If the thought of making homemade gnocchi is intimidating, please let me dispel that misconception for you! With a few simple steps and common pantry ingredients, this common Italian recipe is so much easier to make than you may think. You don’t even need any special equipment to make it. Though, of course, you can make the recipe with the traditional recommended potato ricer and gnocchi board, I offer directions for how to make it with a mesh sieve and fork. Simple, approachable, and delicious.
Though you will need to schedule sufficient time for the cooked potatoes to cool, I offer tips for how to speed up this step. All in all, the preparation of this Italian dumpling is doable even for the novice home cook and the end results are more than worth it. Serve a hot bowl of this pasta to your family tonight and see for yourself why this is the best gnocchi recipe out there! For more delicious pasta recipes, check out my pasta carbonara rercipe, bolognese recipe, and homemade pasta dough recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Potatoes – add moisture to the dumplings as well as gnocchi’s signature texture. Russet potatoes are the best variety for this potato gnocchi recipe, thanks to their starchy and crumbly texture. Other varieties of potatoes result in gummy or tough pasta. Be sure to scrub and peel the potatoes before cutting and boiling.
Flour – all-purpose flour is the best pick, as it adds structure to the recipe while having enough gluten to keep the pasta light and soft.
Eggs – keep the dough tender and moist with the addition of two large eggs. The egg yolk also adds rich and comforting flavor notes to the pasta.
Salt – accentuates the flavor of the pasta. Just as it is important to properly salt bread dough, pasta requires sufficient salt to season it. Otherwise, the end result will be bland and lifeless. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt to the pasta dough and save the rest for salting the pasta water.
How to Make Gnocchi
1. Peel and chop the potatoes into large pieces and place them into a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, or for about 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes and let cool for 10 minutes. Push potatoes through a potato ricer or through a sieve with the back of a spoon into a large bowl. Let the potatoes cool completely.
3. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly sprinkle with flour. Add the flour, eggs, and 1 teaspoon of salt to the cooled potatoes. Stir together with a fork until a shaggy dough starts to form.
4. Knead the dough in the bowl by hand until it forms a ball and no longer sticks to your hands.
5. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into 6 portions. Shape the portions into balls and cover the balls with plastic wrap. Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough into a log about ½ inch thick. Cut the log into ¾-inch long pieces. Roll each small dough piece over the back of a fork by gently pressing and rolling it forward with your thumb. Place the gnocchi on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Repeat rolling the remaining dough balls.
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat, and season with the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Working a handful at a time, add the rolled pasta to the boiling water. Cook in water until they float to top, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and place into a heatproof bowl. Let the water come back to a rolling boil and repeat with the remaining gnocchi. Serve hot with your favorite sauce.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Cool the potatoes completely before making the gnocchi dough. Plan extra time for the potatoes to cool, as the pasta dumplings works best with room-temperature riced potatoes.
- How to speed up potato chilling time. To speed up the cooling process, spread the riced potatoes out on a dinner plate or baking sheet and lightly drape them with plastic wrap before moving the plate to the refrigerator to chill.
- Knead the dough until smooth. You can do this in the bowl, or on the lightly floured work surface, if desired. Work the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands and has a smooth surface. Be careful not to use too much flour while kneading to dry out the dough.
- Variation: Use a gnocchi board. Also known as a gnocchi paddle, you can also use the board to roll out the pasta instead of a fork. Simply push and roll the small pieces of dough down the paddle to shape.
- Variation: Skip the sheet pan. You can also shape the pasta and place it directly into the boiling water, omitting the step of placing the shaped pasta on the sheet pan before boiling. If shaping directly into the pasta water, however, you will want to work quickly and carefully to avoid splashing the hot water and to ensure that the pasta cooks evenly.
- Heavily salt the pasta water. Salting the cooking water is a surefire way to enhance all of the flavors in the pasta. Add at least 1 teaspoon of salt for every quart of water you boil.
