Homemade Potato Gnocchi
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It’s easy and fun to make light, tender homemade potato gnocchi using Russet potatoes. Follow my step-by-step directions to learn the secret to the best light and fluffy gnocchi from scratch. It’s not as hard as you think!
This is my go-to homemade Italian gnocchi recipe, one of the best Italian pasta recipes my grandma would make. It’s an easy potato gnocchi recipe that never fails, and they are so fun and easy to make. Cook and serve these with my rich marinara sauce with canned tomatoes, or your favorite sauce.
The gnocchi turn out light and fluffy, as any respectable potato dumpling should be, perfect for any kind of sauce pairing.
How to make potato gnocchi from scratch
The process of making gnocchi is really fun, especially if you have willing kitchen helpers. My kids loved getting their hands on the dough when they were wee ones — and they’re still pretty good at it! We even make gnocchi with ricotta cheese for an extra-light pasta.
1. Bake the potatoes until tender, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Peel, and crush the baked potatoes with a ricer or mash by hand. 
2. Make the dough: Mix the mashed potatoes with egg yolks, flour and salt.
3. Divide the dough into portions, then roll each one about 12″ long. 
4. Slice into bite-size pieces.
5. Use a gnocchi board or fork to make lines in the gnocchi, if you like. 
6. Spread the gnocchi on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
The secret to making light and fluffy gnocchi
The best gnocchi are made with baked potatoes rather than boiled. You get lighter gnocchi because the spuds don’t absorb as much water. That means you won’t need as much flour in the dough, which can make the dumplings heavy. Cool, right?
The best types of potatoes for making gnocchi
I’ve tried different types of potatoes while testing this recipe over the years.
- I recommend using a baking-type potato variety such as Russet or Idaho to make gnocchi dough, because they are drier and have more starch than waxy and/or yellow potatoes.
- The starchy potato merges gracefully with the flour and egg, making a pliable, easy-to-handle dough.
If you don’t have a wooden gnocchi board, to roll the gnocchi on, you can just use a fork to make the distinctive grooves in each dumpling. However, you will miss out on the pleasure of feeling just like an Italian mama!
Tips for storage and serving
- To make Russet potato gnocchi ahead: Arrange the gnocchi on a rimmed baking sheet, lightly dusted with flour. Place the sheet in the freezer until the gnocchi are frozen solid, then transfer them to a freezer bag or other sealed container. Gnocchi can be frozen up to 2 months.
- To cook: Frozen gnocchi can go straight from the freezer to a pot of boiling water.
- This recipe makes enough pesto for about four servings of gnocchi, or about a pound of pasta. But the pesto is so good you might want to make a double batch and freeze it for a rainy day. Transfer the pesto to small freezer-safe containers. Dribble a small amount of olive oil over the surface and cover the container securely.
- Freeze the pesto sauce up to 3 months.
Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (950 g) Russet baking potatoes, about 3 or 4 potatoes
- 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Equipment
Instructions
To make the gnocchi:
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Poke the potatoes a few times with a fork and place directly on the oven rack. Bake about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until tender when pierced.
- When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skins (or scoop the flesh out with a spoon). Push them through the large holes of a food mill or ricer into a large bowl, or mash them by hand with a potato masher or fork.
- Add the salt, egg yolks and 2 cups flour and mix together to form a shaggy dough. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and knead, adding a little more flour if needed, until the dough is soft and smooth.
- Divide the dough into portions the size of the palm of your hand. On a floured surface, roll each into a rope about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 1-inch lengths. Roll each wad of dough firmly over a gnocchi board or the concave side of a fork. Arrange the gnocchi on a floured baking sheet as you go.
- Bring a large stockpot of salted water to a boil. Drop the gnocchi, in batches, into the water and boil until they bob to the surface, about 3 minutes. Scoop out the cooked gnocchi into a colander set over a bowl to drain. Scoop out ¼ cup of the cooking water and reserve.
- To serve, stir a about a tablespoon of reserved cooking water into the pesto sauce until it’s smooth. Toss the gnocchi gently with the sauce in a serving bowl, and top with grated Parmesan.
Notes
- To be sure you always have a late-night gnocchi stash on hand, make a batch of gnocchi and freeze them, uncooked. Arrange them one layer on a tray and place in the freezer.
- When they’re frozen solid, transfer the gnocchi to zippered bags. Keep frozen up to 2 months before cooking.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
You have parmesan cheese listed in the ingredients. When is this used? Is it in the dough, or after the gnocchi is cooked? Thank you.
Yes, in step 5 you can add the cheese after the gnocchi are cooked. Or use your favorite sauce (pesto, marinara, etc).
I had a large quantity of baked potatoes leftover from a party. Doubling this recipe, I peeled the cold cooked potatoes and set about making gnocchi for the first time. I boiled these then pan fried in a lightly browned butter, topping with Parmesan. I now have 3 more dinners worth in the freezer, ready for more delicious gnocchi (the next lots won’t be so much prep!).
Making gnocchi is a therapeutic pleasure. Consuming gnocchi is rarefied joy.
So glad to hear that!
Excellent recipe! I made half and it came out to 4 servings I’d say instead of 2
The recipe calls for 4 cups flour. However it says add 2 cups to the mixture. The other 2 cups are used til the desired consistency?
Annette – The recipe calls for 2 cups flour total, but you can use a little bit more as needed if the dough seems too soft and sticky.
These are excellent!! My new homemade gnocchi recipe💕
Do you know if it’s possible to bake homemade gnocchi?
Yes! Pre-boil for about 3 minutes (until they float to the surface), drain and bake as you like.
This recipe sounds so delicious and easy. I can’t wait to make them. YUM!
I hope you’ll love them as much as I do!
This looks so good! Let’s make some!
XO
I love gnocchi and your pesto looks incredible!
If there is something that I don’t get enough of those are gnocchi. Thank you so much Karen for sharing your variation!
Oh, well those look just scrumptious. I keep promising myself to try my hand at gnocchi again (there was a failed attempt a million years ago); maybe your recipe will get me to, er, pull the trigger.
I am so sad that we are now home and not making gnocchi together this weekend. Should I order the paddle from Amazon?
You are always an inspirations, Karen. These gnocchi look great!
I’ve tried making some out of butternut squash, but the “dough” is always too wet, so I end up adding a lot of flour.
Hope you had a good holiday. That’s wonderful that you get to spend so much time with family.
The gnocchi looks perfect and the family fun is to be admired. Congrats on maintaining your food and family traditions
Those gnocci look so yummy. I’ve never made them from scratch, but I bet they are wonderful. Sounds like you and your family had a wonderful time together over the holidays. What better way to spend time together than in the kitchen! Hope we get to meet at a great cook-off in 2008!
The first time I ever had gnocchi I was a teenager at an Italian restaurant in Wasaga Beach. This past fall the entire old town burnt down…not that it was really a town but with arcades and amusements. A piece of history gone I suppose, but, I will always remember the gnocchi!!
I love everything about making gnocchi from mixing the dough, to forming the pasta, to eating and eating and eating more of them. Did I mention I love eating them? 😉 Yours look perfect, Karen.