Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi
This easy homemade ricotta gnocchi recipe makes soft, tender, and airy ricotta gnocchi made with a few simple ingredients in less than 30 minutes.
I was excited when I saw this quick and easy homemade ricotta gnocchi recipe on Serious Eats because I had some ricotta in the fridge that needed to be used. I made a batch of these ricotta gnocchi and immediately froze them to use later in the week with some homemade pomodoro sauce. These homemade gnocchi were a big hit and so light, fluffy, and delicious.
Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi
Ingredients:
- 12 oz best quality ricotta cheese, (about 1½ cups)
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 1/2 cup)
- 3½ to 5 oz all-purpose flour, (about 1 cup)
- 1 whole large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Semolina flour, for dusting
How to Make Easy Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi
Drain the ricotta by lining a large plate with three layers of clean white dish towels or white paper towels.
Transfer ricotta directly to towels and spread with a rubber spatula. Place another triple layer of clean white towels or white paper towels on top and press down firmly with the palms of your hands to blot excess moisture.
Peel off the upper paper towels.
Place a large bowl on a scale and zero the scale.
Make the ricotta gnocchi dough by scraping the ricotta into a bowl to weigh. Remove excess ricotta to leave exactly 8 ounces, reserving excess ricotta for another use.
Add Parmesan cheese, 3½ ounces of flour, a whole egg, and the extra egg yolk to the bowl.
Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.
Combine the mixture with a rubber spatula. It should be sticky but not loose. Add a tablespoon of flour if it is still very moist after kneading with the spatula for 1 minute.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with flour.
Make the ricotta gnocchi by flattening the dough into a 4-6-inch disk.
Cut into quarters using a bench scraper.
Cut each quarter in half, creating 8 even-sized pieces.
Working one piece at a time, roll the dough into a log about 6 inches long, dusting with flour as necessary.
Split the log in half, and roll each half into a log about 12 inches long and 3/4-inch wide.
Cut the ricotta gnocchi using a bench scraper, and cut each log into 8 to 10 same-sized pieces.
Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet dusted with semolina flour.
Gently shake the baking sheet to lightly coat the gnocchi with the semolina flour to prevent sticking.
To cook the ricotta gnocchi immediately, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Add gnocchi to the pot, stir gently, and cook until the gnocchi all float for 30 seconds, about 3 minutes total.
Drain gnocchi, reserving ½ cup of pasta cooking water.
Serve with marinara sauce or sauce of choice.
To freeze the ricotta gnocchi, transfer to a baking sheet and place in the freezer until the gnocchi are completely frozen, about 30 minutes.
Transfer gnocchi to a freezer zip-lock bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
To cook the ricotta gnocchi directly from frozen, cook as above, adding a few minutes to the cooking time.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz best quality ricotta cheese (about 1½ cups)
- 1 oz Parmesan cheese finely grated (about ½ cup)
- 3½-5 oz all-purpose flour (about 1 cup), as needed
- 1 whole large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Semolina flour for dusting
Instructions
- Drain the ricotta by lining a large plate with three layers of clean white dish towels or white paper towels.
- Transfer ricotta directly to towels and spread with a rubber spatula. Place another triple layer of clean white towels or white paper towels on top and press down firmly with the palms of your hands to blot excess moisture.
- Peel off the upper paper towels.
- Make the ricotta gnocchi dough by scraping the ricotta into a bowl to weigh. Remove excess ricotta to leave exactly 8 ounces, reserving excess ricotta for another use.
- Add Parmesan cheese, 3½ ounces of flour, a whole egg, and the extra egg yolk to the bowl.
- Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.
- Combine the mixture with a rubber spatula. It should be sticky but not loose. Add a tablespoon of flour if it is still very moist after kneading with the spatula for 1 minute.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and dust the top with flour.
- Make the ricotta gnocchi by flattening the dough into a 4-6-inch disk and cutting into quarters using a bench scraper.
- Cut each quarter in half, creating 8 even-sized pieces.
- Working one piece at a time, roll the dough into a log about 6 inches long, dusting with flour as necessary.
- Split the log in half, and roll each half into a log about 12 inches long and 3/4-inch wide.
- Cut the ricotta gnocchi using a bench scraper, and cut each log into 8 to 10 same-sized pieces.
- Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet dusted with semolina flour.
- Gently shake the baking sheet to lightly coat the gnocchi with the semolina flour to prevent sticking.
- To cook the ricotta gnocchi immediately, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Add gnocchi to the pot, stir gently, and cook until the gnocchi all float for 30 seconds, about 3 minutes total.
- Drain gnocchi, reserving ½ cup of pasta cooking water.
- Serve with marinara sauce or sauce of choice.
- To freeze the ricotta gnocchi, transfer to a baking sheet and place in the freezer until the gnocchi are completely frozen, about 30 minutes.
- Transfer gnocchi to a freezer zip-lock bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
- To cook the ricotta gnocchi directly from frozen, cook as above, adding a few minutes to the cooking time.