- High altitude adaptation: if you live at a high altitude or somewhere the air is typically very dry, you can add an additional egg yolk to the dough if it is too dry to cohere together or form a smooth dough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Leftovers will keep covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. They can be reheated in the microwave on medium heat or on the stovetop over medium-low heat with enough sauce to keep the gnocchi from sticking to the pan.
Serve the gnocchi hot tossed with tomato or marinara sauce, pesto, garlic olive oil, or melted butter and grated parmesan cheese. For a satisfying meatless meal, serve the pasta with a caprese salad or panzanella salad. The dish can also be served as a side dish for more filling dinners. It is a fantastic companion to air fryer chicken parmesan or my garlic shrimp recipe, and you can always serve it with my meatballs recipe as well.
You can make this fresh gnocchi pasta recipe up to 3-4 hours ahead of time. To do so, prepare the pasta as directed, carefully dropping the freshly boiled pasta into a bowl of ice water immediately after boiling. Drain the pasta well and spread it onto a tea towel-lined sheet pan. Let it cool and cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to boil.
To freeze, spread out the shaped and uncooked gnocchi on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze until firm before moving to a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Boil from frozen, adding an additional minute if needed, or until the pasta floats to the surface.
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Gnocchi
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Ingredients
- 3 medium russet potatoes (about 1 pound/450g)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting (240g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt divided
Instructions
- Peel and chop the potatoes into large pieces and place them into a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 5 to 10 minutes
- Drain the potatoes and let cool for 10 minutes. Push potatoes through a ricer into a large mixing bowl. (you can also press through a sieve with the back of a spoon.) Let the potatoes cool completely.
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly sprinkle with flour.
- To the cooled potatoes, add the flour, eggs, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together with a fork until a shaggy dough starts to form. Continue to knead the dough in the bowl by hand until it forms a ball and no longer sticks to your hands.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 6 portions, shape into balls, and cover with plastic wrap. Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough into a log about ½ inch thick. Cut the loge into ¾-inch long pieces.
- Roll each small dough piece over the back of a fork by pressing and rolling it forward with your thumb. Place on the prepared pan in a single layer. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat, and season with the remaining 2 teaspoons of salt.
- Working a handful at a time, add the rolled gnocchi to the boiling water. Cook in water until gnocchi floats to top, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon and place into a heatproof bowl. Let the water come back to a rolling boil and repeat with the remaining gnocchi.
- To serve, toss the hot gnocchi in tomato or marinara sauce, pesto, melted butter and grated parmesan, or serve as desired.
Notes
- Cool the potatoes completely before making the gnocchi dough. Plan extra time for the potatoes to cool, as the pasta dumplings works best with room-temperature riced potatoes.
- How to speed up potato chilling time. To speed up the cooling process, spread the riced potatoes out on a dinner plate or baking sheet and lightly drape them with plastic wrap before moving the plate to the refrigerator to chill.
- Knead the dough until smooth. You can do this in the bowl, or on the lightly floured work surface, if desired. Work the dough until it no longer sticks to your hands and has a smooth surface. Be careful not to use too much flour while kneading to dry out the dough.
- Variation: Use a gnocchi board. Also known as a gnocchi paddle, you can also use the board to roll out the pasta instead of a fork. Simply push and roll the small pieces of dough down the paddle to shape.
- Variation: Skip the sheet pan. You can also shape the pasta and place it directly into the boiling water, omitting the step of placing the shaped pasta on the sheet pan before boiling. If shaping directly into the pasta water, however, you will want to work quickly and carefully to avoid splashing the hot water and to ensure that the pasta cooks evenly.
- Heavily salt the pasta water. Salting the cooking water is a surefire way to enhance all of the flavors in the pasta. Add at least 1 teaspoon of salt for every quart of water you boil.
- High altitude adaptation: if you live at a high altitude or somewhere the air is typically very dry, you can add an additional egg yolk to the dough if it is too dry to cohere together or form a smooth dough.
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