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The easiest homemade gnocchi recipe — made with just 4 main ingredients in 20 minutes (no potatoes required!), and just as light and delicious as ever!
Love potato gnocchi? Allow me to introduce you to its quicker-and-easier-to-make, ultra-light-and-pillowy, arguably-even-more-delicious cousin…
…ricotta gnocchi. ♡♡♡
After having been a big fan of this classic potato gnocchi recipe for years and years, a friend recently made the intriguing suggestion that I give ricotta gnocchi a try instead. She promised that it was just as light and chewy and flavorful as the potato-based variety, but that it could be made in impressively half the time.Also, with fewer dishes to wash.
Needless to say, I was intrigued. So we gave it a try and turns out — she was right!
Ricotta gnocchi is so delightful, you guys!
Also, stunningly quick and easy to make. You literally just stir four simple ingredients together, season with salt and pepper, roll out and cut the dough into bite-sized pieces, boil for a few minutes — and voila! — the most delicious gnocchi can be ready to go in basically the amount of time it takes to bring your big pot of cooking water to a boil. We love tossing ours with a brown butter sage sauce, some fresh pesto, a spicy marinara, or making a cozy batch of gnocchi “mac” and cheese. But of course, there are a million other delicious ways that you can serve these little guys too, so get creative!
Bottom line — whether you’re a beginner with making your own homemade gnocchi, or if you’re a potato gnocchi pro and are just looking for a quicker method, I highly recommend giving the ricotta version a try. I think you’re going to love them!
Ricotta Gnocchi Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Ricotta Gnocchi Ingredients:
To make this ricotta gnocchi recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
Whole milk ricotta cheese: Try to buy the best-quality brand available. We will then drain the ricotta quickly on paper towels to remove some of its excess moisture.
Flour: I love making this gnocchi recipe with “00” flour, which makes them extra light. But normal all-purpose flour will also work great as well.
Egg yolks: Three of them!
Parmesan cheese: Freshly-grated for maximum flavor.
Salt and pepper: Of course. :)
Ricotta Gnocchi Equipment:
This recipe doesn’t require any special equipment! You will just need a:
Stockpot: Or some sort of large pot to boil water and cook the gnocchi.
I also highly recommend using a kitchen scale to accurately measure the ingredients by weight instead of volume. But that said, if you don’t have a kitchen scale, measuring cups will work well too.
How To Make Gnocchi:
Alright, moving onto how to make gnocchi! With ricotta version, you don’t have to mess with the extra time and dishes required to boil and peel potatoes. Instead, just simply:
Drain the ricotta: I learned this trick from Serious Eats. Instead of waiting 30 minutes for your ricotta to drain through a strainer, simply sandwich it between a few paper towels (sort of like how you drain tofu) and gently press so that the paper towels soak up the excess moisture.
Mix your dough ingredients. Stir the drained ricotta and eggs together, then mix in the flour, Parm, salt and pepper until combined.
Roll out and cut the dough. Shape the dough into a round disk with your hands, then transfer it to a lightly-floured cutting board and sprinkle the dough with lightly with flour. Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough into eight even pie wedges. Then using your hands, gently roll out each wedge out into an even log, approximately 3/4-inch wide. Cut each log into individual bite-sized little gnocchi squares. Lightly dust the gnocchi with flour once more and give them a quick toss so that they are all lightly coated with flour. (This will help prevent them from sticking together.)
Boil the gnocchi. Carefully transfer them to your pot of boiling water. Then once they float — usually after about 30-60 seconds — they’re ready to go!
Serve. Serve immediately, tossed with your favorite sauce and whatever other ingredients sound good! ♡
How To Serve Gnocchi:
There are endless ways that you can serve gnocchi! I typically like to either:
Make gnocchi “mac” and cheese. I also love subbing gnocchi in for pasta to make a batch of “gnocchi and cheese”.
Toast (fry) your gnocchi. If you would like your gnocchi to be a bit crispier, just boil and drain them as usual. Then pan-fry them in a few tablespoons of oil or butter for a few minutes until their edges are browned and crispy.
