Gluten-Free Pumpkin Sage Gnocchi

Hey guys!

I’m really pumped about something. And that something is this pumpkin sage pasta sauce with GLUTEN FREE GNOCCHI from Cappello’s. Yep.

I first heard about this pasta from Dr. Lipman – he and his wife eat it, and they said it’s great. We recommend it to patients a lot who need to be totally grain free/paleo for health reasons but still want pasta sometimes.

Now listen, I don’t advocate eating gluten free “products” all the time (like breads, pastas, cookies, crackers, etc) – but once in awhile it can be pretty fun. Cappello’s gluten free pasta isn’t cheap, but it’s definitely the closest tasting thing to actual pasta I’ve tried when it comes to gluten free stuff. And I’ve tried ’em all – quinoa pasta, brown rice pasta, zucchini pasta, kelp noodles, spaghetti squash…you name it. So in my opinion, if you’re just a once-in-blue-moon pasta type of eater like me and you want it to be deeelicious but without the flour…it’s worth a try.

The main ingredients in Cappello’s pasta are almond flour and cage-free eggs. Traditionally, gnocchi (dumpling-like pasta balls) is made with white flour and potato. The fettuccine and lasagna sheets from Cappello’s don’t have any potato in them, but the gnocchi does have potato in it – if you’re wondering.

First off, I need to admit – I’ve been in the kitchen for 2 days straight trying to master a perfect pumpkin recipe. I know, you may think, what an insane way to spend your time. But I couldn’t give up.

I was trying my hardest to create a paleo pumpkin pancake recipe. I’m obsessed with these 3-ingredient banana paleo pancakes, I thought I could just simply sub out the banana for pumpkin. Not so. I tried SO MANY TIMES and couldn’t get them to a pancake consistency. I know, I could try a version with coconut flour or other ingredients, but I’m a very stubborn girl and was determined to stick to the 3 ingredient thing. My life is so dramatic.

Finally, I surrendered to the fact that I wasn’t gonna get exactly what I wanted immediately. I don’t even care about pancakes that much, why was I killing myself over them? I realized – maybe I would do better with a more savory pumpkin dish. Savory cooking is SO much easier to WING IT – don’t you think? I have a lot of respect for people who can wing it when it comes to baking/pancakey stuff.

Anyway, my soon-to-be-former roommate Steve (he’s moving out today) was considering getting takeout thai food, and I said STOP RIGHT THERE. I’m making you food. Don’t move an inch, STEVE. STEVE!!!!!

So I whipped this pasta dish up…and it was awesome. Steve licked the bowl and now wishes he wasn’t moving out. Oh well, c’est la vie.

BTW – if you don’t care about the whole gluten free pasta part of this, you can just make this sauce and put it on ANYTHING YOU WANT! Life is so cool like that. FREEEDOMMMM

Ok I’ll shut up now – here’s the recipe.
inspired by/adapted from a recipe I found here.

Gluten-free Pumpkin Sage Gnocchi

Ingredients:

• 1 package Cappello’s gluten-free gnocchi (or whatever pasta you want to use)
• 10-20 fresh sage leaves
• 1 cup organic canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 4 cloves garlic
• Coconut oil or grass-fed butter for the pan
• Pinch of cayenne
• Pinch of sea salt
• Pinch of black pepper

Directions:

Cook pasta based on directions.

Add pumpkin, coconut milk, garlic, cayenne, sea salt and black pepper to blender and blend until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a bowl.

Add coconut oil or grass-fed butter to a pan, turn on the heat and add the sage leaves. Cook on medium heat until the sage begins to get a little crispy, just a couple minutes (but watch out for burning). Add the sage leaves to the pumpkin/coconut milk sauce.

When the gnocchi is done cooking, and after you strain it, if you want a crispier/firmer texture, add the gnocchi to a pan with coconut oil or butter and cook for a few minutes until they get browned. Not necessary if you’re using any other type of pasta.

Once gnocchi is browned to your liking, pour the entire sauce mixture into the pan and stir until everything is hot and well-mixed.

Add entire sauce and pasta mixture to a bowl.

Get under a snuggly blanket with someone really cute. Hibernate and eat pumpkin pasta together. (No, Steve and I didn’t do that).

Other optional add-ins/toppings/ideas of things you could mix in:

Organic chicken, spinach, parmesan cheese.

Ohhhh yeah. If anyone has any questions, comments, love notes, etc — feel free to leave them in the comments (especially if you can tell me how to make the perfect 3-ingredient paleo pumpkin pancakes so I can stop whining about it).

A note on substitutions — I’ve only made this recipe one time, so I don’t know for sure what substitutions will work. If you do make this recipe with a substitution, please share in the comments so we can all learn. :)

Happy pumpkin-eating, my friends! Join me on instagram for more Healthy Crush style fall festivities. :)

xx

How I got trained as a Health Coach