Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What type of potatoes are best for making gnocchi? ›

The Best Potatoes for Gnocchi

Step one: Start with Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets will do, but Yukon Golds have more of the nutty flavor of the yellow-fleshed boiling potatoes used by the Italian and Provençal cooks who have mastered gnocchi.

You need to do plenty of that for homemade pizza dough, but you don't want to do much kneading at all when making gnocchi. Italian type 00 flours like Caputo and Anna brands produce a great result. Make sure you're buying 00 labeled for pasta and not labeled for pizza making.

The secret to the lightest, most tender potato gnocchi is to bake the potatoes instead of boiling them. A baked potato is dryer than one that has been boiled, which means you avoid having to add more flour to the dough to account for excess moisture, a practice that leads to over-kneaded, tough gnocchi.

Unlike potato gnocchi, Roman gnocchi (Gnocchi alla romana), are made with semolina instead of potatoes and flour, that's why they are also called Semolina gnocchi. Roman gnocchi are shaped differently than potato gnocchi.

Nutritional Value

Believe it or not, regular pasta is actually more carb-heavy than gnocchi, coming in at around 2 times the amount of carbs per serving. Gnocchi is also notorious for having a lot more sodium, with over 200 grams of it per serving. Regular pasta doesn't have nearly as high of a sodium content.

Egg yolk added to your gnocchi dough helps improve texture, and keep it together while cooking. Gnocchi is traditionally made with eggs in Veneto and no eggs in Piedmont, the two Northern Italian regions famous for gnocchi. We vote for egg yolks at the rate of 1 per (500g) 1 lb of uncooked potatoes used.

Your gnocchi may be mushy because of any or all of the following reasons: boiled the potatoes instead of baked them. used waxy new potatoes with too much moisture in them. not used eggs to help texture.

Ingredients for homemade gnocchi

You need a floury baking potato, nothing waxy. Use what you would normally use to roast. In the USA you could use Yukon Gold potatoes.

I recommend using a baking-type potato variety such as Russet or Idaho to make gnocchi dough, because they are drier and have more starch than waxy and/or yellow potatoes. The starchy potato merges gracefully with the flour and egg, making a pliable, easy-to-handle dough.

The Russet Burbank specifically has high solids and low moisture, and it ideal for gnocchi. Reds are too waxy, the starch cells will turn gluey when moisture is added. The Yukon Golds can work, but often cost 3-4 times more than a russet and also have a medium solids or moist profile.

Is gnocchi nicer boiled or fried? ›

It is by far the BEST way to enjoy gnocchi!

Once you pan fry your gnocchi, you may never eat it any other way. That is essentially how I feel. That golden crisp outside with a soft chew inside is so delicious!

Gnudi (Italian: [ˈɲuːdi]), also called malfatti, are gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese and semolina instead of potato flour.

1. Sage and butter sauce. Emerald gnocchi are the perfect partner to a sage and butter sauce. Sage-infused butter – or burro e salvia – is a classic combination.

To make gnocchi, our grandmothers and mothers prefer mealy potatoes, rich in starch, and slightly aged as they lose more of their water content over time. Old potatoes does not mean germinating potatoes, but drier potatoes which provide a dry and compact dough. Stay away from waxy potatoes that have a hard pulp.

The type of potato you use is key when making gnocchi as the wrong variety can affect flavour and texture. Avoid waxy potatoes such as Charlotte and Jersey Royals. Instead, make sure you use a floury variety. Maris Piper or a King Edward varieties are ideal as they have a medium floury texture.

Ingredients for homemade gnocchi

In the USA you could use Yukon Gold potatoes. Russet potatoes will also work. Flour - I have used plain flour (all purpose flour) but you could use 00 also.

The Yukon Gold potato, though yellow fleshed, is a cross between a yellow and a white potato and is usually labeled as such. A “yellow” or “gold” potato is not a Yukon Gold potato, but all three potatoes have similar starch contents and flavors and can be used interchangeably in recipes.