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Fluffy Ricotta Gnocchi

Ricotta gnocchi is a dish that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Imagine tender, pillow-like dumplings, lighter than air yet rich in flavor, thanks to the creamy magic of ricotta cheese. This recipe for ricotta gnocchi is a variation on the classic potato gnocchi. This authentic ricotta gnocchi recipe is from the popular Italian cooking site, Giallo Zafferano. Ingredients include ricotta, flour, and egg (parmesan is optional but highly recommended).

Gold baking sheet with gnocchi before boiling.

Making gnocchi is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Most of my life, I’ve eaten potato gnocchi but I’ve realized that I like the ricotta gnocchi almost as much, if not more.

Now, I have been on a quest to make ricotta gnocchi for a loooong time. My friend Roe and I went to Florence several years ago and we had the BEST gnocchi of our lives. As Roe said, those gnocchi changed. our. world.

Getting the ratio of ingredients correct is the key to making these. By weight, it’s three parts drained ricotta cheese, two parts all-purpose flour, one part parmesan, and one egg for each cup of ricotta cheese.

Ingredients

The ingredients are simple and are shown below. White pepper is preferred to black pepper because it blends into the dough more (colorwise), but I do use black pepper also because I always have it on hand.

Ingredients for ricotta gnocchi.

How to Make

Ricotta gnocchi ingredients in brown bowl.
Mixing the dough in a brown bowl.
Soft dough in brown bowl.
Rough dough on floured surface.

Mix ingredients into rough dough and turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.

Forming the dough with hands on floured surface.
Ricotta gnocchi dough cut into eight pieces.

The dough has smoothed out a bit and will continue to smooth during the rolling of the ropes. Cut into six to eight pieces.

Rolling long ropes from ricotta gnocchi dough.

Roll the dough into long ropes about 1/2 inch thick, then cut into gnocchi with a bench knife or a small knife.

Remove and place onto a floured baking sheet and keep in a single layer. Shake the baking sheet gently now and then to prevent sticking and keep them floured.

Full instructions are shown below in the recipe card.

What Can Go Wrong

If you’ve never made gnocchi before, don’t be intimidated. The biggest mistakes are typically making the dough too soft (they will fall apart when boiling or making the dough too hard (the gnocchi will be like little lead balls).

To prevent this from happening, keep your dough soft and test a few by boiling them before you form the rest of the gnocchi (so you can add more flour if necessary).

The ricotta gnocchi are pretty rich, so they may be best served as a side dish or as a small portion with a large salad.

Important Tips

  • Make sure the ricotta is well drained – use a cheesecloth to squeeze the water out, or place it in a fine mesh colander to drain for a few hours or overnight. 
  • Have plenty of extra flour on hand to prevent sticking and make things easier.
  • Season the cooking water with salt just as you would when cooking pasta. Water should be salty, like the ocean. 
  • Boil the gnocchi gently or they can fall apart (the water should start out with a rolling boil, then drop gnocchi into the pot of water, and adjust flame to a gentile boil). 
  • Do not add too many gnocchi at once, or the water temperature of the boiling water will drop (especially if the gnocchi have been frozen), and the gnocchi may turn mushy. Depending on the size of your pot, you may need to boil the gnocchi in 3 to 4 batches. 
  • After adding gnocchi to pot of boiling water, cover for about 20 seconds or so to help bring water back up to temperature. Then remove cover and continue boiling until the gnocchi float. 
Bowl of ricotta gnocchi with sage.

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📖 Recipe

Ricotta gnocchi on parchment lined baking sheet.

Ricotta Gnocchi

How to make fluffy ricotta gnocchi from scratch using an authentic Italian recipe and tips for getting tender, pillowy results.
5 from 1 vote
Author: Marie
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Pasta
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4
Calories 549 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 500 grams (17.64 oz) ricotta, low fat (drained) (about 2 cups)
  • 250 grams (8.82 oz) all purpose flour (about 2 cups), plus more for dusting counter and tray
  • 120 grams (4.23 oz) parmesan cheese grated (about 1 cup), optional but highly recommended
  • 2 medium eggs , slightly beaten
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper (white pepper preferable)

Instructions
 

  • Drain the ricotta by either squeezing it out in a clean cheesecloth or towel, or by placing it in a mesh colander that has been weighted down with a heavy bottle/object and set over a bowl for a few hours (I did this overnight)
  • If your ricotta is not watery, you can skip step 1. Make sure it's nice and thick.
  • Make the gnocchi by combining all ingredients (ricotta, parmesan, eggs, flour, salt and pepper) in a large bowl and mix until combined.
  • Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead only until smooth (about 2 minutes)
  • Divide dough into about 8 pieces and form each piece into a long rope by rolling (they should be about as thick as your finger).
  • Cut each rope into 1/2-inch pieces to form gnocchi using a butter knife while flicking your wrist to push off gnocchi after cutting
  • As your are cutting, place gnocchi into floured tray and gently shake the tray to coat gnocchi in flour to prevent sticking.
  • If cooking them immediately, place a large pot with salted water over high heat to boil.
  • Before cutting all the gnocchi, test the dough by cooking a few in gently boiling water.
  • After they float to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and place into a casserole dish that is lightly oiled or that contains some tomato sauce
  • Serve with tomato sauce, a drizzle of olive oil, or even browned butter.
  • If you are not cooking immediately, gnocchi should be frozen. I do this by placing the uncovered sheetpan in the freezer for a few hours until the gnocchi are frozen, then I transfer the gnocchi to a freezer bag.

Notes

  • Make sure ricotta is well drained – use a cheesecloth to squeeze the water out or you can place it in a fine mesh colander to drain. 
  • Have extra flour on hand to dust work surface and tray used to store gnocchi.
  • Season the cooking water with salt just as you would when cooking any pasta. Water should be salty like the ocean. 
  • Boil the gnocchi gently or they can fall apart (the water should start out with a rolling boil, then drop gnocchi into the pot of water, and adjust flame to a gentile boil). 
  • Do not add too many gnocchi at once or the water temperature of the boiling water will drop (especially if gnocchi have been frozen) and the gnocchi may turn mushy. Depending on size of your pot, you may need to boil the gnocchi in 3 to 4 batches. 
  • After adding gnocchi to pot of boiling water, cover for about 20 seconds or so to help bring water back up to temperature. Then remove cover and continue boiling until the gnocchi float. 
  • Refrigerate the gnocchi or freeze immediately on the tray and then transfer to a plastic freezer bag. 

Nutrition

Calories: 549kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 34gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 669mgPotassium: 281mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 833IUCalcium: 717mgIron: 4mg
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The recipe was originally published in May 2014 and updated in April 2020 and January 2023 with updated photos and additional tips for success.

Recipe from: Giallo Zafferano

3 Comments

  1. This looks delicious….I recently posted a recipe for Malfatti’s with ricotta and spinach that are similar to yours. I would love to go to Italy and try all of their foods. Lucky you!

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