My Acorn Squash Gnocchi with Basil Pesto is peak Fall weeknight comfort food that is a lovely spin on traditional potato gnocchi. After receiving a few acorn squashes in an October CSA box from Sage Mountain Farm I knew I wanted to find a few fun ways to enjoy this roasted squash.
Pairing this acorn squash gnocchi with pesto offers a lovely harmony of the comforts of fall with the nostalgic call to summer with the pesto sauce as we are using cubes of frozen pesto we made in summer. It is a little more labor intensive given the need to roast the squash, but this can be done ahead of time to save time during the week.
Nevertheless, this Acorn Squash Gnocchi with Basil Pesto is a keeper for our gnocchi archives.
The Squash of Autumn: Acorn Squash
Acorn squash has a mild nutty flavor and mild sweetness making it a wonderful option for our gnocchi dish. This is one of my autumnal squash varieties to enjoy! It's yellowish flesh becomes tender during roasting and caramelizes well adding great depth of flavor to any dish.
Unlike it's squash siblings, acorn squash tends to be a bit more fibrous. This makes it a better candidate for purees or roasted slices. Roast the flesh of acorn squash and stuff it with your favorite ingredients or transform it into gnocchi like we'll do here.
Ingredients for Acorn Squash Gnocchi with Basil Pesto
Acorn squash is flavorful in its own way and considering we're using an equally flavorful sauce, our ingredient list for this recipe is truly simple:
- Acorn Squash: We'll need 1 medium sized acorn squash that weighs just shy of 1 pound. This will make enough gnocchi for 4 servings.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: To roast our acorn squash, we'll use a few tablespoons of olive oil to help soften the squash flesh prior to puréing it for the gnocchi dough.
- All Purpose Flour: This is what helps the gnocchi dough come together. Use as much as needed to help soak up the moisture of the roast squash to create a homemade gnocchi dough that is pliable enough for easy shaping.
- Kosher Salt & Ground Black Pepper: the only real seasoning we'll use here apart from the pesto sauce we'll use to toss the cooked batch of gnocchi at the end.
- Prepared Basil Pesto: You can use any prepared pesto you prefer. You can also check out my recipes for spinach and arugula pesto or zucchini and basil pesto.
Prepping and Cooking the Acorn Squash Gnocchi with Basil Pesto
The most time intensive part of this recipe is roasting the squash. You can also roast the acorn squash ahead of time to save time during the week. To prepare this dish, we'll first roast our squash.
Roast squash: pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut acorn squash in half, on the vertical, and scoop out seeds. Drizzle olive oil onto the flesh side and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet, flesh side down, and roast about 30-40 minutes, until squash is fork tender. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before scooping out flesh into a bowl.
Prep Gnocchi Dough: To prep the dough, bring a large pot of water to a low boil, season with salt like you would to cook pasta. In the bowl of roasted squash, stir together with flour until smooth. The dough should feel about as pliable as pizza dough, meaning it should still hold together but doesn’t feel dry. If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour (about a tablespoon at a time) until you get to that desired consistency. This will help in the rollout of dough.
Roll and cut dough: Working in batches, scoop up a loose handful of dough and roll out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into the shape of a log, about ¾ inch wide. Using a sharp knife, slice into 1 inch pieces and place on parchment. Repeat with the remaining chunks of dough until all gnocchi is cut.
Cooking the gnocchi: Working in two or three batches (depending on number of gnocchi), add gnocchi to the boiling water and allow to cook 2-3 minutes until the gnocchi floats to the top. Using a spider strainer (or slotted spoon) remove gnocchi and allow to drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat until all gnocchi are cooked.
Toss gnocchi together with a couple of tablespoons of basil pesto, using a little gnocchi water to thin out sauce as needed and grate a generous amount of parmigiano-reggiano. Enjoy immediately.
More Easy Weeknight Fall Dinner Ideas
Need more weeknight comfort food ideas for your own Dinner Plans? Check out our seasonal favorites below:
- Sausage and Ricotta Pasta Bake
- Braised Lentils with Thyme and Garlic make a great side dish for roast chicken or fish.
- Salads aren't just for summer and this Fall Harvest Salad with Delicata Squash is proof positive.
Acorn Squash Gnocchi with Basil Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 medium sized acorn squash just shy of 1 lb.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup all purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon for the rolling and cutting gnocchi
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto see notes below
Instructions
Roast Squash for Gnocchi
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut acorn squash in half, on the vertical, and scoop out seeds. Drizzle olive oil onto the flesh side and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet, flesh side down, and roast about 30-40 minutes, until squash is fork tender. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before scooping out flesh into a bowl.
Preparing Gnocchi Dough
- To prep the dough, bring a large pot of water to a low boil, season with salt like you would to cook pasta. In the bowl of roasted squash, stir together with flour until smooth. The dough should feel about as pliable as pizza dough, meaning it should still hold together but doesn’t feel dry. If the dough is too wet, add a little more flour (about a tablespoon at a time) until you get to that desired consistency. This will help in the rollout of dough.
- Roll and cut dough: Working in batches, scoop up a loose handful of dough and roll out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into the shape of a log, about ¾ inch wide. Using a sharp knife, slice into 1 inch pieces and place on parchment. Repeat with the remaining chunks of dough until all gnocchi is cut.
Cooking Gnocchi
- Working in two or three batches (depending on number of gnocchi), add gnocchi to the large pot of boiling water and allow to cook 2-3 minutes until the gnocchi floats to the top. Using a spider strainer (or slotted spoon), remove gnocchi and allow to drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat until all gnocchi are cooked.
- Toss gnocchi together with a couple of tablespoons of basil pesto, using a little gnocchi water to thin out sauce as needed and grate a generous amount of parmigiano-reggiano. Enjoy immediately.
