Easy Homemade Gnocchi

Making homemade gnocchi may seem daunting – but it’s actually very easy, and rewarding! It’s a delicious way to use potatoes in your dish and provide a dairy-free base for your meal. Follow the steps in this easy homemade gnocchi recipe and you’ll make perfect gnocchi every single time.

Ingredients You Need For Dairy-Free Gnocchi

Homemade gnocchi is surprisingly easy to make and is comprised of only 3 main ingredients – potato, flour and egg. This also makes gnocchi an ideal dish for anyone who maintains a dairy-free diet.

How to Choose the Right Potato for Gnocchi

The main ingredient in gnocchi is potato, so it’s important to pick the type that cooks well and gives the texture needed. The ideal potato for gnocchi has a high starch content – this recipe uses Russet potatoes as they are perfect for this. You could use other high starch potatoes, such as sweet potatoes if you’d like.

Homemade Gnocchi Serving Suggestions and Sauces

The great thing about gnocchi is that it’s so versatile – depending on the sauce and additions you make to your gnocchi base, you can invent completely new tastes and flavors. These recipes show how you can use your gnocchi making skills to create a tasty and filling meal.

• Aglio e Olio Gnocchi with Broccoli Rabe & Pumpkin
• Gnocchi with Homemade Pesto

I had the pleasure of enjoying learning how to make homemade gnocchi from the incredible Chef Paul C. Reilly of Beast + Bottle in Denver, Colorado.

Step by Step Gnocchi

To begin, you will need to prepare your potatoes for baking by laying them out on a baking tray and poking holes with a fork in each potato, six times. Then brush oil over the potatoes and season generously with sea salt. Put them in the oven and bake for around an hour until they are tender when poked with a fork.

While the potatoes are still warm (as hot as you can handle!) peel off the skins and break up the potatoes with a wooden spoon. If you have a food mill, you will put the potato pieces in the food mill to be ground down to tiny pieces. If you don’t have a food mill, you can continue to break the potatoes down with a wooden spoon. The tinier you can get the pieces, the better your gnocchi will turn out later on.

Below is an example of potatoes broken down with a wooden spoon instead of a food mill.

Now comes the more hands-on part! Put the milled potato on a large counter space, and add the flour and the beaten egg to the mixture.

With your hands, knead the mixture so that the flour and the egg are mixed thoroughly with the milled potato. Once the flour and egg are completely incorporated, form a ball of the gnocchi dough. The mixture should be tacky to touch but should not stick to a clean surface.

Thoroughly flour your workspace (and your hands!), then grab a chunk of the dough and roll it out into a long snake-like shape. It should measure 1-1.5 inches in diameter.

Chop your gnocchi dough into small chunks of gnocchi about 1.5 inches per piece. Repeat the process as necessary until all your dough is turned into gnocchi pieces.

To cook the gnocchi, bring a large pot of water to boiling point and salt the water liberally. In small batches, add your gnocchi to the hot water and wait until the pieces rise to the top of the water. Then your gnocchi is fully cooked and ready to serve!

Homemade Gnocchi FAQ

Everything you need to know…

• You know for sure that the gnocchi is done cooking when the dumplings float on the top of the water.
• Gnocchi can be easily be made ahead of time – All you need to do is lay your gnocchi out on a sheet pan and freeze it while still raw. When you’re ready to cook, complete the final steps for boiling the gnocchi.
• This recipe uses all-purpose flour, which works best for kneading and working with the dough

Looking for more homemade pasta?

Try this delicious homemade broccoli rabe ravioli with broccoli rabe pesto.

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Print Recipe

5 from 7 votes

Easy Homemade Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a delicious way to cook potatoes – follow the steps in this easy homemade gnocchi recipe and you'll make it perfectly every single time.

Prep Time1 hr

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time2 hrs

Course: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6

Calories: 353kcal

Author: Candice

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. Russet potatoes
• 2 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp oil avocado, canola, vegetable, sunflower seed, or olive
• sea salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425F.
• Poke the potatoes 6 times per potato with a fork. Lightly oil the potatoes and season generously with sea salt. Bake for ~1 hour until fork tender.
• While the potatoes are still warm (as hot as you can handle), peel them, and break them up with a wooden spoon. As soon as they are peeled (and still warm), run them through a food mill. If you do not have a food mill, break them up with a wooden spoon into tiny pieces. As tiny as you have patience for. The tinier, the better. At this point, you can let the potato cool and come back to it later or continue.
• Put the milled potatoes on a large workspace like a cutting board or counter. Add the flour and (beaten) egg. Mix well so the flour is completely incorporated and forms a ball. The mixture will be tacky, but should not stick to a clean surface.
• Flour the board/counter/table. Grab a large handful of the gnocchi dough. Flour the handful of dough, and roll into a long snake 1-1.5-inches in diameter.
• Cut the snake into 1.5-inch gnocchi. Flour the gnocchi, transfer to a floured baking sheet or cutting board, and flour again. The flour will prevent the gnocchi from sticking to each other. At this stage, it is better to use a little more flour than a little less. You can shake off the flour before cooking the gnocchi.
• Continue with the rest of the dough.
• Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 tbsp of sea salt to season the water.
• Add the gnocchi in batches if necessary. They are cooked when they float to the surface of the water, ~2 minutes.

Notes

• Break down the potatoes as quickly as possible. If they cool, they will be much more difficult to handle. 
• You know for sure that the gnocchi is done cooking when the dumplings float on the top of the water.
• Gnocchi can be easily be made ahead of time – All you need to do is lay your gnocchi out on a sheet pan and freeze it while still raw. When you’re ready to cook, complete the final steps for boiling the gnocchi.
• This recipe uses all-purpose flour, which works best for kneading and working with the dough.

Nutrition

Calories: 353kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 23mg | Potassium: 1000mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 4mg

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