Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

Name: Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 3 serving
Ingredients: 250g / 8oz ricotta; 3/4 cup (75g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 1 large egg; 1 egg yolk; 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt; Pinch black pepper; 3/4 to 1 cup flour; 4 tbsp / 60 g unsalted butter; 1/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt; black pepper; 2 tbsp olive oil; 3 garlic cloves; 1/2 onion; 28 oz / 800 g canned crushed tomatoes; 1 tbsp mixed dried Italian herbs; 1 tsp salt; black pepper; freshly grated parmesan; fresh parsley

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5.0

192 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
30 mins
Servings
3
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Italian

Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

Paige Becker

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Using ricotta, you can make homemade gnocchi from scratch in less than 30 minutes. It's real Italian food - fast! The gnocchi is light and fluffy, just like potato gnocchi. I've provided two sauces because I can't decide which is better so choose which one you prefer! The browned butter lets the flavour of the gnocchi shine through. But you can't be too generous with butter and I like my pasta saucy, so I've provided a classic tomato sauce too.

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Ingredients

Servings

Gnocchi

250g / 8oz ricotta , must be full fat (Note 1)
3/4 cup (75g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (Note 2)
1 large egg (55 - 60g/2oz)
1 egg yolk (egg white use ideas here)
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
Pinch black pepper
3/4 to 1 cup flour (plain/all-purpose), plus more for dusting (Note 3)

Browned Butter Sauce

4 tbsp / 60 g unsalted butter
1/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt (omit if using salted butter)
black pepper

Tomato Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves , minced
1/2 onion , finely diced
28 oz / 800 g canned crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp mixed dried Italian herbs (or any combination of dried parsley, basil, oregano and thyme)
1 tsp salt
black pepper

Garnish

freshly grated parmesan
fresh parsley , finely chopped (optional)

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Instructions

Homemade ricotta gnocchi

Mix - Put all the gnocchi ingredients in a bowl except the flour. Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix until combined (smear up the wall if needed, to help cream the ricotta).
Add flour - Add 3/4 cup of flour and mix until just combined so it is a very sticky dough that will hold its shape in a mound, but is not runny and stir-able like a batter (see video for consistency). Stickier dough = softer gnocchi! Use the remaining flour, 1 tbsp at a time, if needed, but try to stick with 3/4 cup. (Note 3)
Logs - Sprinkle a work surface with flour then scrape the dough out onto it. Sprinkle the surface lightly with flour then use your hands to bring the dough into a disc about 2.5cm/1" thick. Cut it into 8 wedges.
Roll and cut - Roll each piece into a log 25cm/10" long, about 1.25cm / 1/2" wide. Cut into 1 1/2 cm / 3/5" pieces (I cut 4 logs at a time).(Can freeze at this point - Note 4)

Cook gnocchi

Boil - Bring a large pot of water to boil. Tumble the gnocchi in and cook for around 2 1/2 minutes, or until the gnocchi is floating on the surface for around 30 seconds.
Drain - Reserve 1 mug of cooking water. Then drain and add the gnocchi into the frypan with your sauce of choice (you only need one of them, not both). Follow the instructions below.

Browned Butter Sauce

Melt the butter in a large fry pan over medium high heat. Let it bubble until it turns brown. Add the salt and pepper. If the gnocchi isn't ready yet, remove from the stove until ready.
Add gnocchi - Pour the cooked gnocchi into the fry pan along with 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water. Gently stir, coating the gnocchi in the melted butter, cooking for 1 minute. This is the step when the butter and starch in the water emulsify so the sauce coats each piece of gnocchi.
Do a taste test and add more salt if required. Serve immediately.

Tomato Sauce

Sauté - Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and onion. Sauce for 3 to 5 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 10 minutes. Do a taste test and adjust saltiness to taste.
Add the gnocchi and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water. Cook for 1 minute, stirring gently. The olive oil and starch in the water will emulsify to thicken the sauce so it clings to the gnocchi better.

To Serve

Serve immediately as the gnocchi will start to harden after about 15 minutes as it cools. You can reheat in the microwave to soften.
Garnish with freshly grated parmesan and parsley, if desired.

Notes

Ricotta - Don’t buy the soft, creamy spreadable type of ricotta – it’s too wet and loose, which will make the dough too sticky. Use regular ricotta that is kind of lumpy when you scoop it up.
Paesanella, which is widely available in NSW, is my favourite mainstream brand. In Victoria, look for That’s Amore.
If your ricotta is soft and creamy (ie spreadable like peanut butter), you'll need around 450g/15 oz and will need to extract excess liquid by placing it in a paper towel lined colander for an hour, or even overnight. Then measure out 250g/8 oz and proceed with the recipe.
Parmesan - You really need to use freshly grated parmesan cheese for this because it is lighter and finer than store bought pre grated parmesan so it dissolves into the gnocchi better.
KEY TIP: The less flour you use, the lighter, softer and fluffier your gnocchi will be. But ricotta wetness can vary, so the exact flour amount may vary. See video for dough stickiness (much stickier than you expect!), it will be too sticky to knead like regular dough.
Freezing - Freeze in single layers (you can use baking paper to separate layers). Then tumble into an airtight container and freeze until required. Cook from frozen, it will take an extra minute.
Recipe adapted from various sources, including Gourmet Traveller, Serious Eats, and SBS (Margaret Fulton recipe).