How to Make Potato Pasta (Gnocchi)

5 from 6 votes

Learn how to make Gnocchi (potato pasta) at home to be enjoyed with your favorite sauce!

Prep Time30

Cook Time35

Resting Time25

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Dish, Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: Servings

Calories: 389kcal

Wash potatoes and bake in a 400°F oven for 45-60 minutes, or until tender. If you have an Instant pot, you can cook the potatoes in ½ the time using this recipe. Cool potatoes for 15 minutes.
Peel cooled potatoes and slice into 4 sections. Use a potato ricer to rice the potatoes into a large bowl. Cool for an additional 10 minutes, if needed.
Whisk eggs, add to potatoes, then gently stir with a fork. Mix flour, salt, and garlic powder then sprinkle over riced potatoes in a few batches. Gently mix until all the ingredients come together. Knead over a floured surface until a light, fluffy dough forms. Do not overwork the dough.

Divide the dough into quarters. Slice each portion in two, then roll into a long "snake" starting at the center and working towards the ends until approximately ½" in diameter. Slice into ½" pieces, then using your thumb, roll over a floured gnocchi board or the tines of a floured fork to make ridges.
Transfer gnocchi (in a single layer) to a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, and dusted with flour. Continue until all the potato dough is processed.

Bring a pot of water with 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil. Add gnocchi in batches, being careful not to overcrowd them. Stir to keep them from clumping together. After they float, cook them for an additional minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to your sauce of choice.

Fry bacon in a cast iron skillet, then remove. Drain gnocchi onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess liquid, which will keep the grease from splattering. Add gnocchi to bacon fat and fry until crisp on the outside and tender in the middle. Mix with chopped bacon and top with grated parmigiano reggiano.

You can also microwave or steam the potatoes. Although you can technically boil them, the potatoes will absorb too much water, which isn't ideal.
If you do decide to boil the potatoes, you may need to add additional flour to your dough.
If you don't have a ricer, you can also push the potato flesh through a fine mesh sieve. You basically want the mashed potatoes lump-free.
If the dough is too sticky, dust with more flour.
Another way to serve gnocchi is fried in butter or ghee with fresh sage.
Although you don't have to have ridges on gnocchi, the ridges are said to hold the sauce better.
While working with one portion, keep the other portions covered to keep the dough from drying out.
If you need to, use a second tray to keep the gnocchi from sticking to each other.
If you don't plan on cooking all of the gnocchi, at least shape and freeze them for later use. Keeping the dough in the fridge, even overnight, will make it sticky and hard to work with.
Store cooked potato pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Gnocchi can be frozen on the parchment-lined tray, then stored in freezer bags until you're ready to cook them.