Ricotta Gnocchi
This recipe for ricotta gnocchi will make you feel like a true Italian cook! They are super easy, and so delicious! Soft and fluffy pillows of perfection!
Ricotta gnocchi is one of my favorite Italian dishes! Whenever I go out for dinner, the first thing I look for on the menu is “gnocchi”.
But, you know what? Gnocchi is so stinking easy to make, that I don’t even care to go out and order it at a restaurant, or buy them frozen at the grocery store.
These ricotta gnocchi literally taste like I ordered them from an Italian restaurant. I couldn’t believe it!
Me being the gnocchi lover that I am, you’d think that I would have made ricotta gnocchi at least once in my lifetime. Nope! Ive only made potato gnocchi, which were also amazing! But this was my first time making ricotta gnocchi. There’s a big difference between the two!
Potato gnocchi are made using potatoes, obviously. Along with flour, egg, spices, etc.
Potato gnocchi are delicious, but they are way more work to make.
Ricotta gnocchi are made using, yup…you guessed it…ricotta! and also flour, egg yolk, salt, pepper and grated Italian cheese.
I seriously can’t get over how easy these were to make. And I am so excited to share this recipe with you, in hopes that you will try making them yourself to see how easy and delicious they are!
When you mix all of the ingredients together, your dough may be a little sticky or too moist. If this happens, just add a few more tablespoons of flour to your dough until the stickiness goes away.
I actually didn’t have to add any extra flour to my dough (except for extra flour to roll it out with). It came out perfect!
To get your gnocchi all around the same size, it’s helpful to cut your dough into fours.
You may have to carefully coat your knife in flour to prevent the dough from sticking, and making sure you get nice clean cuts.
After I cut my rolls into gnocchi pieces, I placed the pieces in the bowl I used to mix the dough in, sprinkled some flour on them and tossed them around in the bowl to coat them a little bit so they didn’t end up sticking together.
Look at how perfect they are!
This is an optional step, but I placed my gnocchi on a lined baking sheet and placed them in the fridge while I waited for my water to boil. You can do that, or keep them in the bowl. Totally up to you!
These guys take only a few minutes to cook, which is awesome! When they start to all float to the top, they are done. None of them stuck together, which was great! The frozen gnocchi that I would get from the grocery store always stuck together.
I almost sautéed mine in some olive oil to crisp them up a bit, but I wanted to try them as is for my first time. Next time I make them, I’ll pan fry them a bit and see how they taste! I bet they would taste amazing!
The way you serve these guys is totally optional! You can used whatever type of sauce you want. For mine, I just used a good old marinara, and sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese on top.
I hope you enjoy this recipe if you do decide to make it!
Make sure to check out my recipe for one pan roasted gnocchi and vegetables! https://thehungrylyoness.com/2019/02/28/one-pan-roasted-gnocchi-vegetables/
Ricotta Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole milk ricotta – (one 15 oz. container)
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- On a baking sheet, lay out paper towels and place ricotta cheese on top of paper towels, spreading it out into an even layer.
- Place more paper towels on top of the ricotta cheese and press down firmly on towels to get excess moisture out.
- Transfer ricotta cheese to a large bowl. Add egg yolks to ricotta and mix just until combined.
- Add in flour, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Avoid over mixing.
- Your dough may be a bit moist. If so, add a few more tablespoons of flour until it's not sticky.
- Using your hands, take dough out of bowl and form into a big dough ball on flat surface. You may have to lightly flour surface.
- Press dough ball out a little so its not so round, and slice dough ball into fours.
- Roll each section out into a 3/4-inch wide log. With a sharp knife, cut off bit sized pieces.
- Place gnocchi into large bowl and dust with flour to coat lightly so they don't stick.
- Bring a large pot with salted water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook until they all float to the top.
- Enjoy with your sauce of choice!
