Homemade Gnocchi! Just four simple ingredients result in the dreamiest little dumplings. They are actually easier to make than you may think and so much more delicious than store-bought. From baked and sautéed to boiled you’ll find so many ways to use them! Video.
We are excited to show you how to make gnocchi! There are many different styles and varieties of gnocchi but today we are featuring classic potato gnocchi.
Potato Gnocchi are tender pillowy dumplings, made with just four ingredients: potato, flour, egg and salt.
A few key techniques ensure the lightest texture and the best way to shape them- so they can better cradle your favorite sauces.
The possibilities for dressing up gnocchi are endless. Marinara and pesto are classic go-to’s but these dumplings are incredibly versatile. One of our favorite dishes is Gnocchi with fennel, spinach and mushrooms, hearty and full of flavor!
How to make Gnocchi! | 60-Second Video
Table of Contents
Ingredients In Gnocchi
- baker potatoes- like russet or Idaho
- egg
- flour- all-purpose flour
- salt – good quality mineral salt or sea salt
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make Potato Gnocchi
STEP ONE – Pierce the potatoes in 3 or 4 places with a fork, wrap in foil and bake whole without peeling in a 450F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Test with a knife into the middle, they should be soft but slightly al dente.
STEP TWO – Peel potatoes while they are still hot, using a towel to keep them from burning your hand as you hold them.
STEP THREE – Cut the potatoes into chunks and gather all ingredients around your work surface.
STEP FOUR – Press through a potato ricer (or use a grater).
Why use a potato ricer? Pressing the cooked potatoes through the ricer prevents excessive mixing. It provides an even mash, preserving more of the fluffy integrity of the potato. When potatoes are stirred, blended and smashed together, the starch develops and becomes gelatinized, binding together and creating a gummy pasty texture.
STEP FIVE – Spread potatoes out on a clean surface and pour beaten egg over the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and sift the flour over the top.
STEP SIX – Use the bench scraper, or your hands, and lightly mix together. Keep your motion light, no smashing the dough rather just gently folding the dough together. Dust the surface with flour as needed. The goal is to keep the dough light with just enough kneading to create a soft dough.
STEP SEVEN – Form the dough into a fat log and cut into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope about 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
STEP EIGHT – Place the gnocchi cut side down on a floured ridged board (or back of a fork). Press down with your thumb and roll your thumb as you roll with the dough. Create a loose tube by folding it over itself.
Shaping takes a little finesse but doesn’t take long to get the hang of it. And this shaping is what holds the delicious sauce!
Lightly flour a pan and place the finished gnocchi on the pan to rest while you finish rolling the rest.
STEP NINE – Bring salted water to a boil, enough salt that it tastes like seawater. Salting the water will give a much more flavorful gnocchi!
Cook in small batches to avoid overcrowding and cooling the water down too much. Gnocchi cooks in 2-4 minutes. When it floats to the top it is done. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Bring the water back to a boil before adding the subsequent batches. Avoid overcooking as the gnocchi will start to fall apart.
How To Freeze Gnocchi
- Lay the gnocchi out on a pan so they are not touching each other.
- Place in freezer for at least 1 hour.
- When frozen store in a sealed bag or container for up to 2 months.
- To cook frozen gnocchi, drop directly into boiling water from the freezer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Tips For Making The Best Gnocchi
- Use older potatoes! They have less moisture and more starch, which makes the gnocchi pillowy light. Large baker potatoes, like russets, are the best choice here. The thicker the skin, the older the potato.
- Baking the potatoes in their skins helps remove moisture and will yield the lightest pillowy gnocchi.
- Processing the hot potatoes as soon as they come out of the oven is key. The starch changes as soon as they begin to cool resulting in a gluier texture. Best not to use pre-baked potatoes.
- Use a ricer not a masher for the potatoes. (A grater can work as an alternative.)
- Avoid over-mixing and smash kneading the dough. The goal is to keep the texture light, too much kneading changes the texture.
- It is best to either cook all the gnocchi right away or freeze. (Water seeps out in uncooked gnocchi when stored in the fridge resulting in a gray mushy dough.)
faqs
Bake the potatoes in the skins. Use russet potatoes. Use a potato ricer. Pressing the cooked potatoes through the ricer prevents excessive mixing. It provides an even mash, preserving more of the fluffy integrity of the potato. When potatoes are stirred, blended and smashed together, the starch develops and becomes gelatinized, binding together and creating a gummy pasty texture.
