How to Make Gnocchi
This is my simple, step-by-step guide of How to Make Gnocchi. These soft, pillowy little dumplings are a light and airy alternative to pasta, perfect for pairing with a variety of pasta sauces like tomato sauce, pesto, or your favorite sauce.
Gnocchi can serve as an easy side dish or a first course, as is common in Italy. Alternatively, it can constitute a complete meal when paired with a hearty sauce, such as Italian sausage ragu, or enhanced with vegetables like peas and asparagus. Try my personal favorites, served mac and cheese style and with the ever popular brown butter.
Making homemade potato gnocchi dough is a satisfying process, much like crafting homemade pasta. It is not only easy, requiring only four ingredients, but also incredibly rewarding. All you need to do is mix mashed potatoes, flour, egg, and salt, then roll and cut. The result is fluffy gnocchi that simply melts in your mouth.
Gnocchi history
The word ‘gnocchi,’ derived from the Italian word ‘nocchio,’ refers to a knot in wood. However, it’s not limited to being a dish served only in Italy. Gnocchi is enjoyed in France, where they are known as ‘gnocchis à la parisienne,’ in Croatia, where they are called ‘njoki,’ and in South America, where they go by the name ‘nhoque.
I would say that most of us, at one time or another, have had gnocchi or at least seen them on a restaurant menu. When you taste good gnocchi, they should be light and almost melt in your mouth.
I have had heavy, dense, and tough gnocchi, much like store-bought gnocchi, and that’s just a case of using too much flour and over-kneading the dough
Freezer Friendly Gnocchi
Since this is such an easy gnocchi recipe, I like to fill my freezer (more on freezing below) so I have some on hand for a fast and easy meal because they cook so quickly. In fact, they cook almost five times faster than pasta. You can cook them right from frozen.
Gnocchi variations
Traditional gnocchi uses regular potatoes—russets work best because their drier texture and high starch content make perfect gnocchi.You can also make them with sweet potatoes and ricotta cheese.
Freezing gnocchi
There is no need to defrost frozen gnocchi; they cook up just as quickly from frozen. Freezing them right after making is as simple as spreading them on a baking sheet and freezing. Then, transfer to freezer bags, and you can pull out as many as you need when needed.
Perfect mashed potato tip
I use a potato ricer (pictured below). It’s like a giant garlic press for potatoes and makes the smoothest mash. If you have a food mill, that works perfectly too.
Just like an Italian grandma making pasta dough, I like to make my gnocchi on the counter. Make a well in the center of a pile of all-purpose flour, and the mashed potato is added. You can also use a large bowl if you prefer.
Homemade Gnocchi Recipe – Step by Step
Boil peeled potatoes in a pan of boiling water.
Drain the cooked potatoes and allow to cool.
Mashed the potatoes or run them through a ricer to make them as smooth as possible.
To the mash, add flour, egg and salt. Mix and knead together to form the dough.
Using your hands, mix and slowing incorporate the flour and egg mix until the dough is no longer sticky and form a ball.
Dough tip: In addition to super soft potatoes, the other key to soft, fluffy dough is to only add enough flour to bring the dough together and not make it sticky. If the dough is sticky, there is too much moisture, so add a little flour. Do not over-knead the dough, as this will develop the gluten in the flour and make them tough.
A portion of the dough is cut and rolled into a ¾-inch (1.9 cm) thick log.
The log is cut into ¾-inch (1.9 cm) long pieces. You just made gnocchi!
Ever wonder how to get those ridges? Rolling the gnocchi over a gnocchi paddle/gnocchi board or the back of a fork is the way to create the ridges. The ridges are an important element of gnocchi, helping sauce stick to them. You can see the entire process in the attached video.
This recipe yields approximately 110 gnocchi. Depending on how many you serve per person, this serves 5-7 people.
As I mentioned, gnocchi takes a couple of minutes to cook in boiling water (a light rolling boil so they don’t break up). Once they float to the top, they are done, and you can simply remove them with a slotted spoon right into your preferred sauce.
How to Make Gnocchi
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound (453 grams) russet/baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 cup (130 grams) all purpose/plain flour, plus more for dusting
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, whisked (you only need 2 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Fill a large saucepan with water. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Boil the potatoes until they are just soft (a sharp knife should insert easily). Drain and allow to sit until cool enough to handle. Drain and allow to sit until cool enough to handle. Mash well or run through a food mill or ricer for nice smooth potato, allow to cool.
- Lightly dust a large baking sheet pan. Set aside.
- On a clean work surface or in a large bowl mix together the cooled potato,1/2 the flour and salt, make a well in the center and add 2 tablespoons egg. Mix with your hands incorporating the flour with the potato, adding more flour as needed until the dough starts to hold together (you may not use all the flour depending on how much moisture is in the potato). The dough should not be sticky, over kneading will make it sticky. Form into a ball. Cut 1/4 of the dough and roll into a long log, about the thickness of your thumb. Cut the log into 3/4-inch (1.9 cm) pieces.
- Roll the pieces over a gnocchi board or the back of a fork with your thumb to create ridges and place them onto the floured sheet pan in a single layer. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Leave them to dry for about 20-30 minutes.
- You can either freeze them, or cook right away. To freeze them, put them on a flat surface (small baking sheet pan, cutting board or plate) making sure they are not touching. Freeze for 2 hours then transfer to a well-sealed container or zip freezer bag. You can cook right from frozen.
- To cook the gnocchi: Bring a large pan of water to a boil and cook until they float to the top.
I made these gnocchi and they were perfect. Thank you for great instructions.
You’re welcome.
If I wanted to stuff the gnocchi with mozzarella cheese, do I just add a small piece of cheese and wrap the gnocchi around it?
I’ve never tried stuffing them, but it sounds like a great idea. After you roll them out and cut them, you could take the individual pieces, flatten in the palm of your hand, add the cheese and reshape. I hope this helps and enjoy! Let me know how they turn out.
My first time making gnocchi and I surprised myself. I made regular gnocchi and used your recipe for the brown butter and sage from the sweet potato gnocchi and it was delicious. I’m going to make sweet potato gnocchi next.
I’m so glad you tried it, enjoy the sweet potato gnocchi.
How long do you boil them ? I seem to be missing that direction?
I boil them until they float to the top.
I tried this over the weekend and I didn’t know how easy making gnocchi was. A great tutorial. I served with pesto, will make again.
I was surprised how easy they are to make also after the first time I made them. Thanks for the great feedback.
I just made a batch of these and have them in my freezer for the weekend. So easy to follow, thanks.
They were MUCH easier to do than anticipated.The dough was light and fluffy. Started with a cup od flour and only added more as I needed it. Thanks for the great recipe.
Thank you so much Charles, I love to get messages like this 🙂
i always love Italian cuisine, everyone has their own different taste, so i’d love to make this by myself, i can seasoning my own way. thanks for your useful post. 😀
Love your recipes and Karen and I share them frequently