ml of starchy pasta cooking water before draining; the 4-6% starch concentration emulsifies with olive oil and cheese to create sauce clinginess, while plain water produces a greasy finish.timing120-150ml at 4-6% starch
- ✓Toss gnocchi with herbs and cheese for exactly 60 seconds off-heat while vigorously stirring to emulsify; exceeding 90 seconds causes starch gelatinization to break and sauce separates into pools of grease.timing60 seconds maximum
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
30
min
Serves
3
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Northern Italy's gnocchi tradition skips potatoes entirely here—roasted pumpkin's natural starch binds flour alone, no egg required for that pillowy texture.
Homemade Pumpkin Gnocchi with Only 2 Ingredients
Indulge in the cozy flavors of fall with these delightful pumpkin gnocchi, crafted with just two simple ingredients: velvety cooked pumpkin and wholesome oat flour! Tossed with aromatic herbs and a sprinkle of nutty Parmigiano Reggiano, this dish transforms into a heartwarming lunch that celebrates the season. Get ready to savor the taste of autumn in every bite!
The Story
This so-called two-ingredient gnocchi is actually Mantua's 16th-century pumpkin obsession colliding with modern Instagram minimalism—northern Italian nobility stuffed squash into tortelli for Renaissance feasts, and some clever soul in Emilia-Romagna figured out you could skip the egg-and-wheat faff entirely, proving that even stubborn Italian grandmothers occasionally embrace a shortcut when pumpkin's doing the heavy lifting anyway.
Regional Twist
In Mantua, birthplace of pumpkin pasta obsession, cooks would crumble amaretti biscuits into the dough alongside the zucca for a sweet-savory punch, then finish with brown butter instead of plain olive oil, letting the nutmeg sing even louder.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 3🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 2 cucchiai di olio extravergine d’oliva (30 ml)
- 150 g di farina d’avena (o altra farina, regolando la quantità) (1.2 cup)or other flour, adjusting the amount
🧂Spices & Seasonings(3)
- Noce moscata q.b.
- Rosmarino e salvia q.b.
- Sale q.b.
📦Other(2)
- 250 g di zucca cotta (8.82 oz)
- Parmigiano Reggiano q.b.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
335
Protein
11g
Carbs
39g
Fat
15g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Blend the cooked pumpkin with a pinch of salt and nutmeg until you get a smooth and homogeneous cream.
- 2
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and gradually add the flour, mixing until you obtain a soft and workable dough. The amount of flour may vary based on the moisture of the pumpkin.
- 3
Move the dough to a lightly floured surface, divide it into logs, and cut it into small pieces. Shape the gnocchi by hand.
- 4
Finely chop the sage and rosemary and sauté them in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil.
- 5
Cook the pumpkin gnocchi in plenty of boiling salted water. When they float, gently drain them.
- 6
Transfer them to the pan with the herbs, add the Parmigiano Reggiano and a splash of cooking water. Toss for about a minute until you achieve a creamy sauce.
- 7
Plate and finish with more Parmigiano and a few sage leaves.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Press cooked pumpkin through a fine-mesh sieve or food mill after blending to reduce moisture content to ~80% before adding flour, preventing a gluey dough that requires excessive flour and produces dense gnocchi.technique~80% moisture target
- ✓Add flour in 3-4 increments (roughly 40g per addition) and knead only 8-10 times between additions, stopping when dough barely sticks to your finger—overworking develops gluten and toughens the gnocchi by 30-40%.technique8-10 kneads per increment
- ✓Cut gnocchi into 12-15g pieces (roughly hazelnut-sized); smaller pieces cook unevenly and larger ones stay gummy inside, as heat penetrates at ~1cm per 2 minutes in boiling water.ingredient12-15g per piece
- ✓Reserve 120-150ml of starchy pasta cooking water before draining; the 4-6% starch concentration emulsifies with olive oil and cheese to create sauce clinginess, while plain water produces a greasy finish.timing120-150ml at 4-6% starch
- ✓Toss gnocchi with herbs and cheese for exactly 60 seconds off-heat while vigorously stirring to emulsify; exceeding 90 seconds causes starch gelatinization to break and sauce separates into pools of grease.timing60 seconds maximum