Gnocchi is a small dumpling, technically not pasta.
With thicker sauces, it is best to pre-boil gnocchi before adding in to the sauce. With more broth like sauces or soups, the gnocchi can cook right in the broth.
What To Serve With Gnocchi
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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How to make Gnocchi
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
- Category: pasta, how-to recipe
- Method: mixed
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Homemade gnocchi! Just four simple ingredients result in the dreamiest little dumplings. They are actually easier to make than you may think and so much more delicious than store-bought. From baked and sautéed to boiled you’ll find so many ways to use them!
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (900 grams) russet potatoes
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup (128 grams) flour + more as needed for bench
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper (optional)
Instructions
- Pierce the potatoes in a 3 or 4 places with a fork, wrap in foil and bake whole without peeling in a 450F oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. They should be al dente. Peel potatoes while they are still hot, using a towel to hold them. Cut into chunks and press through a potato ricer (or use a grater) onto a clean surface. We find it easiest to do right on the counter but you could also use a large cutting board.
- Pour beaten egg over the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and sift flour over.
- Use the bench scraper, or your hands, and lightly mix together. Keep your motion light, no smashing the dough rather just gently folding the dough together. Dust the surface with flour as needed. The goal is to keep the dough light with just enough kneading to create a soft dough. Add more flour if needed.
- Form the dough into a fat log and cut into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope about 1/2-3/4 of an inch thick. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Dust your surface with flour if your dough starts to stick.
- Place the gnocchi cut side down on a ridged board, lightly floured(or back of a fork). Press down with your thumb and roll your thumb as you roll with the dough. Create a loose tube by folding it over itself. Lightly flour a pan and place finished gnocchi on the pan to rest while you finish rolling the rest.
- Bring salted water to a simmer, enough salt that it tastes like sea water. Salting the water will give a much more flavorful gnocchi! Cook in small batches to avoid overcrowding and cooling the water down too much. Gnocchi cooks in 2-4 minutes. When it floats to the top it is done. Remove with a slotted spoon. Bring the water back to a gentle simmer before adding the subsequent batches. Avoid overcooking as the gnocchi will start to fall apart.
Notes
- To freeze gnocchi: Lay the gnocchi (uncooked) out on a pan so they are not touching each other. Place in freezer for at least 2 hours. When frozen, store in a sealed bag or container for up to 4 months.
- To cook frozen gnocchi: drop directly into boiling water from the freezer.
- Tips for making the best gnocchi: Use older potatoes! They have less moisture and more starch, which makes the gnocchi pillowy light. Large baker potatoes, like russets, are the best choice here. The thicker the skin, the older the potato.
- Baking the potatoes in their skins helps remove moisture and will yield the lightest pillowy gnocchi.
- Processing the hot potatoes as soon as they come out of the oven is key. The starch changes as soon as they begin to cool resulting in a gluier texture. Best not to use pre-baked potatoes.
- Use a ricer not a masher for the potatoes. (A grater can work as an alternative.)
- Avoid over-mixing and smash kneading the dough. The goal is to keep the texture light, too much kneading changes the texture.
- It is best to either cook all the gnocchi right away or freeze. (Water seeps out in uncooked gnocchi when stored in the fridge resulting in a gray mushy dough.)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 15 Gnocchi
- Calories: 125
- Sugar: 0.6 g
- Sodium: 135.9 mg
- Fat: 0.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Fiber: 1.5 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
- Cholesterol: 18.6 mg
Would it work to peel the potatoes before baking them, in order to avoid having to peel them when they’re hot?
The peel locks in the starches that keep the gnocchi fluffy and light.
I baked my potatoes for 1 hr, perfect doneness. I don’t have ricer so I used a grater. I ended up grating about 2/3 of all the potatoes with relative ease but the last 1/3 (the last bits from each potato) I mashed. Used einkorn flour. Bc the mashed part was not smooth certain parts of my dough fell apart a bit, but overall the light mixing with a scraper worked well. The gnocchis were chunky and ugly (shaped with a fork) but boiled and fried well.
They take a few practice tries- mine looked similar the first time! Glad you gave this a go!
