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.
can i substitute the ricotta with cream cheese?
I wouldn’t think so, they are very different in texture and moisture content.
I have never attempted gnocchi before, but this recipe was super easy and delicious! I topped them with a little olive oil and butter, with sage and Romano cheese. Delicious!!
I had some ricotta I needed to use up and came across this receipt. I had planned for this to take a while to make, but it didn’t take long at all. Super easy and delicious! Cooked some mushrooms and bacon with a simple pan sauce and some fresh basil. Thanks for the recipe!!
JUST made these (I’m a real heavy food girl for breakfast so it was my breakfast hehe). DELICIOUS. Will be kept in ny recipe book. Thank you 😁😁😁😁😍😍😍😍
Tried making these and had trouble mixing the flower into the cheese. It was very tough. Once cooked the gnocchi ended up being really dense. Any idea why?
Has anyone tried this with gluten free flour?
Being an Italian woman,i gotta say that i’ve used this recipe on several occasions without incident. Alot quicker than the potato method and just, if not more, yummy. Light little pillows every time. Definitely would and have recommended this recipe to friends. Love it!! Thank you for this one indeed…
Thank you!
This recipe looks amazing, and I bet it is if you follow the instructions (duh). However, in case anyone, like me, thought they would try to “healthy” it up a bit by using whole wheat flour instead…DON’T! Whole wheat flour has its time and place, but this is not one of them. They come out very dense, heavy, and grainy. Like, so bad I threw them out. My bad! Don’t make my same mistake!
Do NOT do what I did and accidentally use self raising flour. It was a DISASTER hahaha
I can’t wait to try it again though Beth, love your recipes!
Haha, I can’t imagine what happened! Did they puff up and get mushy?
This was fantastic! I used a total of about 1 and 1/3 cups of flour. I saw a suggestion on another recipe that said to cook 1 gnocchi to check if it has the right bite to it for you. If not, add more flour. This was a great basic recipe, really easy and versatile I made a light cream sauce with bacon and parmesan and it was perfect. Thanks!
Thank you for the great recipe. I only had half a container of ricotta, so I had to adjust the recipe a bit, but it still turned out great. I topped it with pesto and some fried mushrooms and it made a delicious, and surprisingly easy, meal. Thanks so much for all of the great recipes you post. I’m a long time fan, but I don’t usually comment.
O.m.g.
I should have made a double batch. These are PHENOMENAL!!!!
I’m actually heading into the kitchen to make them again for lunch (a nice gnocchi soup this time).
This is the first time I’ve ever eaten gnocchi and i must say it is absolutely delicious.
Another winner! Mine didn’t come out pretty like yours but they sure taste lovely. Ricotta is easily $6 here so I subbed cream cheese(99 cents, BIG difference), next time I’ll try Neufatchel as it’s the same cost as cream cheese here. No matter what creamy cheese you use, this is delicious.
I fried mine in a little butter, YUM! If you or someone you love needs to eat more calories on the cheap, this is it.
Ricotta is easy to make! https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fresh-homemade-ricotta-234282
Ricotta is also quite different from cream cheese…Can you get Cottage cheese and drain it? That’d be closer, I think…
Hi Beth,
Just wanted to let you know I made these for dinner tonight & they turned out perfect. My husband & I really liked them a lot. Thank you so much. I will definitely be making them again.
Mary from Pittsburgh, PA