Homemade potato gnocchi that can easily become a weeknight staple for your family!
Ingredients
Gnocchi is one of those menu items at a fancy Italian restaurant that I would order and assume it was hard to make. Once I learned how to make homemade potato gnocchi I was shocked at just how easy it was. Potato gnocchi is soft, pillowy potato dumplings that can be a great addition to any meal or served on their own. The best part is that it requires very basic staple ingredients that I almost always have on hand. This combination makes this meal an easy weeknight win that will make the whole family happy! The only ingredients you need are a couple of potatoes, an egg, flour, salt and pepper.
Prepping Potatoes
Potato gnocchi is made by mixing potatoes with flour and egg to create a dough. The potatoes must be cooked first, and then either mashed or put through a potato ricer to create a potato mixture that isn’t chunky. I prefer to cook my potatoes in the instant pot for a quick and easy method, and then once they’re cooled I peel them. You could also do this by placing them in the oven or microwave. Another alternative is boiling the potatoes on the stove. The goal is to get a soft potato that is easy to mash.
Once mashed, I add salt and pepper to the potatoes and mix that in. Then I add flour, and create a well in the middle to add the egg. After that, the mixture comes together to create a rough dough. The dough is separated into workable sections, I usually divide in fourths. Then with my hands I roll the dough out into logs one section at a time. Then cut the dough into about 1 inch sections.
A step that is not necessary, but makes the homemade potato gnocchi look pretty is then rolling the dough on the backside of a fork to create ridges. The dough is very soft, so not much pressure is needed for this step or else you’ll end up squishing your gnocchi.
The last step is to boil the gnocchi in salt water. Make sure the water is boiling before adding the gnocchi. Once the homemade potato gnocchi is added, it cooks very quickly. You will know it’s ready when it rises to the top of the water. Then remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon. I usually work in batches to complete this step.
Homemade Potato Gnocchi Variations
There are endless options when it comes to ways to enjoy this delicious fresh homemade gnocchi you just made. In the spring or summer time you might enjoy it sautéed in butter with some fresh herbs, or tossed in a fresh pesto. During the fall or winter months you can add it to any soup or pair it with a creamy tomato sauce. For this occasion, I threw together a quick tomato sauce with Italian sausage and freshly grated parmesan cheese and it was delicious!
Easy Homemade Potato Gnocchi In Just a Few Quick Steps
Ingredients
- 2 medium sized potatoes about 1.5 pounds
- 1 cup all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Bake or boil potatoes until soft, peel once cooled
- Mash potatoes until lump free
- Mix in salt and pepper to potatoes
- Add flour to potatoes and make well in center of flour to add in the egg
- Mix well with hands or a fork, until a rough dough ball forms
- Lightly flour surface and place dough ball on the counter
- Use a bench scraper or knife to divide dough into equal fourths
- Using your hands, roll each section of dough into a log about an inch thick and then cut the log into about one inch pieces
- *Optional: Roll each piece on the back side of a fork to create ridges
- Place gnocchi pieces into salted boiling water and remove with a slotted spoon once they rise to the top of the water
- Serve with your favorite sauce and enjoy!
