I started making homemade Potato Gnocchi sometime last year. Want to know why? I literally saw an article saying it was easy, quick, and only takes two ingredients to make it. I was like well, okay, I’m sold. Gnocchi must be easy peasy lemon squeezy, yeah?
AU CONTRAIRE! Gnocchi is not as simple everyone online makes it out to be.
If you research how to make homemade Potato Gnocchi, you will get a million different recipes. Every recipe will call for Potatoes and Flour, which are the only 2 ingredients you need to make Potato Gnocchi. But the controversy comes with the amount of each ingredient you need and the recipe instructions. I have tried many of these recipes, determined to get perfect little fluffy dough pillows. But each time I would end up with passable gnocchi, but not MELT IN YO MOUTH ascending to the heavens type of shit. So I made it my goal to get to that nirvana level with my gnocchi. 👼
These tips on how to make Perfect Homemade Potato Gnocchi are based off of my own kitchen experiments. I am not a professional Italian gnocchi chef extraordinaire. Just a normal person who is 6.4% Italian (based on 23andMe results) with below-average kitchen tools who really likes making vegan food and eating potatoes.
How to make 2 Ingredient Potato Gnocchi
All you need is All-Purpose Flour and Potatoes for gnocchi, and it only takes 5 steps to make it.
- Cook the potatoes
- Mash the potatoes
- Knead together the mashed potatoes and flour
- Form the dough pieces
- Boil your gnocchi
Now that you understand the basics, let’s get into the good stuff.
Use dry potatoes for fluffy gnocchi 🥔
If you want perfect fluffy gnocchi, you need to make sure your potatoes are as dry as possible.
More moisture = more flour needed = chewier / heavy / thicc dumplings.
Try to use potatoes that are a few days old, as these will be a bit drier than fresh potatoes. And do not wash your potatoes!!! We will remove the skins once they are cooked, so there is no need for that extra water seeping into your spuds.
Should you bake or boil your potatoes when making gnocchi?
ALWAYS BAKE. NEVER BOIL. I don’t care how much faster boiling is. Moisture is the enemy, remember?
Work with hot potatoes
When the potatoes come out of the oven, immediately cut them open to release the steam. If you don’t do this, the steam will stay inside the potato. Let’s dry those babies out as much as we can.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and get to mashing. Once the clumps are all smoothed out, slowly incorporate the flour.
The perfect Flour:Potato ratio
Your flour-to-potato ratio is important, but it is so easy to mess up! There is no set in stone amount needed of each ingredient because it totally depends on how much moisture is in your potatoes. This will vary slightly every time you make gnocchi, so you really just need to feel it out. I typically use about 4-5 smallish potatoes (16oz—17oz) to 1/4 cup flour. Some days I need more flour, but I never need less. So I suggest starting with 1/4 cup and go from there!
You know you have enough flour when your dough is just staying together, but it is still light and airy feeling.
If you add too much flour, this will make your Gnocchi firmer and gummier. This is okay. But it is not the “ascending to the heavens” type of gnocchi that we all want, you know?
Knead your dough. But not too much!
Do not overwork your dough! The more you knead, the more you activate the gluten in the flour. We are aiming for soft and fluffy PILLOWS. Not firm, chewy dough. So knead just enough for the dough to come together, using the palm of your hand to gently press the dough into your surface.
Keep your dumplings floured
Make sure your dumplings are floured before you toss them in the boiling water so they don’t stick together!
Cook a small test batch of gnocchi
I always do this. Just incase.
Break off a small section of dough, roll it into a long tube, and cut a couple of ~1 inch thick dumplings. These will be your guinea pigs. Toss them into a pot of boiling water. Once they rise to the top, cook another 10-15 seconds before fishing them out. Let them cool for a minute or two, then try one and examine the texture.
If your dumplings are really soft and gooey, you haven’t added enough flour. Go back to the dough and knead in as much flour as you think you need to resolve the issue. Feel free to sacrifice a few more pieces for experimentation. If you have very firm and chewy dumplings, you added too much flour. This is fine, but just make note for next time! But if your dumplings come out slightly firm with some give to them, you have achieved the perfect texture.
Get a little C R I S P Y 🔥
Once the dumplings come out of the water, I usually like to throw them into a pan with some vegan butter, garlic, and black pepper. The dumplings become slightly golden and have such an amazing texture — so crispy on the outside but nice and soft on the inside. ❤️
A Few Notes
- I always make gnocchi with All-Purpose Flour and Yellow Potatoes. I don’t know how other flours or potatoes will perform. I imagine Russet Potatoes would be just as good, if not better!
- Gnocchi is best eaten fresh. If you cannot eat it fresh, I recommend storing the gnocchi dough in the freezer until you want to use it. Gnocchi dough in the fridge might get a little gooey / weird.
- I usually eat this gnocchi cooked in vegan butter, garlic, and black pepper. But feel free to add whatever sauce you like!
If you make this recipe, leave it a rating and a comment! You can also tag me @Daughter_of_Seitan on Instagram so I can see your lovely food creations. XOXO
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Potato Gnocchi
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 70 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Mains
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This is how you make perfect homemade Potato Gnocchi. Made with only potatoes and flour, these dumplings are soft, fluffy, and melt in your mouth!
Ingredients
- 16oz Potatoes (5 small Potatoes)
- 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 210 degrees Celsius (410 degrees Fahrenheit). Poke little holes in your Potatoes so they do not explode in the oven. Place them on a baking tray and pop into the oven for 55-60 mins.
- Once the Potatoes are soft, remove them from the oven. Cut them in half to release the steam.
- After the Potatoes are cool enough to handle, mash them with a fork until smooth.
- Slowly add your ¼ cup of Flour to the mashed Potatoes, stirring until incorporated. Then flour your surface and begin gently kneading a few times with the palm of your hand. The dough should feel light and airy, but still hold together. If it will not stay together, add more flour.
- Separate your dough into three chunks. Roll each chunk into a long rope about ½ inch thick. Cut 1 inch dumplings from the rope. Make sure they are floured!
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Throw in just a few dumplings for a test round. Once they float to the top of the water, boil an additional 10-15 seconds before fishing them out. Wait a moment for them to cool, then try one to examine the texture. If it is too gooey and falling apart, add more Flour to your dough before continuing.
- Boil the additional dumplings.
- Once I’m done boiling these, I like to sauté them in some Vegan Butter, Garlic, and Black Pepper until slightly golden. Feel free to add whatever sauce you like!
Keywords: Gnocchi, Potatoes, Vegan, Homemade Gnocchi, Dumplings
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3 comments
Chickpea flour and tapioca flour are the perfect combo. I ve used these flours already before in my homemade gluten-free tortillas. So many people rave about the recipe btw. And this amazing flour combination makes the homemade gnocchi firm. At the same time, the gnocchi are soft and flexible. They only tun out sticky when you cook them for too long. Two to three minutes is enough and the gnocchi are done. You will see it once they float on the top of the water.
I haven’t tried chickpea flour or tapioca flour! Good suggestion 🙂
This looks absolutely amazing! Cannot wait to make this next week! Definitely want to try it out at our next Bimbo dinner party.