A Fall-inspired Aglio e Olio Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe & Pumpkin. Hearty yet elegant comfort food at its finest, with an easy garlic sauce made with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry!

Two hands holding ceramic bowl with vegetables and gnocchi.

How to Make This Recipe

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a saute pan or shallow pot large enough to hold the cooked pasta and veggies over medium heat. Roughly chop the broccoli rabe, season with salt (photo 1), and cook it in the oil for 6-8 minutes until bright and tender (photo 2).

Broccoli rabe cooking in a silver pan.

You can serve the broccoli rabe as a side dish just like this, but I enjoy adding it to pasta since that special, bitter flavor tastes great with pasta.

Two hands holding ceramic bowl with cooked green broccoli rabe.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise (photo 1). Scoop out the seeds with a spoon (photo 2). Place cut side down on a baking sheet (photo 3). Bake 30 minutes.

Pumpkin cut in half with seeds scooped out on baking sheet.

Let the pumpkin cool. Then, peel and cube. The peel should come off easily with your fingers.

Peeled pumpkin cut in half on baking sheet.

Save 1 ½ cups of pasta water before draining the gnocchi. Cook per the directions on the package.

Prepare your ingredients. To easily peel your garlic, smash the cloves with the side of your knife. Then peel and rough chop.

Ingredients on marble counter with garlic on black cutting board.

Heat 1/3 cup of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot big enough to hold the cooked pasta and veggies. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Do not let the garlic burn or brown, but golden is OK. Add the red pepper flakes and turn the heat down to low.

Carefully add the 1 ½ cups of reserved pasta water to the olive oil. Season with 1 tsp of salt and simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by ⅓.

Olive oil in silver pan with garlic and spices.

Add the strained gnocchi to the olive oil sauce. Turn off the heat. Add the parmesan, parsley, and broccoli rabe. Mix well.

Add the roasted pumpkin. Gently toss to mix.

Mixing gnocchi with vegetables in silver pan.

Serve immediately with plenty of extra parmesan.

Pasta with pumpkin and green vegetables in silver pan and in ceramic bowl with pumpkins.

More Pasta and Gnocchi to Try

Looking for more delicious weeknight pasta recipes? Here are some of my favorites.

Aglio e Olio Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe & Pumpkin

5 from 10 votes
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A Fall-inspired aglio e olio recipe with gnocchi, broccoli rabe, and pumpkin. Elegant comfort food at it’s finest, with an easy garlic sauce made with ingredients you already have in your pantry!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Main
Cuisine: American, Italian
Servings: 4
Calories: 564kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 sugar pie pumpkin
  • 1 bunch broccoli rabe or rapini, roughly chopped
  • 1 lb. gnocchi
  • 1/3 cup good olive oil + 2 tbsp
  • 8 large garlic cloves smashed and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
  • 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving

Instructions

  • Preheat to 350F.
  • Cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes.
  • In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a saute pan or shallow pot large enough to hold the cooked pasta and veggies over medium heat. Add the broccoli rabe, season with salt, and cook the broccoli rabe for 6-8 minutes until bright and tender. Remove and set aside.
  • Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook according to the directions on the package. Save 1 ½ cups of pasta water before draining.
  • Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot big enough to hold the cooked pasta and veggies. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Do not let the garlic burn or brown, but golden is OK. Add the red pepper flakes and turn the heat down to low.
  • Carefully add the 1 ½ cups of reserved pasta water to the olive oil. Season with 1 tsp of salt and simmer for 5 minutes, until the liquid is reduced by ⅓.
  • In the meantime, the pumpkin should be ready. Remove from the oven, peel, and cube.
  • Add the strained gnocchi to the olive oil sauce. Turn off the heat. Add the parmesan, parsley, and broccoli rabe. Mix well.
  • Add the roasted pumpkin. Gently toss to mix. Serve immediately.

Notes

Be sure not to overcook the pumpkin. You want it to hold instead of becoming mush.
Reserve the pasta water. The starch in the pasta water adds body to the sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 564kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 798mg | Potassium: 1364mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 31348IU | Vitamin C: 54mg | Calcium: 454mg | Iron: 9mg
Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.

16 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I’ve made this before but with butternut squash which may be easier to find than the sugar pie pumpkins. Once I added sauteed Italian sausage.

  2. That is wonderful, Ben! So glad to hear you’ll be making it again. It’s a great one, especially during Fall when pumpkins are abundant!

  3. 5 stars
    I made this for dinner tonight and it was great! I couldn’t wait to treat my kids to such a cozy fall meal. Maybe next time I’ll even let the boys help with the recipe!

  4. 5 stars
    This is right up my street so I had to make it! I adore gnocchi, pumpkin and broccoli and this is such a creative way to use them! Perfect for these chilly fall evenings. So I subbed with broccoli instead of broccoli rabe and loved it. Thanks for sharing.

    1. That is awesome, Sasha! Glad to hear you enjoyed it… and broccoli for broccoli rabe sounds just as delicious!

  5. 5 stars
    I’ve never tried making or eating gnocchi, but this dish looks so amazing! Broccoli rabe is a fave of mine and I love the tip on making it right! It came out great! Will definitely be making this dish often.

    1. So glad you enjoyed it, Shanika! Broccoli rabe is one of those unique flavors not everyone likes, definitely a love or hate kind of thing. I have a friend who it’s her favorite veggie of all time, and I always try to treat her with a special dish like this.

  6. 5 stars
    We LOVE aglio e olio, and gnocchi! This is such a comforting and brilliant fall dish. What a perfect step-by-step guide for everything, too. This is definitely going on the seasonal rotation! Thank you!

  7. 5 stars
    This recipe is pure fall comfort food in all its glory. Seriously so delicious. Next time I make it, I’m going to try it with butternut squash just for kicks. I’m sure it will be just as yummy. Thanks for a great recipe!

  8. 5 stars
    This was gorgeous! And even better, everyone loved it. Such an interesting, fancy, flavor combination… felt like an inexpensive way to enjoy a fancy, restaurant-quality meal. And your photographs are beautiful!

  9. 5 stars
    I love aglio e olio, but I have never considered using gnocchi, but it is the perfect choice because of how the garlic oil sauce sticks to it. I love the use of broccoli rabe an pumpkin, too. Amazing flavor combination. I will be making this often.

5 from 10 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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