Add them to a soup. Gnocchi are also work great as little dumplings in soups of all kinds! Feel free to add them (uncooked) directly into your soup broth. Or you are welcome to cook the gnocchi first in a separate stockpot, and then add them to your soup.
How To Freeze Gnocchi:
To freeze gnocchi, spread them out in an even layer on a lightly-floured baking sheet. Then pop the sheet into the freezer for an hour or two, until the gnocchi have frozen. Remove and transfer the gnocchi to a sealed storage container or ziplock bag. Then freeze for up to 2 months.
To cook frozen gnocchi, simply add them to the boiling water straight out of the freezer and wait for them to float. They will take an extra minute or two to cook, but the texture is still great in the end.
The easiest homemade gnocchi recipe — made with just 4 main ingredients in 20 minutes (no potatoes required!), and just as light and delicious as ever!
Prep the water: Bring a large stockpot of generously-salted water to a boil over high heat.
Drain the ricotta: While your water is heating, place 3-4 paper towels on a large plate and spread the ricotta on the paper towels in an even layer. Place another layer of 3-4 paper towels on top of the ricotta. Then press down gently to let the excess moisture soak into the paper towels, trying to soak up as much of the excess liquid as possible. Transfer the ricotta to a large mixing bowl. (If it sticks to the paper towels, just use a rubber spatula to scrape it off.) The drained ricotta should now weigh about 12 ounces.
Mix your dough ingredients. Add the egg yolks to the ricotta and stir briefly to combine. Add in the flour, Parmesan, salt and pepper, and stir until evenly combined. Avoid over-mixing. The dough will be a bit moist and maybe a bit sticky, but it should be holding together well. If it feels too wet, just add in another few tablespoons of flour.
Roll out and cut the dough. Shape the dough into a round disk with your hands, then transfer it to a lightly-floured cutting board and sprinkle the dough with lightly with flour. Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the dough into eight even pie wedges. Using your hands, gently roll out each wedge out into an even log, approximately 3/4-inch wide. Cut each log into individual bite-sized little gnocchi squares. Lightly dust the gnocchi with flour once more and give them a quick toss so that they are all lightly coated with flour. (This will help prevent them from sticking together.)
Boil the gnocchi. Carefully transfer the gnocchi to the boiling water to cook. Then once they float — usually after 30 seconds or so — drain the gnocchi.
Serve. Serve immediately, tossed with your favorite sauce and whatever other ingredients sound good!
Notes
*I really recommend weighing your flour for accuracy. But if you are using a measuring cup, just be sure to use the scoop the flour into the measuring cup (versus scooping the measuring cup into the flour) to ensure that you don’t accidentally use too much flour.
Amazing! I want to make this over the weekend! If it’s not too much trouble, can you also post the recipe for brown butter sage sauce that you made to go with them?
Jeani —
the brown butter sage sauce recipe is at the very beginning of the post
Will make this recipe today since it’s rainy and cool so soup sound wonderful. Difficult to find quality fresh or frozen gnocchi here so I’ve been on a quest to locate such a recipe. Thank you and Serious Eats for making the search informative and possible for me to make tasty gnocchi.
Ooooooh, looks so good!! I will definitely try to make it!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!
Since I have Celiac disease which is allergic to gluten include wheat, I will try to make this recipe with GF all-purpose flour, and will update how it’s going! I will test with my dearie husband’s tastes, hehe ;)
Lisa —
Hi Nera- I’m Celiac, too. Have you made these with gluten free AP flour? I’m thinking of making them substituting the flour with potato starch. If you’ve made them already, I’m really interested to know how you made out!
We made these for dinner and they were SO good! I can’t believe how much they taste like potato gnocchi. They are definitely going into our rotation. Everyone loved them!
If it’s not too much trouble, can you post the recipe for brown butter sage sauce that you made to go with them? It’s my mother in law birthday Monday and gnocchi is one of her favorite dishes. It looks fantastic in the frying pan.
My boyfriend made them yesterday and it was so, so good! Super quick and easy too, which is always a bonus. We had it with pesto rosso, but I’m intrigued to try your suggestion of gnocchi and cheese sometime because it sounds amazing.
