Homemade Potato Gnocchi
An easy Italian Pasta Dish recipe, Homemade Potato Gnocchi, made with only 4 ingredients. Tossed in a simple tomato sauce. These soft, delicate Gnocchi will make a delicious Dinner idea.
Living in Italy has made me realize that the simplest dish can be made in so many different ways, depending on the region or even how the family cooks it.
That of course also includes how to make Gnocchi. I have been told to use just flour and potatoes, or use some milk instead. But the best way I found is flour, salt, potatoes and an egg.
My father-in-law would often tell this rhyme to his grandkids “Ridi, Ridi che la Mamma ha fatta i gnocchi” (laugh, laugh, because mommy made gnocchi). The origin is supposedly during times of poverty when children would be happy because their mother was able to make something delicious with potatoes and flour.
What are gnocchi?
They are small pieces of dough, usually round or oblong in shape that are boiled in water or broth and then tossed with different sauces.
The term gnocco (which is the singular form of gnocchi) mean knot (or nodo), it refers to something hard such as the knuckles (nocche) of a finger. It was probably invented around the 16th century when potatoes were imported to Italy from America.
Recipe Ingredients
- Potatoes – best to use Yukon Gold or Russet
- Flour – all purpose
- Salt
- Egg – room temperature
How to make them
- In a large pot boil un peeled potatoes until tender, remove from the pot and let cool enough to handle, then remove the skin.
- Then pass through a Potato Ricer or mash.
- On a flat surface mix together the flour and salt make a well in the middle and add the potatoes and egg, mix together with your fingers to form a soft dough, it should not stick to your fingers.
- On a lightly floured surface, cut small amounts of dough to form ropes and cut into 3/4 inch (2 cm) pieces, then slide each piece on a fork and squeeze a little (but not too hard).
- Sprinkle with a little bit of flour and toss, so they don’t stick together.
- Let the gnocchi rest for 20 minutes before cooking.
- In a large pot of salted boiling water cook the gnocchi, gnocchi are ready when they float to the top.
- Drain and toss with desired sauce.
So how did I come by this recipe?
I have a great little family owned supermarket just down the street from me where I can get fresh eggs and really good cold cuts, slabs of pancetta, fresh nuts and other goodies and my just-purchased pressure cooker.
If you need it, they have it!
Over the years the woman who owns the store has also become a friend. She is originally from the South of Italy and left her family to marry and move North.
With the store business and family to take care of she doesn’t see them as often as she wishes.
My move from Canada to Italy was a little more extreme, but it was something we had in common and gave us something to break the ice.
So over the years I have acquired a good friend and some good recipes. This Gnocchi Recipe being one of them.
Different sauces for Gnocchi
There are several ways that you can serve Gnocchi, probably the most popular being a simple tomato sauce, you could also toss them with Pesto, butter and salvia or even a simple cream sauce.
How to make a firmer Gnocchi
- Use a red skinned potato
- Boil the potatoes with the peel on, that way the potato absorbs less water.
- Peel the potato and place through a potato ricer immediately, because the cooler they get the stickier they become.
- An easy way to peel the potato is stick a fork through and peel it using a knife.
- Although you should wait for the riced potato to cool before adding to the flour (or denaturation may occur).
What are Pelati tomatoes?
Pelati tomatoes are skinned plum (san marzano) tomatoes that are canned in their own juice with no additives such as salt, garlic basil etc. You can also use canned chopped tomatoes or even passata as long as there is nothing added to the tomatoes.
What is the best Potato for making them?
The perfect potato is an old potato, in other words no new potatoes. New potatoes contain more water which absorbs too much flour. Go for Yukon Gold or Russet Potatoes.
What is the best flour to use?
I think it all depends on preference, I always use all purpose, in Italy it’s called Manitoba but some people prefer 00 or a lower protein flour. A lower protein flour will make them softer and more tender.
How long does it take to cook gnocchi?
Once they have been added to the salted boiling water give them a couple of stirs and watch carefully, it doesn’t take long for them to cook 1-2 minutes (sometimes less), once the float to the surface they are done. Remove them immediately. Over cooked and they will turn to mush.
