January 31, 2026
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This is what I make when the weather turns and I want to be indoors doing something slow and comforting. Soft pumpkin gnocchi, fried golden in sage butter, with something salty and something bitter alongside.
It’s a bit of a project, I’ll be honest, there’s roasting and ricing and rolling. But it’s the good kind of afternoon work, and what lands on the plate is worth every minute! Crisp outside, pillowy in the middle, and that nutty brown butter over the top.
Table of Contents
Where pumpkin gnocchi comes from
Let’s be straight about this: gnocchi isn’t French, I’ve stolen this one from our Italian neighbours where cooks have been making potato dumplings for centuries. But the French regions that border Italy, Provence, the Alpes-Maritimes, the Savoie, took the idea long ago and made it their own, and you’ll now find pumpkin gnocchi on French menus every autumn as naturally as anything Provençal.
If you’ve been to a French market in autumn, you’ll know the moment when potimarron suddenly appears everywhere, small, dense, rust-coloured, piled up next to the walnuts and the first wild mushrooms. Its flesh is sweet and dense with a faint chestnut flavour, which is exactly where the name comes from: potiron for pumpkin, marron for chestnut. We roast it for pumpkin soups, layer it into gratins, and make it into gnocchi. If you can’t find potimarron, butternut squash works perfectly well: a little less sweet, a little more watery, but just as good. Don’t let it stop you!
Ingredients
- Potimarron or butternut squash – Roasted, not boiled. Potimarron is sweeter and drier with a chestnut note; butternut works fine and is easier to find.
- Floury potatoes – Maris Piper or King Edward. They give the dough structure and that pillowy texture. Riced while hot.
- Plain flour – As little as you can get away with. Too much and the gnocchi turn rubbery, so add it gradually.
- Egg – Binds the dough.
- Parmesan – Some in the dough for savoury depth, plenty grated over at the end.
- Nutmeg – A little in the dough, classic with both squash and potato.
- Butter and sage – For frying. The butter goes nutty and golden, the sage crisps and perfumes the whole pan.
- Smoked (vegetarian) lardons – For salt and crunch alongside.
- Radicchio – Its bitterness cuts the sweet squash and the rich butter. Rocket or baby spinach at a push.
How to make pumpkin gnocchi
1. Roast and rice
Roast the squash until completely tender, scoop and mash the flesh, and let it cool. Meanwhile boil the potatoes until properly soft, peel them hot, and push them through a ricer. Combine the two, aiming for roughly equal weights, and add the salt, nutmeg and parmesan.
2. Make the dough
Make a well, add the beaten egg, and mix just until combined. Then add the flour gradually, and be stingy with it: start with less, fold it in gently, and stop as soon as the dough comes together, soft and slightly tacky but not sticking to your hands. The less flour, the lighter the gnocchi.
3. Shape and boil
Roll the dough into ropes about 1.5cm thick and cut into 2cm pieces. Ridge them on the back of a fork if you like, or leave them plain, they taste the same. Boil in batches in gently simmering (not rolling) water: they sink, then float after a minute or two, and 30 seconds after they float they’re done. Scoop them out onto a tea towel.
4. Fry in sage butter
Don’t stop at boiling, this is the step most people skip and it’s the one that matters. Crisp the lardons, set them aside, then melt the butter with the sage until the leaves crisp and the butter turns golden and nutty. Fry the boiled gnocchi in batches (don’t crowd them) until golden and crisp on both sides. Toss with the lardons and torn radicchio, which will wilt slightly in the heat, then plate up with parsley, plenty of parmesan and black pepper. Eat immediately, while they’re crisp!
Tools for this recipe
Check out my favorite kitchen essentials and cookware!
- Use a potato ricer to break the potato and squash into fine strands without overworking them, the single biggest factor in light gnocchi.
- Use a baking tray and baking mat to roast the squash so the flesh stays dry.
- Use a large saucepan to boil the potatoes and the gnocchi.
- Use a skimmer spoon to lift the gnocchi out the moment they float.
Tips for success
- Roast the squash, never boil it: roasting concentrates flavour and dries the flesh. Watery squash means more flour, and more flour means rubbery gnocchi.
- Be stingy with the flour: start with less than you think and add gradually, just until the dough holds. Every extra spoonful costs you lightness. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky.
- Use a ricer, and don’t overwork: rice the potato and squash rather than mashing, and fold the dough together in seconds. Overworking develops starch and gives you dense, chewy gnocchi.
- Simmer, don’t boil: cook the gnocchi in gently simmering water with small bubbles. A rolling boil knocks them about and breaks them up. Out 30 seconds after they float.
- Don’t skip the pan-fry: boiled gnocchi are fine; boiled-then-fried gnocchi are amazing. Three extra minutes and another pan, and you get a crisp golden crust against a pillowy middle.
How to store it
- Fried gnocchi are strictly an eat-now dish, they lose their crispness within minutes, so plate and serve them straight from the pan.
- The dough and shaped gnocchi, on the other hand, are very make-ahead friendly. Shape them up to 4 hours ahead, lay them on a floured tray in a single layer (not touching), cover with a tea towel, and refrigerate. Better still, freeze them: spread them on a tray in a single layer until solid, then bag them up, and they keep for a couple of months. Cook them straight from frozen, adding a minute to the boil, no thawing.
- Cooked leftovers keep in the fridge for 2 days and are best revived in a hot dry pan to re-crisp them, rather than the microwave, which makes them gluey.
Variations
- Make it vegan: skip the egg (the dough holds with a touch more flour), use olive oil or vegan butter with the sage, a vegan hard cheese, and vegan lardons or smoked tofu.
