How To Make Gnocchi

Making potato gnocchi from scratch is worth the effort. It only takes 5 ingredients and a little elbow grease. I’ll show you how to make gnocchi that you can use immediately or freeze for later on. I’ve also got tips on how to make the process easier.

Only 5 Ingredients For Potato Gnocchi From Scratch

With just 5 ingredients and a little bit of effort, you can have luscious gnocchi from scratch. Now, I’m not gonna lie. This potato pasta takes some time and it might not look perfect your first go round.  That’s ok. You’ll get better with practice. No matter what, it’s gonna be good. Besides, what else are you gonna do on a rainy Saturday? 

I enlisted my hubby’s help to make this batch and I encourage you employ another set of hands to make the process go faster.

Gnocchi Ingredients:

• Russet Potatoes
• Flour
• Egg
• Salt
• Olive Oil

Making Potato Gnocchi From Scratch

1. Boil the whole potatoes until tender.
2. Peel the skins from the potatoes and discard (they will slip right off)
3. Cut potatoes into chunks and put them into a food mill or potato ricer to press the potatoes into a light, fluffy pile. (Note: this is important — if you mash potatoes with a hand masher or mixer {gasp} the potatoes will become too starchy and gluey for the pasta.)
4. Make a well in the center of the potatoes and sprinkle with flour.
5. Add the egg and salt and with a fork, break the egg yolk and lightly whisk together the egg mixture, gradually pulling in and incorporating the potato and flour.
6. Once the egg is mixed in, gently knead the dough until the ingredients are evenly distributed and the dough is dry to the touch.
7. Form the dough into a ball and divide into pieces.
8. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a long rope about 1/2″ -3/4″ in diameter.
9. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into bite sized pieces.
10. To make the telltale grooves on the gnocchi, gently roll it over a gnocchi board or the tines of a fork.

Blanching Potato Pasta

1. You’ve made the gnocchi from scratch, but after they’re cut and formed, they need to be cooked.  For this you use a two-step method of blanching and shocking.
2. To blanch gnocchi bring a pot of salted water to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer.
3. Add equal parts ice and water to a bowl and set aside.
4. Drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan and set aside.
5. Working in batches, blanch the gnocchi in the simmering water until they float to the top.
6. Use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer the gnocchi to the ice water to shock it (stop the cooking).
7. Transfer the gnocchi to the sheet pan and lightly toss with olive oil.
8. At this point, you could just transfer the gnocchi to a container and refrigerate until you’re ready to use it — but there’s a special technique to freezing gnocchi.

Freezing Gnocchi

1. Line a baking sheet (that will fit in your freezer) with parchment paper.
2. Lay the gnocchi in a single layer, so that none of the gnocchi are touching one another.
3. Freeze the gnocchi on the baking sheet until they’re solid.
4. Transfer the gnocchi to a freezer bag and return the potato pasta to the freezer.
5. Because the gnocchi is frozen individually, you’ll be able to reach into the bag and select just the amount you need when you want it.  If you put it into a bag without pre-freezing, it would become a solid block of ice and you wouldn’t be able to separate the individual pastas.

I like to label and date my freezer packs, to give me a sense of how long they’ve been in the deep freeze.  Gnocchi should be good for 3-4 months when stored in a freezer bag, otherwise you can also wrap the potato pasta baggies in an extra layer of freezer paper to last for up to 6 months. I gotta be honest — it’s never been a problem for us — once we know there’s gnocchi from scratch in the house, it goes into a regular dinner rotation. I’d be lucky if it lasted a month.

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Serving Ideas:  What Sauce Goes With Gnocchi?

You can go in several different directions here, depending on if you’re simply boiling the gnocchi or if you’re pan-frying (my preferred method to get a little crust and char on the pillowy dumplings.)

• Pomodoro Sauce (good with boiled or fried)
• Marinara Sauce (good with boiled or fried)
• Pesto (best with fried gnocchi)
• Browned Butter Sage Sauce 
• Mushroom and Sausage Ragout  (boiled or fried)
• Lemon Butter Sauce (fried gnocchi)

More gnocchi recipes you’ll love:

• Sausage Kale and Sun-Dried Tomato Gnocchi
• Crispy Fried Sweet Potato Gnocchi & Blue Cheese
• Gnocchi Bolognese

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Potato Gnocchi From Scratch

These take a little time,but they’re so much better than those rubbery, heavy wannabes in the shelf-stable section of the grocery!  

Author: Lisa Lotts

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword gnocchi, potato

Prep Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 3 hours hours

Servings 12

INGREDIENTS:

US Customary – Metric

• 3 pounds russet potatoes
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

• Place whole potatoes in a pot covered with water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer until they are soft, about 45-50 minutes. Peel the skins from the potatoes while they’re still warm. Use a food mill or potato ricer on the finest setting and pass the potatoes through onto a clean work surface.
• Make a well in the center of the potatoes and sprinkle with all of the flour. Add the egg and salt to the center of the well and use a fork to pierce the yolk. Beat the egg with the fork gradually incorporating the potato and flour. Once the egg is mixed in, bring the dough together and knead until the dough ball is dry to the touch, about 4-5 minutes.
• Fill a large saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. When it boils, reduce heat to a simmer. In a large bowl add equal parts water and ice to create an ice bath. Add the olive oil to a large sheet pan and set aside. Continue with the gnocchi.
• Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll the dough into a long rope about 1/2″-3/4″ in diameter. Use a sharp knife to cut the rope into 1″ pieces. Roll the dough along the tines of a fork, pressing gently to create the telltale gnocchi ridges. After one dough ball has been transformed into the gnocchi, add the gnocchi to the simmering water and cook until the gnocchi float to the surface. Use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer the gnocchi to the ice bath to stop the cooking. Transfer the gnocchi to the sheet pan and gently roll them in the oil.
• Continue making gnocchi, cooking and shocking and transferring to the sheet pan until all are complete. Gnocchi will keep 2 days covered and refrigerated like this. See note below on how to freeze the gnocchi.

To cook gnocchi for serving

• Boil a large pot of water, adding a teaspoon of salt. Gently stir in the gnocchi, once it floats to the surface, the gnocchi is cooked, drain it and toss it with a marinara or pomodoro sauce (on this site).

Or pan-fry the gnocchi

• Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a wide skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add the gnocchi and toss several times while its cooking. Cook until the dumplings are golden and crispy outside, about 5 minutes.

NOTES:

If you’re not planning on eating all the gnocchi at once, freezing them in batches makes sense. Keep in mind that if you put warm or room temp gnocchi in a freezer bag and freeze it, it will freeze into one big clump. Instead follow these instructions.

To freeze gnocchi:
Find a baking sheet (or 2 or 3) that will fit in your freezer and line it with parchment paper. (This is easier if you have those drawer freezers.) Lay the gnocchi flat on the parchment paper so they are not touching each other and freeze for at least 20 minutes, or until gnocchi is firm and not tacky to the touch. Transfer frozen gnocchi to a zip top freezer bag and freeze. Continue freezing the gnocchi in batches, adding the frozen dumplings to the freezer bag as you go.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 495mg | Fiber: 2g | Vitamin C: 6.4mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 2mg

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