Super delicious! This is a great recipe and it was so easy. I lined a colander with paper towels and used 1 pound cans as a weight to drain the water out of the ricotta. I doubled the recipe. The consistency of the dough was just right. The gnocchi were light and flavorful. I will be making this again and again. We had them with a homemade tomato sauce.
This was really pretty fenomenal. I was concerend about how sticky the dough was but rolled out the wedges in some flour and the pieces came out great. Served under a marinara sauce. A big hit in my family.
These were so simple to make and so delicious. My husband and I both loved them. They were a thousand times easier to make than potato gnocchi. Thanks for the great recipe!
I am retired now, but like you, my wife and I were bitten by the expat bug in 1992. We taught in 6 different countries around the world over the next 25 years. One of my fondest culinary memories was a restaurant in Miraflores, Lima, Peru called La Trattoria. It was and remains my favorite Italian restaurant. I say all this because they had the best gnocchi I have ever eaten. I rarely order gnocchi in restaurants because, in comparison, I am invariably disappointed. It is always too heavy or too gummy. I have made gnocchi myself a few times over the years with varying success. Tonight, I tried your recipe and was very pleased at its light fluffy texture. I served it with a pesto sauce and my wife and I agree it is a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing, I will definitely make it again. Enjoy Barcelona, it’s a wonderful city.
Aland R.
I waited until I had a day off to first try this recipe–(May 28) I have since made 4 batches– 2 to eat and 2 to freeze. It is such a breeze to make! I much prefer ricotta to potato based gnocchis. Thank you for the comprehensive recipe tips!
Love love love this speedy gnocchi recipe! We are a GF household so subbed “Namaste” all purpose GF flour and all turned out beautifully! The whole milk ricotta is delish. Thanks for sharing!
Kim —
Thank you Kathryn!! I was just going to wing it myself since she never replied to comments asking about this as GF; but your comment made me feel it’s worth trying cuz it turned out for you. Thanks from all of us celiac people!!
This recipe is wonderful, light, quick and consistent. My basil plant was getting full, so I finely chopped a handful of leaves and added them to the flour—loved the flavor!
Crystal —
Any word on how to make these low carb? I didn’t see any answers.
Made these today and I’m super excited to try them for dinner! Any chance you have some nutritional info on these? I’m guessing (hoping) the carb count will be less than a potato-based gnocchi…? Thanks!
I made this on a whim and was a little nervous. I didn’t cook right away so I did flour and freeze for an hour before dinner. They were totally amazing and I’m a gnocchi snob! I served with fresh tomato and basil from the garden. Beautiful dish
These were so tasty and so easy!
I had extra ricotta in my fridge from a previous recipe I never ended up making, and I’m so glad I found this recipe.
I had to use a bit of extra flour – my mixture was very wet, but the flavor was amazing. Definitely saving this to use again!
I tossed them in some pesto and served them with some pan fried zucchini… delish!
I made this recipe x5 for my Italian Christmas dinner for 10. It was delicious I did add more flour , I used regular flour. Next time I will try the 00 flour.
Tried this recipe and it was amazing! Even though we substituted feta for parmesan (it was the only thing at home) it *still* worked. We had it with a roasted red pepper arrabiata – like cheesy delicious bites.
I made this and it was messy (I don’t think I drained the ricotta enough…) so it did not look pretty but still tasted great!! will do a better job next time
Made IP ricotta for the first time today. When I was searching what ricotta is used for I found this gnocchi recipe and brown butter recipe today. My 16mth old twins and hubby loved it. It turned out great and was easy. I’ve never made gnocchi or pasta so I was really pleased!
Needed a use for a soon-to-be out of date ricotta, and stumbled upon this recipe, and let me just say, this is such a quick and easy recipe! I reduced it three-fold, and it made a perfect serving for one. It took me about the same amount of time that it would to cook boxed dried pasta, and was worlds better. Thank you so much for this now permanent addition to my 15 minute meal repertoire!
I’ve been a fan of the gnocchi since I was a child. I’ve tried many different types of gnocchi so I can say with confidence that this recipe is absolutely amazing compared to other recipes out there.
