An authentic ricotta gnocchi recipe that comes from the very popular Italian cooking site called Giallo Zafferano. Ingredients include ricotta, flour, and egg (parmesan optional but highly recommended).
Making gnocchi is pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Most of my life, I've eaten potato gnocchi but I've come to realize 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 basically 3 parts drained ricotta cheese: 2 parts all purpose flour: 1 part parmesan and 1 egg for each cup of ricotta cheese.
I served these with a simple tomato sauce, but they are also great as a casserole tossed with mozzarella and tomato sauce and then baked until melty. I also love ricotta gnocchi with a gorgonzola sauce (which is the way I had them in Italy....sooooooo good).
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 a bit sticky, and test a few by boiling them before you form the rest of the gnocchi (so you can add more flour if necessary).
These are fairly rich, so they may be best served as a side dish or as a small portion with a large salad.
Overview of Making Ricotta Gnocchi
- Add ingredients (egg, flour, ricotta, parmesan [optional], and pepper) to a large bowl and mix well. (see above)
- Mix the ingredients together; the mixture might look a bit sandy.
- Press together and knead until a dough forms (about 2 minutes kneading time).
- Cut the dough into 6 to 8 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a fat log.
- Roll each log into thinner ropes (about the diameter of your finger)
- Cut the ropes into gnocchi and then place on floured cookie sheet.
Quick Tips for Making Ricotta Gnocchi
- 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 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 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.
Happy pasta making!
📖 Recipe
ricotta gnocchi
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
- ¼ 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 ½-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
Recipe originally published in May 2014; updated in April 2020 with updated photos and additional tips for success.
Recipe from: Giallo Zafferano
Alicia Richards says
Did you mean cut each rope into 1/2 Inch pieces?
Marie says
Yes, sorry - all fixed!
Pat says
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!