Fluffy and pillowy homemade gnocchi is a cinch to make! Serve it with your favorite sauce for the most delicious and comforting supper.

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A warm bowl of the softest most pillowy homemade gnocchi, bathed in your favorite sauce. Whether it’s a hearty marinara, bright fresh pesto, or an umami bomb of mushrooms and sage, this dish will have you and your guests going for seconds.

But before we break down how to make this delicious Italian favorite, let’s dissect what gnocchi is, and how this recipe differs from the traditional recipe.

What Is Gnocchi?

Gnocchi are small pillowy Italian dumplings. The traditional preparation features potatoes, flour, eggs, and cheese. Potatoes are cooked and pressed through a ricer, yielding a fluffy and smooth mixture which serves as the base of the pasta. Once all the ingredients are combined, the mixture is kneaded, rolled, and sliced into uniformly sized dumplings. You can choose to use a gnocchi board to shape the dumplings, giving them their uniform edges, or you can opt to slice them and leave them as is.

How Does Ricotta Gnocchi Differ From Potato Gnocchi?

The difference between ricotta gnocchi and traditional potato gnocchi is all in the name! The ricotta replaces the potato, and the remaining ingredients pretty much are the same: flour, egg, parmesan, and salt. Ricotta gnocchi is far simpler to make, since potato gnocchi requires the cooking and ricing of the potato. This adds several extra steps, whereas when making ricotta gnocchi, you need only spread the ricotta over some paper towels, which helps reduce the moisture. This helps keep the dough the right texture.

Ingredients for Ricotta Gnocchi

• Ricotta cheese: Full fat, always! You’ll get much more flavor, and if you’re making homemade pasta…it’s really not the time to be cutting calories 😉
• Flour: You can opt for “00” flour, which is commonly used in pizza and pasta dough, but plain old all-purpose flour works great, too!
• Eggs: They act as a binder and offer hydration, texture, and flavor.
• Salt: Don’t skimp here! Salt helps accentuate the flavor of foods. If you’re looking to reduce sodium, I would suggest adjusting how you serve it (fresh tomatoes, basil, and olive oil would be divine!).

How To Make Ricotta Gnocchi

1. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Using a spatula, spread the ricotta cheese over the paper towels. This helps remove moisture, making the dough the right texture for rolling, without having to add too much flour. Allow to sit for no less than 10 minutes while you collect the other ingredients you’ll work with.
2. Once the paper towels are soaked through, use the spatula to scrape the ricotta off into a bowl. Add eggs and mix lightly to combine.
3. Add flour, parmesan cheese, and salt. Mix lightly until just combined. If dough is super sticky, add 2 tablespoons of flour and mix lightly. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.
4. When ready to make your gnocchi, note that the best time to make it is RIGHT before you plan to eat. See the recipe notes for a method to keep your gnocchi warm if you plan to make a lot at once.
5. Bring a larger pot of water to a light boil. Take about 1/6 of the dough and roll it out using your hands into a rope about 3/4 inch wide on a floured surface. The dough may be very sticky: just flour your hands and keep some flour nearby to ensure you can roll it out.
6. Slice the rope in half, then each half in half, and so on. You was the gnocchi to be about 1/2 in wide (but you can choose if you want them larger!), and cutting each rope in half helps keep the pieces uniformly sized. Place gnocchi on a floured baking sheet and complete this step for all of the dough.
7. Once the water is at a light boil, add about 1 tablespoon of salt. Add gnocchi to the pot, and cook until they float! That’s how you’ll know that they’re done. This typically takes a couple minutes. Just make sure they aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pot!
8. Use a slotted spoon to remove the gnocchi from the water, and serve with your favorite sauce!

How To Serve Ricotta Gnocchi

This ricotta gnocchi is a blank canvas for your favorite pasta preparation! Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy this delicious pasta:

• With jarred marinara (Rao’s is my favorite!). Delicious as a side to chicken parmesan. Make sure to add extra parm to garnish.
• Tossed with homemade pesto! I make a big batch using the basil from my garden in the summer and freeze it.
• Make this outrageously fall recipe, packed with mushrooms, brown butter, and sage.

Other Pasta Recipes To Try

• Brown Butter Mushroom Pasta
• How To Make The Ultimate Macaroni and Cheese
• Linguine with Champagne Cream Sauce and Perfectly Seared Scallops
• Honeynut Squash, Kale, & Sausage Pasta

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Print Recipe

3.75 from 4 votes

Ricotta Gnocchi

Learn how to make fluffy and pillowy homemade ricotta gnocchi! Serve with your favorite sauce for the ultimate Italian comfort food.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time3 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Dinner, Gnocchi, Ricotta Cheese

Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

• 1 Stock pot
• 1 Mixing Bowl
• 1 Gnocchi Board (optional)

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup all purpose flour Extra for rolling and if dough is too wet
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

• Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Using a spatula, spread the ricotta cheese over the paper towels. This helps remove moisture, making the dough the right texture for rolling, without having to add too much flour. Allow to sit for no less than 10 minutes while you collect the other ingredients you’ll work with.
• Once the paper towels are soaked through, use the spatula to scrape the ricotta off into a bowl. Add eggs and mix lightly to combine.
• Add flour, parmesan cheese, and salt. Mix lightly until just combined. If dough is super sticky, add 2 tablespoons of flour and mix lightly. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.
• When ready to make your gnocchi, note that the best time to make it is RIGHT before you plan to eat. See the recipe notes for a method to keep your gnocchi warm if you plan to make a lot at once.
• Bring a larger pot of water to a light boil. Take about 1/6 of the dough and roll it out using your hands into a rope about 3/4 inch wide on a floured surface. The dough may be very sticky: just flour your hands and keep some flour nearby to ensure you can roll it out.
• Slice the rope in half, then each half in half, and so on. You was the gnocchi to be about 1/2 in wide (but you can choose if you want them larger!), and cutting each rope in half helps keep the pieces uniformly sized. Place gnocchi on a floured baking sheet and complete this step for all of the dough.
• Once the water is at a light boil, add about 1 tablespoon of salt. Add gnocchi to the pot, and cook until they float! That’s how you’ll know that they’re done. This typically takes a couple minutes. Just make sure they aren’t sticking to the bottom of the pot!
• Use a slotted spoon to remove the gnocchi from the water, and serve with your favorite sauce!