Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (2024)

This Gnocchi recipe is a fun project, and the results are positively perfect! Soft pillowy potato pasta, this needs just a few ingredients you likely have on hand like potato, egg, and flour.

Simply make a dough, roll and boil!

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (1)

Potato gnocchi has just a few easy to find ingredients and, while it takes a bit of time, it’s not difficult to make. This particular gnocchi recipe is one I learned attending classes at our local culinary school and have made it ever since.

What Is Gnocchi?

Gnocchi is an Italian homemade pasta that resembles a little dumpling. At its most basic level, it’s made with potato, egg, and flour. Several regions in Italy have their own variations with combinations of ricotta cheese, herbs, or spinach, the possibilities are endless.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (2)

Shaping Gnocchi

The dough is rolled into ropes and cut into pieces. Each rope of dough is about 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick and then cut into 1/2″ pieces. The gnocchi dough is soft and delicate, so be gentle when working with it.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (3)

Once cut into pieces, roll each gnocchi along the back of a fork to create ridges (you can purchase a gnocchi board but unless you make gnocchi frequently, a fork works just fine).

The purpose of creating ridges is to help the gnocchi “grab” the sauce it is mixed with.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (4)

How To Make Gnocchi

It’s really simple to make these pillowy little dumplings.

  1. Mix all the ingredients together except flour. Add flour a little at a time, until dough forms.
  2. After “resting” the dough, roll it out into long “ropes,” and cut per recipe instructions.
  3. Use a gnocchi board or even just a fork to create ridged pasta!

Tips for Perfection

  • Boil your potatoes but drain them very well. Baked potatoes work in this recipe too.
  • Leftover mashed potatoes aren’t ideal as they have other additives such as cream etc that will affect the consistency of your dough.
  • Ensure the potatoes are perfectly smooth once mashed
  • Add just enough flour to make a dough, excess flour can make tough gnocchi
  • Don’t overwork the dough, these should be soft and pillowy. Use a delicate touch.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (5)

How To Cook Gnocchi

It takes just a few minutes to cook potato gnocchi!

  1. Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
  2. Gently add pasta and wait until it floats to the top (about 90 seconds).
  3. Transfer to a skillet with a bit of butter/olive oil and sauce if you’re using one. Toss the gnocchi and serve.

It’s that simple!

How To Serve It

It can be served as a soup, side dish, or as the first course in a full Italian-style meal! For a very special experience, gnocchi can be served as the primo, or first course, in a full Italian meal consisting of several courses.

Sauces for Gnocchi:

  • Serve it with butter, parmesan, and fresh herbs
  • A simple marinara sauce
  • Homemade pesto
  • Baked into a gnocchi casserole
  • Topped gnocchi with a creamy mushroom sauce

Of course, it’s always a treat to have homemade pasta as a side dish with chicken, beef, or fish!

More Perfect Pasta

  • Baked Gnocchi Casserole
  • Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
  • Caprese Pasta Salad
  • Pasta Primavera
  • Cheese Cannelloni

You can’t go wrong with homemade potato gnocchi! No matter how you choose to serve it up, there is one thing you can count on: you won’t have any leftovers!

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (6)

5 from 32 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
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Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe

This easy pasta recipe is made with just 4 simple ingredients!

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Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (8)

Servings 4 servings

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (9)

Author Holly Nilsson

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ lbs potatoes cooked and riced
  • 2 tablespoons butter melted
  • 2 egg yolks
  • ¾- 1 cup flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • Combine riced potatoes, butter, and eggs in a bowl. Slowly mix in ¾ cup flour and knead until dough forms adding additional flour as required until the dough holds together (it will still be slighlty sticky). You may not need all of the flour.

  • Dust counter with flour and roll out a ½" to ¾" thick rope of dough. Cut into ½" slices.

  • Gently roll gnocchi pieces on a gnocchi board or the back of a fork to create ridges.

  • Cook in boiling salted water, about 3 minutes, or until it begins to float.

  • Remove from boiling water and transfer to an ice bath for about 1 min.

  • Toss with oil and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

A potato ricer is a tool that will produce perfectly fluffy lump-free potatoes. If you don't have a ricer, be sure to mash your potatoes well so they are very smooth.

Recipe updated 3/8/2021

5 from 32 votes

Nutrition Information

Calories: 413 | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 113mg | Sodium: 209mg | Potassium: 779mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 306IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (10) Course Main Course, Pasta

Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (11) Cuisine Italian

© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.

Categories:

Meatless Main Dishes, Pasta and Pizza Recipes, Recipes

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Holly is a wine and cheese lover, recipe creator, shopping enthusiast and self appointed foodie. Her greatest passion is creating in the kitchen and making deliciously comforting recipes for the everyday home cook!
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Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What type of potatoes are best for making gnocchi? ›

Step one: Start with Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets will do, but Yukon Golds have more of the nutty flavor of the yellow-fleshed boiling potatoes used by the Italian and Provençal cooks who have mastered gnocchi.

