Homemade Gnocchi
5 ingredient easy homemade potato gnocchi! So light, pillowy, and fluffy! You won't be able to go back to store-bought gnocchi after this.
Ingredients
- 2 medium russet potatoes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Pierce potatoes with a fork; place potatoes onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until tender, about 1 hour.
- Peel the potatoes. Using a potato ricer, rice the potatoes, then transfer 1 1/2 cups to a large bowl. Stir in flour, ricotta, Parmesan, egg, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, divide dough into 6 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into an 18-inch long rope, about 1-inch in diameter, sprinkling with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Using a sharp knife, cut each rope into 3/4-inch bite-size pieces; transfer to baking sheet.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook gnocchi in batches until tender, stirring occasionally, about 2-3 minutes. Drain well using a slotted spoon and transfer to a clean rimmed baking sheet.
Notes
- Bake instead of boil. Bake the potatoes to avoid excess moisture, requiring less flour for the dough and thus, yielding pillowy gnocchi.
- Rice the potatoes while they are still warm. Warm potatoes will break down very easily through a potato ricer.
- Cook in salted water. Cook the gnocchi in generously salted boiling water, allowing the gnocchi to be seasoned from the inside out.
- When it floats, they’re cooked. Gnocchi is cooked once they float to the surface, about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to let the gnocchi overcook as it will become soft and mushy. If the gnocchi has been accidentally overcooked, try pan-frying for a crispy exterior.
- Homemade gnocchi is delicate. Using a colander to drain the gnocchi can cause the gnocchi to tear or fall apart. Always use a slotted spoon or spider strainer.
- Freeze as needed. Place the uncooked gnocchi in a single layer on a heavily floured parchment-lined baking sheet, letting them air dry at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer until solid, about 1 hour (flash-freeze), then transfer the gnocchi to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date, and freeze up to 2 months.
- Skip the thaw. To use, skip the thaw and cook the frozen gnocchi directly in boiling salted water, adding a few more minutes to the cook time.