Easy Vegan Gnocchi Recipe

I bet you didn't know that making Vegan Gnocchi at home is actually incredibly easy and only requires THREE INGREDIENTS?! Yes, you read that right- all it takes is potato, flour, and salt to make the most delicious eggless potato gnocchi from scratch!

Ingredients:

While gnocchi is an Italian dish traditionally made with eggs, it's actually incredibly easy to make vegan because of the starch from potatoes! Before we get into the details on how to make homemade gnocchi, let's make sure you have the right ingredients on hand.

Russet or Yukon Gold Potatoes

First things first, let's chat about potatoes. To make gnocchi you really want to use starchy potatoes vs. waxy potatoes. Similar to my Vegan Mashed Potatoes, I recommend using peeled russet potatoes in this recipe.

Russet Potatoes are easily mashed and get fluffy after being cooked. They also happen to be low in moisture which you want for gnocchi. Yukon potatoes can also work for this recipe, but try to avoid red or super waxy potato varieties that are high in moisture.

High-Quality Flour

After the potatoes, comes the flour! I recommend using all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour to make gnocchi. In the pictures you see here, I actually used Flourist Sifted Red Spring Wheat Flour which acts a little like a whole-wheat flour with its own unique flavor. Their flour comes from Vancouver, CA and is milled daily- so it's a special treat to be able to make pasta with it!

Salt

I used Himalayan Sea Salt for this recipe, but any high-quality salt should work! Kosher salt is another great choice.

How to cook potatoes for gnocchi:

After assembling the ingredients, it's time to cook the potatoes. Peel the potatoes, chop them into thirds, add them to a large pot of salty water, and bring to a boil. Using salty water helps to give the potatoes enough flavor while making sure they don't soak up too much water.

Once the water is boiling, add in the potatoes and cook for 12-15 minutes until tender and easily pierceable with a fork. Then, remove the potatoes and immediately start mashing them. A lot of people recommend using a potato ricer to do get the potatoes completely smooth. However, I don't own one so I used my regular old potato masher which works well for making gnocchi without a ricer.

It's really important to mash the potatoes so there are NO chunks left. Otherwise, those potato chunks will show up in your gnocchi which leads to an unideal texture.

How much flour is needed?

While the potatoes are still warm, add in the flour ½ cup at a time. I like to add the first ½ cup of flour and the salt into the bowl and mash it with the potatoes. Then, I place the dough on my well-floured mixing surface. While I used a wood board in the pictures here, a marble pastry board actually works best as a non-stick surface.

Depending on the yield I get from my potatoes (anywhere from 3-3 ½ cups), I use anywhere from 1 ½- 1 ¾ cups of flour. The reason I leave the flour more "open-ended" is that the amount of flour to use is directly proportional to the amount of moisture in your potatoes. Use this recipe as more of a guideline!

When you mix in the flour, also try to not over-mix the dough! Otherwise, your vegan potato gnocchi will become sticky and gummy when cooked. You will know you've added enough flour when the dough is no longer sticking as easily to your surface but is still soft.

The best way to shape gnocchi:

Once the gnocchi dough is mixed, shape it into a large ball and begin cutting off sections. Then, roll the gnocchi dough into thin logs using your palms as pictured below.

After the gnocchi is rolled out, cut the dough into 1-inch thick pieces. At this point, you can leave the gnocchi as is, or use a gnocchi board to make the fun ridged gnocchi shape you see in my pictures.

To get the spiral shape, dust the gnocchi board with flour, press the dough lightly with your thumb, and let it roll off the board. Fun fact: I googled real Italians doing this to learn how to do it "the authentic way" and highly recommend you do the same- it's mesmerizing how fast some people can do this step!

Why let the potato dumplings rest before cooking?

Once the gnocchi has been formed, let it rest for at least 20-30 minutes. This is another CRUCIAL step to making gnocchi from scratch. Why? If you don't let the gnocchi rest before cooking, they will likely stick together during the cooking process.

The resting time allows them to dry slightly on the surface which helps them stay separate while being boiled. I learned the hard way that you can't skip this step as I ended up with a big clumpy pile of vegan gnocchi when I the resting time.

Ways to cook eggless gnocchi

• Essential Method: Boiling

First, add salt to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add in the gnocchi. When the gnocchi is cooked, they will rise to the top and float there once they are cooked. After they've floated to the top, let them cook about 1 more minute before removing.

Use a slotted spoon to strain the gnocchi over a bowl or the sink and add them to a plate or large tray in a single layer to cool before serving. This cooking process literally takes about 5 minutes and is super quick!

P.S- I like to add the gnocchi in batches to the pot of boiling water. This way, I guarantee they don't stick together. It also makes me less stressed when I have to remove them as they all rise to the top around the same time!

•  Optional Method: Pan-frying

Pan-frying gnocchi is DELICIOUS, but it involves added oil and frankly, it's an added step. First, follow the steps above and boil the gnocchi. After it has cooled a bit, coat it with oil and add it to a cast-iron skillet to cook. Then. pan-fry each side of the gnocchi for 2-4 minutes until it is browned.

I tried pan-frying the gnocchi without boiling and it still tasted good but wasn't as fluffy, so I don't recommend it. Pan-frying homemade gnocchi is SO delicious, but I will be honest that it is extra work.

How do I store gnocchi/ Can gnocchi be frozen?

To store vegan potato gnocchi, simply add the raw gnocchi to a tray in a single layer and add it to the freezer. After 1-2 hours, remove the tray and then add the raw gnocchi to a closed container for storage. Make sure to freeze it on the tray first otherwise they will stick together!

This recipe makes a LOT of gnocchi, so if you need to store leftovers in the fridge it will keep for up to 3 days. I recommend just cooking the amount of gnocchi you need and storing the rest frozen vs. storing leftovers in the fridge if you can help it.

I truly hope you loved learning more about how to make the best 3-Ingredient Vegan Gnocchi from scratch! If you're looking for recipes to cook this egg free gnocchi with, I recommend trying them in my Vegan Lemon Butter Sauce, my Gnocchi with Vegan Tomato Sauce, or in my Butternut Squash Sauce with roasted veggies. Cheers to delicious homemade potato dumplings!

-TSG

Looking for another easy vegetarian pasta recipe? Check out these SGTO favorites!

Gluten-Free Tofu Parmesan

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Butternut Squash, Leek, & Asiago Pasta

Vegan Spinach Artichoke Pasta