What is the best flour for gnocchi? ›

Tipo 00 Flour is a soft, fine milled flour from Italy. It's a must-have for light and tender gnocchi and homemade pasta. Small(er) Batch Recipe ensures a higher success rate with just enough practice.

Is there a difference between gnocchi and potato gnocchi? ›

Unlike potato gnocchi, Roman gnocchi (Gnocchi alla romana), are made with semolina instead of potatoes and flour, that's why they are also called Semolina gnocchi. Roman gnocchi are shaped differently than potato gnocchi.

Should you boil or bake potatoes for gnocchi? ›

The secret to the lightest, most tender potato gnocchi is to bake the potatoes instead of boiling them. A baked potato is dryer than one that has been boiled, which means you avoid having to add more flour to the dough to account for excess moisture, a practice that leads to over-kneaded, tough gnocchi.

Is potato gnocchi healthier than pasta? ›

Nutritional Value

Believe it or not, regular pasta is actually more carb-heavy than gnocchi, coming in at around 2 times the amount of carbs per serving. Gnocchi is also notorious for having a lot more sodium, with over 200 grams of it per serving. Regular pasta doesn't have nearly as high of a sodium content.

Is gnocchi better with or without egg? ›

Egg yolk added to your gnocchi dough helps improve texture, and keep it together while cooking. Gnocchi is traditionally made with eggs in Veneto and no eggs in Piedmont, the two Northern Italian regions famous for gnocchi. We vote for egg yolks at the rate of 1 per (500g) 1 lb of uncooked potatoes used.

Why did my homemade gnocchi turn to mush? ›

Your gnocchi may be mushy because of any or all of the following reasons: boiled the potatoes instead of baked them. used waxy new potatoes with too much moisture in them. not used eggs to help texture.

What are the 3 types of gnocchi? ›

Gnocchi alla zucca: Pumpkin gnocchi served with butter and cheese. Ndunderi: The Amalfi Coast specialty originally made with farro and curdled milk. Gnocchi alla Romana: Made with semolina and milk, this variety is shaped into squares and baked rather than boiled.

Why is my homemade gnocchi chewy? ›

Chewy gnocchi are the result of too much flour and over kneading the dough. It's important to knead the dough just until it comes together into a smooth ball and no more. This is because you don't want to encourage too much gluten development which makes them tough, chewy and rubbery.

What do Italians eat with gnocchi? ›

Roasted potatoes and polenta are perfect to serve alongside this dish. The trick for making this is to prepare it the day before, then let the meat rest overnight so that the oil softens its fibers even more.

Why does potato gnocchi taste sour? ›

Gnocchi shouldn't be sour if it's properly cooked. If you've bought Gnocchi or reheated Gnocchi that is sour tasting to it, the chances are it was not stored properly, or perhaps you got an uncooked batch.

What should you not do when making gnocchi? ›

Adding too much flour all at once

It is very easy to add too much flour to gnocchi dough, which can make these dumplings glutinous, gummy, and sticky. If you dump all of the flour into your gnocchi dough at once, you won't have the same texture as a gnocchi that has just enough flour to bring it together.

How do you know when homemade gnocchi is done? ›

How to prepare gnocchi. Poach gnocchi in batches in a pan of lightly salted water for 2-4 minutes. Cooked gnocchi will float to the top. Strain and serve immediately with a good pasta sauce.

Is it better to pan fry or boil gnocchi? ›

Perhaps I'm just a gnocchi snob, but the difference between boiled gnocchi and sautéed gnocchi is pretty amazing. Boiled gnocchi can be a bit stodgy, a bit slimy, a bit heavy… fried gnocchi is perfectly crispy and fluffy and light and toasty and all sorts of other lovely adjectives.

Are yellow potatoes the same as Yukon Gold? ›

Are Yukon Gold and Yellow Potatoes Interchangeable? Although technically yellow potatoes are not the same as Yukon gold, you can use them interchangeably in most recipes. Yukon gold potatoes share the basic traits of all yellow potatoes, including the creamy, moist texture.

Why did my potato gnocchi fall apart? ›

If you overdo it with flour, your gnocchi will be too hard, if you put too little they will break during cooking. The rule says that the flour must be at most a third of the amount of potatoes.

Why starchy potatoes are used for making gnocchi? ›

There's no doubt that a dry, starchy potato is one of the best bets for making gnocchi with a lighter and fluffier texture. After all, the more water a potato contains, the more flour you'll have to add to soak it up, and the more flour you add, the denser the gnocchi will become.

Why is my potato gnocchi mushy? ›

Your gnocchi may be mushy because of any or all of the following reasons: boiled the potatoes instead of baked them. used waxy new potatoes with too much moisture in them. not used eggs to help texture.

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