These are absolutely delicious. I skipped the boiling and put the gnocchi straight in a pan with half a stick of butter, chopped sage and chives until golden brown on both sides.
Amazing! I want to make this over the weekend! If it’s not too much trouble, can you also post the recipe for brown butter sage sauce that you made to go with them?
the brown butter sage sauce recipe is at the very beginning of the post
Could you sub almond flour in on this recipe for a low-carb delight?
My question as well! I went keto not long ago, and wow! Gnocci sounds pretty amazing right now!
Hello-
Could you make this gluten free? Thanks!
How much riccota cheese are you supposed to use for this recipe? It looks amazing!
Will make this recipe today since it’s rainy and cool so soup sound wonderful. Difficult to find quality fresh or frozen gnocchi here so I’ve been on a quest to locate such a recipe. Thank you and Serious Eats for making the search informative and possible for me to make tasty gnocchi.
These look great. Any suggestion for using gluten free flour?
Have you tried making the recipe with gluten free flour?
What is 00 flour and where do you get it?
I checked on internet — 00 flour is lightly wheat (not gluten free). You can order on Amazon.
Ooooooh, looks so good!! I will definitely try to make it!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!
Since I have Celiac disease which is allergic to gluten include wheat, I will try to make this recipe with GF all-purpose flour, and will update how it’s going! I will test with my dearie husband’s tastes, hehe ;)
Hi Nera- I’m Celiac, too. Have you made these with gluten free AP flour? I’m thinking of making them substituting the flour with potato starch. If you’ve made them already, I’m really interested to know how you made out!
If I wanted to, could I drain the ricotta in a fine mesh sieve? Would I still line with paper towels or no? How long to let it drain….30 minutes?
Any recommendation for a gluten free flour that would work with these. They look so tasty!
Hello! Do you think this recipe could be made with a low carb flour? I love gnocchi and I’m on Keto. Thanks so much!
Can these gnocchis be made earlier in the day and held for several hours, if so what do you recommend as the best way to do this?
We made these for dinner and they were SO good! I can’t believe how much they taste like potato gnocchi. They are definitely going into our rotation. Everyone loved them!
If it’s not too much trouble, can you post the recipe for brown butter sage sauce that you made to go with them? It’s my mother in law birthday Monday and gnocchi is one of her favorite dishes. It looks fantastic in the frying pan.
How much flour
wow, much prefer ricotta over potato anyway for at least the protein vs carb swap, so really appreciate this version. thank you!
My boyfriend made them yesterday and it was so, so good! Super quick and easy too, which is always a bonus. We had it with pesto rosso, but I’m intrigued to try your suggestion of gnocchi and cheese sometime because it sounds amazing.
Super delicious! This is a great recipe and it was so easy. I lined a colander with paper towels and used 1 pound cans as a weight to drain the water out of the ricotta. I doubled the recipe. The consistency of the dough was just right. The gnocchi were light and flavorful. I will be making this again and again. We had them with a homemade tomato sauce.
This recipe worked out perfectly. Delicious. Will be making on a regular basis.
Our entire family loved this recipe!!!
This was really pretty fenomenal. I was concerend about how sticky the dough was but rolled out the wedges in some flour and the pieces came out great. Served under a marinara sauce. A big hit in my family.
These were so simple to make and so delicious. My husband and I both loved them. They were a thousand times easier to make than potato gnocchi. Thanks for the great recipe!
I am retired now, but like you, my wife and I were bitten by the expat bug in 1992. We taught in 6 different countries around the world over the next 25 years. One of my fondest culinary memories was a restaurant in Miraflores, Lima, Peru called La Trattoria. It was and remains my favorite Italian restaurant. I say all this because they had the best gnocchi I have ever eaten. I rarely order gnocchi in restaurants because, in comparison, I am invariably disappointed. It is always too heavy or too gummy. I have made gnocchi myself a few times over the years with varying success. Tonight, I tried your recipe and was very pleased at its light fluffy texture. I served it with a pesto sauce and my wife and I agree it is a keeper. Thanks so much for sharing, I will definitely make it again. Enjoy Barcelona, it’s a wonderful city.