Fabulous recipe! My first time making gnocchi and this recipe was so helpful. It’s very well written with specific and easy to follow instructions. I also appreciated your explanations that seemed to take into account questions I was considering. My partner and I shaped the gnocchi using forks…clearly a learning curve. We made a kale pesto to go with it. Just delicious. Thank you!
Yay, Lisa! So glad this was a success for you all.
This is the first recipe that made me feel stupid. Idk if anyone has actually tried it but after 45 mins my potatoes were hard as rocks, after an hour they were mush and nearly impossible to grate. The dough would not come together with gentle movements. All I had were lightly floured grated pieces. I ended up squeezing it together just to make a log which Im pretty sure I wasnt supposed to do because it definitely wasnt “gentle movements”. I didnt know how long the ropes should be ans consequently how big the 1 inch pieces should be. They ended up too big and got all stuck on my hands and fork just making messy blobs. Its been 2 and a half hours of of what should have been 30 mins of prep. I havent even cooked them yet so idek if theyll hold together. I just dont know how this was supposed to have been done…
Oh no! I totally hear how frustrating and disappointing this has been. Did the step by step pictures in the post help at all? It sounds like the potatoes maybe got overcooked? Also did you use any additional flour when attempting to shape the gnocchi? Once your hands get sticky it can be really hard to work with the dough. Even though they are just blobs they should cook ok.
I was scared if I added more flour theyd be even worse. When the dough wouldnt hold together I thought the problem was actually too much flour like with a regular dough. You were right though, they seemed to cook up okay even though theyre very ugly haha. I think Ill stick to making regular pasta.
Well I am glad they were salvageable. Bummer it was a hard process🫤 Maybe we will do a video on this eventually to make the steps easier to understand!
Good morning: Thoughts on swapping sweet potatoes for the russet…any changes in other ingredients? Am enjoying cooking my way through your website…wonderful recipes and always delicious and am trying a few of your Indian dishes this week. Excited!!!
Thank you again
Dianne
Hi Dianne, I love the idea of sweet potato gnocchi. This recipe is specifically for russets where the consistency is dry and that is balanced with the other ingredients. Sweet potatoes have a lot more moisture, eventually we will create a different recipe. If you play around with it, let us know how it turns out!
So happy to hear you are enjoying the blog!
Thank you for you feedback and I am providing some late response. We used the King Arthur Flour sweet potato recipe and probably could have added much more flour. Flavor was good, but a little gummy and dense. 🙂
Yams are much drier than sweet potatoes. When making with white potatoes. I use Idaho russets.
Wonderful! Looks so good and easy to make—I’ll be doing it soon. Love that they can be frozen to use at a later time. Thank you F@H!
Have you ever tried making gnocchi with gluten free flour? Perhaps using a 1-1 replacement flour like King Arthur’s 1-1 All Purpose Gluten Free Flour… or maybe just a plain rice flour ( thinking of how many delicious steamed dumplings there are in Asian cuisine!) The process doesn’t require the building of gluten – so I’m curious if you think the substitution would work?
Thanks for your insight!
We have not experimented with this but I think it is worth a try! I agree that you are not relying on gluten so it seems doable. Let us know if you play around with it!
Hi Tonia….have you ever done this gnocchi with gluten free flour? If so, which would you recommend? I always look forward to Feasting at Home in my mailbox on Sat morning! Thanks
No but I think it is worth a try!
I have not yet made the recipe, but the simplicity makes it a tryer.
For those interested in a plant based option, adding silken tofu blended with a touch of olive oil and water works great as an egg replacement. Love your site, thanks for all the fabulous recipes!
Thanks Murphy. Nice to know!
This looks like a fun cold weather recipe to make. I am wondering, can other ingredients be added to this? Things like cheese bacon and spinach come to mind I am sure there are others that will work as well.
Hi Dan, Perfect winter project! You can treat the gnocchi much like pasta. While you can add some cheese in the dough, for the most part you can use the extra ingredients, like bacon and spinach to sauté up with the gnocchi (not necessarily mixing in the gnocchi dough) and sauce. Too many ingredients in the gnocchi with make them heavy and stodgy.
Could I add a little bicarbsoda or baking powder to the mix to make the gnocchi fluffier?
Hi Judith, Not so sure about adding baking powder or soda. The potato gnocchi are really light and fluffy this comes from the technique of making the dough. Hope you give it a try!
Thank you Tonia.
I will try making gnocchi next week.
Let us know how it goes for you Judith.