So, have you had gnocchi yet? No? Well, you better get on that.
Gnocchi are wonderful little chewy pasta pillows. They’re light, fluffy, slightly chewy, and completely satisfying. Totally nosh-tastic. And they go with anything. Top them with red sauce, cheese, pesto, or just a simple garlic butter. Gnocchi are definitely going on my “must have in the freezer at all times” list (instructions for freezing at the end of the post).
Oh, and did I mention how simple they are? There are variations made with potato but since mashing potatoes is one of my all-time least favorite activities, I went for the ricotta version. The dough comes together in a matter of minutes then you just roll it out, cut it and pop it into boiling water. Once in the water they take less than five minutes to cook. SERIOUSLY.
One more thing…. (there are just so many good things to say about these little guys) You can totally take this recipe in a thousand directions. This recipe is for the most basic, plain flavor. You can add parmesan cheese, garlic powder, nutmeg, or other herbs. You can make gnocchi in a thousand flavors! I know I’m going to. You can look forward to many many gnocchi recipes in Budget Bytes future.
The pricing below is just for the gnocchi themselves since there are so many ways to eat them. They are pictured after being sauteed in garlic butter and topped with just a bit of cheese and parsley. OMG, just talking about them makes me want another bowl.
Easy Ricotta Gnocchi
Easy Ricotta Gnocchi
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese ($1.99)
- 1 large egg ($0.18)
- 1 tsp olive oil ($0.04)
- approx. 2 cups all-purpose flour ($0.29)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 10 cranks fresh cracked pepper ($0.03)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ricotta cheese, olive oil, egg, salt, and freshly cracked pepper.
- Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until it forms a soft sticky dough (about 1.5 cups)
- Begin boiling a large pot of water. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in about another 1/2 cup of flour or until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. The dough should still be very soft in texture.
- Divide the dough into six pieces. Roll each piece out into a rope about 1 inch thick. Cut the rope into 1 inch sections. If desired, roll each piece of dough on the back of a fork to give it a ridged texture.
- When the water is boiling vigorously, drop the dough pieces into the water. As the gnocchi boil they will begin to rise to the surface. Once all of them are floating on top, let them boil for about 30 seconds to one minute more to ensure thorough cooking. Drain in a colander.
- Top drained gnocchi with your favorite sauce or garlic butter, salt, and pepper. Enjoy!
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Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
Start with the ricotta, olive oil, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl. I used part-skim ricotta but that’s completely up to you.
Whisk them together until it’s smooth…
Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until you have a soft dough. You’ll need to use a spoon rather than a whisk to add the flour. I added about 1.5 cups before I got the soft dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in just enough flour to make the dough not stick to your hands. I kneaded in about another 1/2 cup. The dough will still be very soft.
Start boiling the water at this point. Divide the dough into about 6 pieces and roll them into ropes about one inch wide. Cut the ropes into one inch sections. You can either boil the pasta as is at this point or you can roll it on the back of a fork for more texture.
This is what I mean by roll on the back of a fork. One side stays smooth and one side gets little ridges in it. Honestly, you can’t see the texture much after thy puff up during cooking so you can skip this if you want to, but this is the classic gnocchi shape.
Once the water is boiling furiously, add the gnocchi. They will cool the water down considerably so make sure you have the heat on high…
As they cook they’ll begin to float…
And when they’re done they’ll all be floating! I let them boil for about 30 seconds more after they are all floating just to make sure they’re cooked through. I didn’t want a raw flour taste.
Drain the gnocchi in a colander and then top with your favorite sauce! Or…
Melt some butter with minced garlic in the still warm pot.
Add the gnocchi and coat with the garlic butter. If you have a non-stick pan, you can turn the heat on and let the gnocchi get a little crispy on the edges. I tried to fry mine but they just stuck to the pot no matter how much oil I added… but they were still delicious.
Top with a little cheese and parsley. Mmmmmmmm.
Or top with your favorite red sauce… How did I live without gnocchi?!
To Freeze Your Gnocchi:
After shaping the gnocchi (and BEFORE boiling), place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop it in the freezer. After an hour in the freezer, transfer them to a zip lock bag and keep in the freezer ’till you’re ready to eat them. To prepare from frozen, simply drop the frozen gnocchi in boiling water and boil until they float.
Yummmm made these for dinner tonight. They were so good, tasted pretty similar to potato based gnocchi but with a slight cheese taste. Heaps easier to make than potato based gnocchi too. I served them with some diced bacon & onion fried up.
I just made this and it is so amazing! So filling but not filling like sometimes pasta does for me! It is amazing and I can’t wait to try it with red sauce and garlic butter sauce! I tried with a creamy red sauce! And so good! Thank you!
Fantastic recipe. I’ve watched a lil old Tuscan woman make these before, but I didn’t have the recipe, so thank you. Just a few tips from Seraphina, the Tuscan gourmand:
1. Drain the ricotta in a strainer lined with paper towels for an hours or two.
2: Throw the dough in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, it makes it easier to slice.
Using ricotta is so much easier than potatoes! Great recipe!
WOW… I could tell just by looking at the picture that they were handmade! YAY! Can’t wait to try this…
These were so simple and really tasty! I love potato gnocchi but always found the idea of making them from scratch a bit daunting, so these are a great way for me to enjoy gnocchi! Thanks again for so many great recipes!
I was JUST researching pickling today… I’ll definitely have to try this recipe. Thanks!
Also: when I was boiling them in the water, I added asparagus, and then sauteed the gnocchi + asparagus with garlic and olive oil. It tasted fabulous.
Mariah – They do puff up quite a bit while they’re in the water but after they drain they kind of deflate a bit. In the end they are still a bit fatter than when the dough is raw, though. They’re pretty filling too!
I made these the other night. The only thing I’d do differently is to cut the pieces smaller – I think I made them a bit too big. They do freeze well, also. Thanks!
Do they puff up a lot after cooking? I just want to know so that I freeze the right portions because I plan to make a ton of this :)
I absolutely cannot WAIT to make this!! I recently learned how to make homemade ricotta cheese and will be using it to make this gnocchi :)
These were very good. I have always made potato gnocchi before but had a container of ricotta to use up, so made these.
Very easy to make. I never rolled them over the fork, never had enough time. And I usually make my gnocchi 1/2-inch diamter. Those were the only minor changes I made.
I served them with osso buco…the sauce from the osso buco was a very nice accompaniment for the gnocchi.
Oh, I never needed as much flour as the recipe called for. I live in Calgary, AB, Canada, and we have a very dry climate. Thus, our flour is very dry and it absorbs more liquid, hence not as much flour is needed.
ahh this website is so yummy!!!
<3
I made these for dinner last night, wanted to surprise my girlfriend. She walks in while I’m scooping the Ricotta and says “You know I’m not really a fan of ricotta, right?” Well, I didn’t know that, but after she tried them, she absolutely loved them and was so surprised at how delicious they were. I’ve eaten potato gnocci before and these are every bit as fluffy and smooth as the potato ones. So simple, this is genius!!! Thank you for the amazing recipes, Beth!