Sweet Potato Gnocchi with a brown butter sage sauce are soft and pillowy and make a fancy-feeling starter or comforting meal. Homemade gnocchi are surprisingly easy to make and will warm you up on a cold day!
Pierce the sweet potatoes with a knife or fork a few times all over. Roast on a foil-lined baking sheet for about an hour at 400°F, or place on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave on high heat until fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Once cool enough to handle, remove the skins. Mash the sweet potatoes in a bowl with a potato masher and let cool completely.
Once the potatoes are cooled thoroughly, mix in the egg, parmesan, and salt until thoroughly combined. Add ½ cup of flour, and stir to combine. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, then knead gently 8-10 times, until the dough forms a cohesive ball and is no longer sticky to the touch. If the mixture is too wet, add the additional ¼ cup of flour a bit at a time as needed.
Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a thin log, about ½-inch thick, then cut each log into ½-inch pieces.
Roll each piece of dough over a gnocchi board or over the tines on the back of a fork. Place the shaped gnocchi on a well-floured sheet tray.
For the Sauce and Assembly:
Fill a large pot three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Season generously with salt.
Meanwhile, add 4 tablespoons of butter to a large skillet and heat over medium heat. Once melted and bubbling, add the sage leaves. Cook until they are dark green, 30 seconds to 1 minute, then remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
Add the chopped garlic, stir to combine, then remove from the heat. (The garlic will continue to cook, and the butter will continue to brown slightly with the residual heat.)
Carefully transfer the gnocchi to the boiling water, shaking off excess flour as you take them off the baking sheet. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until they float to the top. Use a spider strainer or slotted spoon to transfer the gnocchi to the skillet with the garlic butter.
Return the skillet to medium-low heat. Add ½ cup of pasta water, salt, pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the skillet. Gently fold together just until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Serve topped with fried sage leaves.
Notes
Mash the potatoes while they are hot. To achieve the smoothest texture, it is important to mash the potatoes while they are hot. Use a potato masher or potato ricer to mash the potatoes. Because sweet potatoes are more fibrous than regular potatoes, you may also use a food processor for perfectly smooth potato puree. After mashing, allow them to cool completely before adding the egg, cheese, and flour. Hot potatoes will absorb more flour, potentially leading to tough gnocchi.
Freeze extra mashed sweet potatoes. If you have extra mashed sweet potatoes, freeze them for making gnocchi in the future or for another use. Place the cooled mashed sweet potatoes in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Knead the dough until just combined. Work the dough just until it comes together cohesively and a soft dough forms. If it’s falling apart, continue to knead once or twice more. If you don’t work the dough enough, the gnocchi will fall apart when boiled. If the dough is overworked or too much flour is used, the gnocchi will be tough.
Cook butter until light golden brown. Watch the butter carefully to prevent burning as you make the browned butter sauce, and remove it from the heat as soon as it has turned golden brown. Reduce the heat if needed while cooking the sage leaves if the butter is spattering or is browning too quickly.
Citrusy lemon juice and extra cheese variation. To add a little zing to the sauce, stir in the juice of ½ lemon and an additional ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese when the gnocchi is added to the garlic butter.
Add some crunch with nuts. To add a bit of crunchy texture to this recipe, serve with chopped toasted walnuts, toasted pine nuts, or toasted pecans.
Alternate potato cooking method. Instead of roasting the sweet potatoes, use my recipe for Instant Pot sweet potatoes for a quick and easy cooking method that frees up oven space.
Make vegan sweet potato gnocchi. Swap the butter for olive oil or vegan butter, and use vegan parmesan cheese or leave it out altogether.