Different ways to serve them
Gnocchi can be served on their own in your favourite sauce or you can also bake them in the oven as a typical Italian baked pasta dish. Two of our favourites are a Baked Creamy Cheese White Sauce Gnocchi and a Baked Gnocchi Double Cheese Tomato Sauce. Either or both are definitely worth trying.
How to Store them
Potato gnocchi can be left uncooked for no more than a couple of hours (covered). Cooking may be a little longer because they will have dried out a bit in the air.
Any leftover cooked gnocchi should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. They will last up to three days in the fridge.
The Gnocchi can also be frozen, place the uncooked gnocchi on a cookie tray in the freezer, leave for approximately 20 minutes then place them in an airtight freezer bag. They will keep for about 1 month.
When you cook them there is no need to defrost, just add them to boiling salted water.
Delicious Gnocchi Recipes
So anytime you are craving a tasty home-made pasta dish, and you need it now and fast, Gnocchi are perfect. In an hour you could have a delicious pasta dish on the table and you can say “I did it myself”. Buon Appetito!
Homemade Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
FOR THE GNOCCHI
- 1 pound potatoes (Yukon gold or russet are best) (clean but not skinned / not new potatoes)
- 1 cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium egg (room temperature)
SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (40 grams)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1-2 cloves large of garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoons oregano
- 5 leaves basil chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 2 dashes of hot pepper flakes (if desired)
- 1 can pelati tomatoes with sauce (1½ to 2 cups / 400 grams), nothing else added in the tomatoes
- ½ cup water
Instructions
GNOCCHI
- In a large pot boil the unpeeled potatoes until tender, remove from the pot and let cool remove the skin. Then pass through a potato ricer.
- Mix together the flour and salt, place on a flat surface, make a well in the middle and add the potatoes and egg, mix together with your fingers to form a soft dough, it should not stick to your fingers. On a lightly floured surface, cut small amounts of dough to form ropes and cut into ¾ inch (2 cm) pieces, then slide each piece on a fork and squeeze a little (but not too hard). Sprinkle with a little bit of flour and toss, so they don't stick together. Let the gnocchi rest for 20 minutes before cooking.
TOMATO SAUCE
- While the gnocchi are resting make the sauce. In a large saucepan add olive oil, tomatoes, salt, garlic, oregano, basil, hot pepper flakes and water, stir to combine, half cover and let simmer over medium heat until thickened. Remove cover for the last few minutes to thicken.
COOKING GNOCCHI
- In a large pot of salted boiling water cook the gnocchi, gnocchi are ready when they float to the top. Drain and add to the cooked sauce, add a little pasta water, cook for 30 seconds, gently tossing. Serve immediately topped with fresh grated parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Updated from December 16, 2014.
My husband and I made this for our at home date night this weekend – it was AMAZING! We used russet potatoes and switched out the flour for Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour and the gnocchi turned out beautifully. For the sauce we simply sauteed minced garlic and dried sage in 2 tablespoons of salted butter and tossed the gnocchi in that. Can’t wait to make these again.
Hi Beth, thanks so much, so glad it was enjoyed! And thanks for sharing how your husband made it. Take care!
Hi! Have you ever made gnocchi with non gluten flours? If yes, which ones?
I know that alternative flours absorb more water than wheat flour…so would I need to add more flour than the recipe states? What would be an indicator to me that the dough was ready? I don’t want to over flour it and end up with the wrong texture. Thanks so much.
Hi Marcia, it should be a soft compact dough, another reader just commented “We used russet potatoes and switched out the flour for Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour and the gnocchi turned out beautifully”, if the dough is too dry I would start by adding an egg yolk and then some of the white if needed.Let me know how it goes. Take care!
