This creamy butternut squash gnocchi is the ultimate autumn dinner. The sauce is full of roasted garlic and mascarpone for a rich and comforting meal.
Cosy autumn food time!
Is there anything more appropriate for this season than a creamy sauce made from autumn squash?
Especially when the squash has been roasted with onion and garlic until everything is soft and then blended together with rich and creamy mascarpone.
The gnocchi cooks in minutes and once it's ready you simply toss the gnocchi with the sauce and top with rocket, parmesan and a sprinkle of chilli flakes if you like.
Related: Try this butternut squash pasta sauce for another tasty autumn recipe!
Why we love this recipe...
It's one of our favourite autumnal vegetarian dinner recipes thanks to the rich and creamy butternut squash sauce.
It's such an easy recipe to make. A bit of chopping, a quick blend and a boiling pot of gnocchi and you're ready to go.
This sauce is really versatile - you can use it on any pasta instead of gnocchi. It would even be good as a sauce for chicken or stirred through rice.
It's easy to add extra protein to this dish by stirring some shredded cooked chicken or other meat through before serving.
Ingredients
This section is here to provide further tips and ideas for alternative ingredients. The full recipe and instructions are included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!
Butternut Squash: I normally make this recipe with butternut squash because that the most easily accessible for me but recipe you could any autumn squash
Onion and Garlic: These are roasted with the squash until soft and full of flavour before blending into the sauce
Gnocchi: I like to buy the shelf stable bags of gnocchi to keep in the cupboard for nights when I need a delicious comforting dinner like this.
Mascarpone: This is the perfect thing to add creaminess and flavour to the sauce
Rocket: A handful of fresh rocket on top of the gnocchi before serving adds a peppery freshness to the final dish
How to make it
Roast the vegetables: Put the squash and onion on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the garlic halves on a sheet of foil and drizzle with olive oil before wrapping tightly and placing on the baking sheet with the vegetables. Roast for 45 minutes.
Cook the gnocchi: Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the gnocchi according to packet instructions. Reserve a cup of cooking water before draining.
Make the sauce: Put the squash, onion and garlic in a blender with the mascarpone and blend until smooth. Add gnocchi cooking water until you reach the desired consistency. Put in the pot with the gnocchi and mix. Serve topped with rocket.
Variations
Try adding a sprinkling of fried pancetta or chorizo to this gnocchi before serving for a little added salty meatiness.
If you can't get butternut squash, sweet potato could also work - similar to this sweet potato mac and cheese.
I love adding a little spiciness to this recipe to cut through the sweetness of the squash. You can do this by sprinkling over chilli flakes or drizzling with chilli oil before serving.
Storage
This recipe keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat use the microwave or in a pan over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add a splash of water if you need to loosen the sauce.
Try these other gnocchi recipes...
- Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Tomato & Pesto
- Mushroom Gnocchi with Thyme
- Truffle Mac and Cheese with Gnocchi
- Salmon Gnocchi Bake with Spinach
- One Pot Gnocchi Bake with Tomato & Mozzarella
- Sausage Gnocchi Soup
- Vodka Pasta Sauce with Sun Dried Tomato
- Sausage Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce
Recipe
Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Mascarpone
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut Squash peeled, deseeded and chopped
- 1 Onion quartered with stem kept in tact
- 1 bulb Garlic halved across the middle
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 500 g Gnocchi
- 100 g Mascarpone
- Parmesan or vegetarian alternative to serve
- Rocket to serve
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 220°C/430°F. Put the chopped butternut squash and onion quarters on a baking tray. Drizzle over the olive oil and add plenty of salt and pepper. Toss everything together with your hands to coat in the oil. Put the garlic halves on a sheet of foil, drizzle with a little olive oil and wrap tightly. Add the garlic to the tray. Put in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes.
- Put a pot of water onto the boil. Once it's boiling add the gnocchi and cook until the gnocchi floats to the top of the pot. Reserve a mugful of cooking water before draining.
- Put the squash and onion in a food processor. Squeeze the garlic cloves in as well, followed by the mascarpone. Blend until smooth adding the gnocchi cooking water as needed until you reach a loose consistency.
- Pour the sauce into the pot you cooked the gnocchi in and place over a low heat. Add the gnocchi to the pot and toss together. Split between bowls and top with the rocket, drizzle with a little more olive oil, parmesan and chilli flakes if desired.
Notes
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