- Swap the greens: No radicchio? Use rocket, baby spinach, or chicory. You just want something bitter to cut the sweet squash and rich butter.
- Add nuts: a scatter of toasted walnuts or hazelnuts with the lardons, lovely with squash and sage.
- Add blue cheese: a little crumbled Roquefort or gorgonzola melting over the hot gnocchi, since blue cheese and pumpkin is a classic pairing.
- Plain potato gnocchi: same method, all potato and no squash, if you want the classic.
FAQ
Why are my gnocchi dense or rubbery?
Almost always too much flour, or an overworked dough. Both come back to wet squash: roast it rather than boiling, so the flesh is dry and needs less flour. Rice the potato rather than mashing, add flour gradually, and stop mixing the moment the dough comes together.
Can I make pumpkin gnocchi ahead of time?
Yes. Shape them up to 4 hours ahead and keep them on a floured tray in the fridge, or freeze them in a single layer until solid and bag them for a couple of months. Cook from frozen with an extra minute in the water. Fry and serve fresh, though, as they lose their crisp quickly.
Do I have to pan-fry gnocchi after boiling?
You don’t have to, but it’s the step that makes this dish. Boiled gnocchi are pleasant; boiled and then fried in sage butter gives you a crisp golden crust against a soft, pillowy inside. It takes three extra minutes and one more pan, and it’s completely worth it.
Can I use butternut squash instead of potimarron?
Yes. Potimarron is sweeter, denser and drier, with a faint chestnut flavour, so it’s ideal, but butternut squash works perfectly well and is much easier to find. It’s a little wetter, so roast it well and be careful with the flour.
Why do you need potato in pumpkin gnocchi?
Squash holds too much water to hold together on its own, so pure pumpkin gnocchi tend to collapse or need so much flour they turn rubbery. The potato gives the dough structure and that classic pillowy texture, and lets the gnocchi survive boiling and frying. Roughly half squash, half potato is the balance.
Prep Time 45 minutes 
Cook Time 45 minutes 
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes 
Servings 4Description
Ingredients
For the Gnocchi
- 400 gr butternut squash or potimarron, unpeeled weight
- 300 gr floury potatoes Maris Piper or King Edward
- 1 egg
- 175 gr plain flour plus extra for dusting
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp nutmeg freshly grated
- 30 gr Parmesan cheese grated for the dough
For Serving
- 60 gr unsalted butter
- 12 leaves sage
- 100 gr vegetarian lardons or pancetta if not keeping it veggie
- 50 gr radicchio
- parsley
- 40 gr Parmesan cheese for grating
- salt and black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
1. Roast the squash
- Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Halve the squash, scoop out the seeds, and roast cut-side up on a lined tray for 25 to 30 minutes, until completely tender. Scoop out the flesh (you want about 300g), mash smooth, and cool completely. Roasting, not boiling, keeps the flesh dry.
2. Cook the potatoes
- Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in cold salted water for 20 to 25 minutes, until completely soft. Drain, peel while hot (hold them in a tea towel), and push through a ricer into a large bowl.
3. Combine
- Add the mashed squash to the riced potato (roughly 600g total, about half and half). Add the salt, nutmeg and 30g parmesan and mix gently with a fork. Make a well, add the beaten egg, and mix just until combined.
4. Add the flour (carefully)
- Start with 150g flour, sprinkled over and folded in gently. The dough should just come together, soft and slightly tacky but not sticking to your hands. Add more only a tablespoon at a time if needed. Be stingy.
5. Shape
- On a floured surface, divide into 6 pieces and roll each into a rope about 1.5cm thick. Cut into 2cm pieces. Ridge on the back of a fork if you like. Lay on a floured tea towel in a single layer, not touching.
6. Boil
- Bring a large pan of salted water to a gentle simmer (not a rolling boil). Cook in batches of about 20: they sink, then float after 1 to 2 minutes. Give them 30 seconds more, then lift out with a slotted spoon onto a tea towel.
7. Fry the lardons
- Meanwhile, fry the lardons in a large frying pan over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until golden and crisp. Set aside.
8. Sage butter fry
- In the same pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sage and let it sizzle 30 seconds until crisp and fragrant, keeping the butter golden, not burnt. Fry the gnocchi in batches for 2 to 3 minutes a side, until golden and crisp.
9. Assemble and serve
- Toss the gnocchi with the lardons and torn radicchio (the heat wilts it slightly). Divide between warm plates, scatter over parsley, grate over plenty of parmesan, and finish with black pepper and flaky salt. Eat immediately.
Notes
- The amount of flour you need depends entirely on how dry your pumpkin and potato were. Start with less and add more if needed. Too much flour = dense, rubbery gnocchi.
- You can shape the gnocchi up to 4 hours ahead. Lay them on a floured tray, cover with a tea towel, and refrigerate. Or freeze them in a single layer on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag once solid. Cook from frozen, just add an extra minute to the cooking time.
- Traditional gnocchi boards: If you’ve got one, brilliant. If not, a fork works perfectly well. The ridges help the sauce cling, but it’s not essential.
- Vegetarian lardons: Most supermarkets sell these now. If you can’t find them, use diced smoked tofu or just skip them and add more parmesan.
- Radicchio: This adds a lovely bitter contrast to the sweet pumpkin. If you can’t find radicchio, use rocket or baby spinach instead.
Share your feedback and spread the love!
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out! Leave a ★★★★★ rating and your thoughts in the comments, it helps fellow French foodies discover this recipe too. Snap a photo and tag @obviously.french on Instagram. Come talk about it in our Facebook group. And don’t forget to save this recipe to Pinterest so you’ll always have it handy for your next French-inspired meal!