Aland R.
I waited until I had a day off to first try this recipe–(May 28) I have since made 4 batches– 2 to eat and 2 to freeze. It is such a breeze to make! I much prefer ricotta to potato based gnocchis. Thank you for the comprehensive recipe tips!
I’m excited to try these! I’ve had THE WORST luck with potato gnocchi but this looks SO much more manageable. Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe! My 5 year old son ate 3 bowls for dinner. It was so easy and delicious! I added some zucchini noodles on the side. Love!
This was delicious and simple to make. The sauce with sage was amazing.
Love love love this speedy gnocchi recipe! We are a GF household so subbed “Namaste” all purpose GF flour and all turned out beautifully! The whole milk ricotta is delish. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Kathryn!! I was just going to wing it myself since she never replied to comments asking about this as GF; but your comment made me feel it’s worth trying cuz it turned out for you. Thanks from all of us celiac people!!
This recipe is wonderful, light, quick and consistent. My basil plant was getting full, so I finely chopped a handful of leaves and added them to the flour—loved the flavor!
Any word on how to make these low carb? I didn’t see any answers.
Made these today and I’m super excited to try them for dinner! Any chance you have some nutritional info on these? I’m guessing (hoping) the carb count will be less than a potato-based gnocchi…? Thanks!
I made this on a whim and was a little nervous. I didn’t cook right away so I did flour and freeze for an hour before dinner. They were totally amazing and I’m a gnocchi snob! I served with fresh tomato and basil from the garden. Beautiful dish
Made these last night and they were heavenly!
These were so tasty and so easy!
I had extra ricotta in my fridge from a previous recipe I never ended up making, and I’m so glad I found this recipe.
I had to use a bit of extra flour – my mixture was very wet, but the flavor was amazing. Definitely saving this to use again!
I tossed them in some pesto and served them with some pan fried zucchini… delish!
I made this recipe x5 for my Italian Christmas dinner for 10. It was delicious I did add more flour , I used regular flour. Next time I will try the 00 flour.
Tried this recipe and it was amazing! Even though we substituted feta for parmesan (it was the only thing at home) it *still* worked. We had it with a roasted red pepper arrabiata – like cheesy delicious bites.
Ricotta gnocchi are the best! I have made gnocchi with ricotta for years. This time though they seemed a bit gummy. Any ideas what I did wrong?
I made this and it was messy (I don’t think I drained the ricotta enough…) so it did not look pretty but still tasted great!! will do a better job next time
Made IP ricotta for the first time today. When I was searching what ricotta is used for I found this gnocchi recipe and brown butter recipe today. My 16mth old twins and hubby loved it. It turned out great and was easy. I’ve never made gnocchi or pasta so I was really pleased!
Super easy and delicious! I made these to go into a recipe with chicken sausage and broccoli, and I couldn’t stop eating them!
Ai just did it for dinner…Amazing easy..5.starts!
I just did it for dinner…Amazing easy..5.starts!
Needed a use for a soon-to-be out of date ricotta, and stumbled upon this recipe, and let me just say, this is such a quick and easy recipe! I reduced it three-fold, and it made a perfect serving for one. It took me about the same amount of time that it would to cook boxed dried pasta, and was worlds better. Thank you so much for this now permanent addition to my 15 minute meal repertoire!
Thank you so much for this recipe- can ricotta be substituted for with paneer or danish feta or cottage cheese or any other similar cheese?
Can I double this recipe?
Yes. I just doubled it.
These were amazing. I’ve made them a few times and the recipe needs no tweaking. Great fried in butter, with marinara or Alfredo.
I’ve been a fan of the gnocchi since I was a child. I’ve tried many different types of gnocchi so I can say with confidence that this recipe is absolutely amazing compared to other recipes out there.
Hi Ali,
Made your recipe three times now & absolutely LOVE these ricotta gnocchi. So much lighter than potato!
Thank you for posting.
Diane
These are absolutely delicious. I skipped the boiling and put the gnocchi straight in a pan with half a stick of butter, chopped sage and chives until golden brown on both sides.
My husband and I loved this recipe. So easy!