Ricotta gnocchi are ready in just 15 minutes! Just mix fresh ricotta cheese, eggs, Parmigiano and flour, then follow our step-by-step recipe on how to cut, cook and store ricotta gnocchi!
Ricotta Gnocchi are just plain dumplings made with fresh ricotta cheese but without potatoes. They are a delicious and an easy alternative to the classic Potato Gnocchi recipe, but much faster to make.
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The result is some delicately flavored gnocchi, which you can dress with butter and sage sauce to better enjoy their unique flavor, a tomato sauce made from fresh tomatoes or Pesto Genovese (our pesto recipe is terrific!).
Try our super easy homemade recipe for Ricotta Gnocchi. You'll be amazed at how simple it is, how good they are, but above all how quickly you can make this recipe!
See Also:
- Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi recipe
- How to make Pumpkin Gnocchi
- Potato Gnocchi with Arugula Pesto and Gorgonzola Cheese
- Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
- Savory Cannoliwith ricotta and pistachios
How to Make Ricotta Gnocchi Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 5 min
- Servings: 4/6
Ingredients
- 500 g ( 2 cups ) of fresh Ricotta cheese
- 300 g (2 ¼ cups) of all purpose flour
- 2 medium whole eggs
- 110 g (1 cup) of grated Parmigiano Cheese
- a pinch of salt
To make ricotta gnocchi you definitely need a pastry board to knead and cut the gnocchi. We recommend this reversible Woden Pastry Board with engraved ruler and pie board template. Really lovely and useful!
You can cut gnocchi just fine with a well-honed knife. But if you want something fancier and always useful in the kitchen, try checking out this multi-purpose stainless steel Bench Scraper-Chopper-Cutter.
A mixing bowl for mix up all the ingredients should never be lacking in a kitchen. Check out this set of stainless steel mixing bowls with airtight lids. Great for mixing, baking or serving.
Instructions
Step 1) - First, make sure your ricotta is dry and firm. If not, let the ricotta cheese drain very well before using it. Then, in a large bowl, put the ricotta with the eggs and mix well until you get a cream.
Step 2) - Now add the grated Parmigiano cheese and a pinch of salt. Mix and finally add the flour a little at a time. Mix well until the mixture is compact but soft.
Step 3) - Transfer the mixture to a pastry board, dust with flour and knead it for a minute to form a loaf then cut a piece of dough.
Step 4) - Using your hands, make a long roll of dough as thick as a finger. Cut the roll every 2 cm (about 1 inch). Lightly dust the gnocchi with flour as you cut them. This will keep the gnocchi from sticking to each other.
Finish cutting all the dough and arrange your well-floured ricotta gnocchi on the pastry board. Your ricotta gnocchi are ready!
How to Cook Ricotta Gnocchi
Step 5) - Now you have to cook the gnocchi in a large pot with plenty of salted water. When the water boils, remove the excess flour and dip the ricotta gnocchi a few at a time. Do not mix too much while cooking and above all do not mix quickly otherwise they break.
When the gnocchi come to the surface, they are cooked. So drain them with a slotted spoon, always a few at a time.
Place the cooked gnocchi in a bowl with your favorite sauce to dress them.
What Sauce Goes with Ricotta Gnocchi?
Their neutral, delicate flavor makes Ricotta Gnocchi perfect for many toppings.
You can dress Ricotta Gnocchi with a tomato sauce or try them with Genovese Pesto. Finally, try the most classic of Italian pasta sauces: butter and sage. These are among the most classic and famous sauces you can use for ricotta gnocchi, which is considered a light and nutritious dish.
For their delicate flavor, however, ricotta gnocchi can also be paired with richer and more substantial sauces. Try them for example with bolognese sauce or with cheese fondue.
Storage: Can you Freeze Ricotta Gnocchi?
Once ready, we recommend cooking the ricotta gnocchi immediately. DON'T store them raw in the fridge.
Already cooked, they can be stored for about three days in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Instead, you can safely freeze raw ricotta gnocchi. So, first arrange them on a tray, well separated so not to stick to each other, then place the tray in the freezer. After about 2 hours, you can put them easily in a plastic food bag and store in the freezer. Ricotta Gnocchi will last up to six weeks in the freezer.
When it's time to cook, throw them directly into the boiling water while still frozen. DON'T thaw.
Ricotta Gnocchi Variants
The main feature of this recipe is its delicacy and simplicity. However, it's possible to enrich the gnocchi dough a little, without distorting the recipe, according to your tastes.
With Pecorino Cheese
For a stronger taste, you can substitute Parmigiano cheese with Pecorino Romano - another great Italian cheese - adding a little ground black pepper to the gnocchi dough.
With Honey
If you love the sweet-salty combination, you can add a spoonful of honey and a little cinnamon to the mixture. With this variant we recommend a cheese-based dressing or simply melted butter and grated Parmigiano cheese.
Ricotta Gnocchi Without Eggs
Mix ricotta cheese with flour, Parmigiano cheese and a pinch of salt. Proceed to make the dough as from step 3. Without the eggs, the gnocchi are much softer. Choose the dressing carefully.
Baked Ricotta Gnocchi
Prepare the ricotta gnocchi following our recipe. When they are ready, place them in small single-portion baking dishes, add a few flakes of butter, a sprinkling of ground black pepper, a little nutmeg and plenty of grated Parmigiano cheese. Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C (350 F) for about 20 minutes.
The Main Ingredient: The Ricotta
Ricotta is the most important ingredient in this simple recipe. So we recommend choosing high quality ricotta cheese.
Ricotta is a dairy product that comes from the coagulation of whey (the liquid part of the milk that separates from the rennet when making cheese). There are ricotta made from cow, sheep, goat or buffalo milk.
Whey is heated at 80-90° C (176-90° F), a temperature which varies according to whether milk and/or cream is added or not. The whey is then acidified in order to obtain ricotta cheese. Often, in particular with sheep milk whey, it's not necessary to acidify.
From this process it's evident that a quality ricotta cheese must not have any other added ingredient. Therefore, pay much attention to the label of ingredients when buying this cheese.
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