I know I messed something up, but I’m not entirely sure what; I’m admittedly pretty new to cooking so I just followed the recipe exactly (or at least, I thought I did, must have strayed away somewhere I guess), but I struggled a lot with the dough. It was incredibly sticky and it took over a cup of extra flour (regular AP) to get it to somewhat stop sticking to everything. I wasn’t able to roll it into ropes, I managed to form some pieces but they mostly just ended up tasting like flour and were pretty chewy, I think from how much I overworked it trying to mix in more flour. Does anybody have any tips for how to avoid this if I try it again or any ideas where I went wrong?
Hi Theo, I think it probably depends on the potatoes you used, be sure to use Yukon gold or russet and boil them with the skin on (that will help with too much wetness. Let me know, take care!
I bake my potatoes (skins on) instead of boiling them to ensure there isn’t too much moisture. I let them cool out of the oven for 10 minutes then remove the skin and rice them. Works every time for me.
This is a perfect recipe. I made gnocchi with my grandmother but had never done it on my own, and it’s been at least 30 years. It was not difficult; my granddaughter rolled them with me (she’s 4), and it was absolutely delicious! I made two sauces: tomato, similar to the one you included, and brown butter with some sage and, of course, lots of parmigiana.
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi Anne, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it and wonderful that your granddaughter helped. Take care!
Looks interesting. Could a bit of Shredded cheddar cheese be added to the dough to make a cheese gnocchi, or would that cause them to fall apart?
Hi Josh, I don’t think they would fall apart as long as the cheese is finely grated and don’t add too much. It does sound good! Take care.
Growing up with an imported Italian aunt, she used this gnocchi recipe. However we kids joined in by rolling the dough, cutting squares about 3/4 by 3/4 and taking our first two fingers and rolling them into shell like gnocchi’s. Whenever we wanted this we would ask for two fingers ☺️😉
Hi Donna, what great memories, I love that. Take care!
low sodium, what if i leave out the salt or use 1/8 teaspoon as the soup or sauce has salt in it already
Hi Michael, it will probably be quite blah without any salt, so add 1/8 if possible. Let me know how it goes. Take care!
wow!!! wow!! Wow!! So I grew up with a hungarian dumpling made with potato starch,, When I made these, they taste so much like the original shlishkes! My family is so excited to have shlishkes for the holiday! YUM!! Thanks so so so much, and these were so easy to make,, I had to add flour when rolling them out, but I am not complaining!! Thank you so much!
Hi Chani vee, thanks so much, so glad everyone is excited! Yes depending on the flour, some flours absorb differently. Take care!
The best recipe! Easy to follow with perfect results. A winner in this house today. Thank you!
Thanks so much, so glad you all enjoyed it. Take care!
Great recipe with simple steps, slightly let down by quantities of the ingredients. I had to add significantly more flour than the recipe called for to get a proper consistency dough that wasn’t sticky. Reading further into the notes, Rosemary uses all-purpose flour, whereas I was using 00. I don’t believe this was clearly enough specified in the ingredients list when you ‘jump to recipe’. Interestingly 00 should absorb more water so the fact I had to add more shows that the ingredients ratios were pretty off. I did notice that the conversion from imperial to metric wasn’t particularly accurate which so maybe this was to blame, I will try again to see if this helps. Could also have been the potato type or the temperature, although they were still pretty warm when mashed. The accompanying sauce was lovely though, very easy and full of flavour!
ditto! the dough was very very wet, i was also using 00 and it would just not get to the desired consistency. i tossed the whole thing.
Such a simple recipe, but soooooooo delicious!
Thank you Rosemary x
Hi Barbi, thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it. Take care!
How are the gnocchi “put on a fork” and squeezed? I can’t picture it.
Hi Walter, you can make them as shown in the video, or the better word would be to place a bit of pressure on the dough while rolling it off the fork. Hope that helps. Take care!
So delicious and easy to make. I was surprised by how well they turned out. They practically melted in my mouth!
Hi Jane, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Take care!
Came out excellent. I microwaved the potatoes. I just made an easy 5 minute sauce of sauteed garlic,quartered cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, fresh parsley, and fresh basil. Sprinkled on some grated parmesan cheese. Delicious in it’s simplicity.
Hi Barolomeo, thanks so much, glad you enjoyed them. Take care!