Pumpkin & Kale Gnocchi with Vegan Sage Butter Drizzle
by Olivia Biermann
on Sep 22, 2021 (updated Aug 13, 2025)
Creamy, cozy and savoury pumpkin sauce tossed with gnocchi and steamed kale, served with a drizzle of warm sage butter. Sounds fancy, looks interesting, and tastes AMAZING. I shared it with m y sister and sister-in-law the night we got our wedding spray tans and they both agreed- its amazing!
Vegan potato gnocchi with a creamy and very simple pumpkin sauce, steamed kale, and its all topped off with a sage butter for drizzling just before you eat it. This recipe is very easy to make, but feels so special and makes any boring old weeknight fun! Making gnocchi yourself is pretty easy, but it is time consuming. You can find my recipe for it here, but to be honest with you I usually just buy it pre-made as a lot of brands of plain gnocchi are vegan! Some brands at the store will contain cheese so just read the label to be sure. I normally buy Olivieri, they make one that is vegan and only takes 2 minutes to cook, which makes this recipe a complete breeze!
A word on pumpkin…
In North America it is really easy to buy canned pumpkin puree year round! However, I know in some places in Europe etc you can’t really find it. So you have a few options!
- Make it yourself by roasting pumpkin until soft, then pureeing in a food processor. You could also do this with squash or sweet potato if that’s more your style.
- Order online. Lots of online markets carry canned pumpkin, and its shelf stable so you can order a few to have on hand and not worry about not using it all right away!
And if you love savoury pumpkin recipes, make sure to check out these ones!
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Pumpkin & Kale Gnocchi with Sage Butter Drizzle
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings
Description
Creamy, cozy and savoury pumpkin sauce tossed with gnocchi and steamed kale, served with a drizzle of warm sage butter.
Ingredients
- 350g fresh potato gnocchi
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup nondairy milk like oat or soy
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or more to taste, if you like it a bit tangier)
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or brown sugar
- 1 tbsp minced fresh sage
- 2 cups fresh kale, chopped
- a pinch of salt and pepper (more to taste)
- optional: vegan parm for serving
Sage Butter Sauce:
- 4 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
Instructions
- To a large frying pan on medium heat, add the vegan butter, garlic and shallot. Cook about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until just starting to brown.
- Add the pumpkin puree, nondairy milk, lemon juice, nutmeg, cinnamon, maple syrup and sage. Stir to combine. Bring to a light simmer, but you might need to cover it with a sheet pan or lid if it starts sputtering as sometimes pumpkin sauce can do that!
- Boil the gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and add to sauce. Turn heat to low.
- Steam the kale in a steamer for about 1 minute, until vibrant in colour and slightly softened. Add to gnocchi and stir. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and stir. Taste and adjust if needed.
- In a small pot or frying pan, add the vegan butter and sage and fry about 2 minutes, until simmering and fragrant. Serve in a small serving dish to drizzle overtop before eating.
- Serve with butter sauce, vegan parm and fresh black pepper. Enjoy!
This recipe is absolutely decadent!! I used homemade gnocchi and had just roasted some pumpkins so used fresh puree and wow it was incredible. The sauce was super simple to make and everything came together surprisingly quickly! The sage butter drizzle took this to another level.
As a side note, when I told my bf I was making this he was worried it would be “too pumpkin-y” but was relieved with the final product as the flavours all balance out very nicely and even though the pumpkin is the star of the show here, it isn’t overpowering at all.
Hey Liv! I haven’t made this one yet (but I plan to very soon). You mebtion that you use the fresh potato gnocchi. That one is hard for me to track down (all the stores near me carry the one with cheese in it). Do you think that it would work okay with the shelf-stable gnocchi (fellow Canadian, so the PC Splendido gnocchi)?