Ricotta Gnocchi is gnocchi, but not as you know it. It's made with fresh ricotta so it's much easier to make than the potato kind (yes - I'm claiming you can make this on a school night) but just as delicious.
Fresh gnocchi is one of life's delicacies. Pillowy clouds of pasta that are so satisfying to bite into.
When I was travelling in Croatia I remember coming back from the beach to find my hosts sitting around a table, rolling gnocchi ready for lunch. It was the teenage daughter, mother and grandmother, and they were sitting around chatting, laughing and enjoying the process.
And while that was a romantic moment, I also want fresh gnocchi in a hurry sometimes, and when that's the case, this simplified version (known as Gnudi) is where it's at.
There's no need to boil potatoes and put them through a ricer in this recipe. Instead we're mixing flour and eggs through ricotta, then rolling them in to snakes, and boiling for a couple minutes. As easy as that you have delicious, fresh gnocchi on the table in half an hour.
Is gnocchi better with potato or ricotta?
Gnocchi is best in my opinion when it is fresh. That can be with potato, if you want to take time to make it that way, or in my case, it's more often with ricotta, because I rarely want to spend the time making potato gnocchi.
Potato gnocchi has more heft, while ricotta gnocchi (which are essentially little dumplings) has a creamier taste. I guess if you are a purist, you can go for the potato gnocchi.
What is ricotta gnocchi made of?
Ricotta Gnocchi is made by mixing flour, salt, eggs, ricotta and parmesan.
Sticking with the theme of keeping things simple, our tomato basil sauce is made with garlic, lemon, basil, olive oil, baby tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, brown sugar, oregano, salt and pepper.
Top tip
Use "light hands" when rolling the gnocchi. We want it to stay light and fluffy, so just gently roll.
Also when placing your gnocchi into the pot of boiling water don't drop it from a great height - the boiling water will splash back and may hit you.
Substitutions for Ricotta Gnocchi
- Alternative protein - This recipe is vegetarian, but you can always add some crispy prosciutto to finish it, or cook chicken in the tomato sauce.
- Gluten free - Use gluten free flour.
- Dairy free - Unfortunately, dairy free ricotta isn't quite up to the task of this gnocchi so I'd recommend buying a good quality package potato gnocchi instead.
Kid-Friendly Variations
- This recipe is super kid-friendly, there's nothing to change.
Equipment to make Ricotta Gnocchi
You will need a lidded pot, a stovetop, a deep frying pan.
Recipe
Ricotta Gnocchi
Equipment
- Lidded pot
- Stovetop
- Deep frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon
- 1 bunch basil
- 100 g parmesan block
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 400 g cherry tomatoes canned
- 400 g diced tomatoes canned
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper 1 teaspoon total for the recipe
- 500 g ricotta
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup plain flour 1 ¾ cups total for the recipe
- ½ teaspoon salt and pepper 1 teaspoon total for the recipe
- ½ cup plain flour 1 ¾ cups total for the recipe
Instructions
- Place a large pot of water on high heat, add salt, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. TIP: If you don’t feel up to making gnocchi on a weeknight, you’re totally welcome to skip this and use store-bought gnocchi instead.1 tablespoon salt
- Peel and chop garlic, zest lemon and roughly chop basil leaves (reserve a few for garnish). Finely grate parmesan cheese. Set aside.1 lemon, 1 bunch basil, 100 g parmesan, 4 cloves garlic
- Heat a deep frying pan over medium heat. Add oil, garlic and lemon zest and saute until fragrant. Reduce heat to low. Add tomatoes, stock, sugar, oregano, chopped basil leaves, salt and pepper, and simmer for 15 mins.1 lemon, 1 bunch basil, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 400 g cherry tomatoes, 400 g diced tomatoes, 2 cups chicken stock, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper, 4 cloves garlic
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together ricotta and eggs.500 g ricotta, 2 eggs
- Add flour, salt, pepper and ¾ of the grated parmesan (reserving some for the end) and fold dry ingredients into the batter until you form a dough.1 ¼ cup plain flour, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper
- Flour your benchtop, then divide dough into handfuls (about one per serve), and gently roll each into a long snake. Slice into bite-size pieces (they will puff up when boiled).½ cup plain flour
- Add gnocchi to the boiling pot of water in batches. Once the gnocchi has floated to the top, remove with a slotted spoon and add to the tomato sauce.
- Congratulate yourself for making homemade gnocchi and serve topped with remaining parmesan and basil leaves.
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