Delicious home-made potato gnocchi contain no wheat flour and are naturally gluten-free. Choose from plain or cheesy options for a satisfying family meal.
Do you eat a lot of pasta? We do. I try to limit it to only two or three times a week, but it’s easy, convenient, tasty and versatile. And I think DH would happily eat it every night, left to his own devices. (I think that maybe he did, before he met me…)
However, Pesach will soon be here, so an enforced pasta-free week is looming on the horizon. Dreading the thought of having to go eight whole days without a bowl of steaming carbs topped with sauce and cheese, I decided to make potato gnocchi instead. They’re basically pasta, right?
What are potato gnocchi?
Gnocchi are small Italian dumplings, often served baked with sauce, in soup or as an alternative to pasta. There are many regional variations made using cheese, semolina, different types of vegetables, polenta etc. Gnocchi have been eaten since at least Roman times and are enjoyed around Italy and the greater Mediterranean area.
Potato gnocchi developed after the introduction of the potato to Europe in the fifteenth century. Traditional potato gnocchi are made from a mixture of potato, egg and wheat flour, so are off the menu for Passover. However, having read endless articles about making them, and the roles of the various ingredients, etc. I was confident that I could make them without wheat flour. It was time to test the hypothesis.
Ingredients in gluten-free potato gnocchi
To make a batch of these tasty dumplings yourself, you will need:
- Large baking potatoes – the kind you would use for jacket potatoes
- Egg – to bind the mixture together
- Potato flour (potato starch) – for the gnocchi mixture plus a little extra for rolling out
- Grated cheese (optional) – I used a mixture of parmesan and cheddar, but any grated hard cheese would be fine
Baking your potatoes
It seems that the main purpose of the flour in potato gnocchi is to absorb excess water, so by keeping the potato part really dry, you can reduce the amount of flour required.
I baked my potatoes on a bed of salt to help to dehydrate them during cooking. I then scooped out the flesh while it was still hot to allow more steam to escape. The resulting mash certainly appeared dry and fluffy. This meant I could use a minimum of potato flour (potato starch) and still make delicious and light dumplings.
Forming a dough
I only used 1 egg to bind, again to keep the moisture content down, and then I added just enough potato flour (potato starch) to bring the mixture together into a dough. Chilling helped to firm it up, but it isn’t essential.
I divided up the gluten free potato gnocchi dough, and added cheese to one half. We all thought the cheesy ones were tastier, but if you keep kosher and wanted to serve them with a meat sauce, the plain ones are pretty good too.
Once you have your dough, simply roll out ‘sausages’ on a surface lightly dusted with potato flour. Then cut into short lengths and use a fork to impress ridges on your gnocchi. These will help the sauce cling to the dumplings and make everything delicious!
What to serve with potato gnocchi
We had our plain (cheeseless) gnocchi with olive oil and garlic, and our cheesy ones with tomato sauce. (In the recipe below I’ve given the amounts to make a FULL BATCH of cheesy gnocchi.)
They are also delicious with pesto, sautéed vegetables such as mushrooms or greens, or a creamy sauce like this gnocchi with cavolo nero and cream.
Home made easy potato gnocchi
These were surprisingly easy to make, even with my daughter Kipper “helping” to roll out and make fork-marks in them! This recipe makes about 1kg of gluten free, kosher for Pesach potato gnocchi. They will keep in the fridge for a day or two, or you can freeze them and then cook from frozen.
One last thing – these gnocchi do swell up quite a bit when you boil them. We made our first ones approximately the size we were aiming for when cooked, and they came out HUGE! Roll out the sausage to the thickness of your thumb, and cut into 1-1.5cm (roughly 1 inch) lengths. They will only look small until you boil them!
Serves 6-8.
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📖 Recipe
Gluten-free potato gnocchi
Ingredients
- 4 large baking potatoes (approx. 1.3-1.5 kg total) (approx. 46-53 oz)
- 1 egg
- 100 g potato flour (potato starch) + extra for rolling out
- 35 g grated parmesan (optional)
- 65 g grated cheddar (optional)
Instructions
- 4 (52 oz) large baking potatoes (approx. 1.3-1.5 kg total)Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F). Stab the potatoes several times with a fork, and arrange on a baking sheet. You may like to place them on a layer of salt crystals to help dehydrate them a little during baking. Bake the potatoes for 1-1½ hours until cooked through and soft.
- Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the flesh. Grate the flesh by hand or using a food processor, or pass through a potato ricer. Collect the potato flesh in a large mixing bowl and leave to cool. (At this stage I had just over 900g/32 oz of cooked potato.)
- 1 egg, 100 g (¾ cup) potato flour (potato starch) + extra for rolling out, 35 g (scant ½ cup) grated parmesan (optional), 65 g (⅔ cup) grated cheddar (optional)Add the egg and 100g (3½ oz/approx ¾ cup) potato flour and mix well to create a dough. If you are using the cheeses, add them now, and mix and knead to combine. The dough should be smooth and not sticky. If necessary, add a little more potato flour.
- Dust a surface with potato flour. Break off pieces of the dough and roll out into long sausages about the thickness of a thumb. Cut each sausage into 1-1.5cm (approx. 1 inch) lengths, and press the tines of a fork into each piece to create ridges.
- You can cook the gnocchi straightaway, or refrigerate or freeze them till required.
- To cook, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Carefully add the gnocchi, and bring back to the boil. The gnocchi will float up to the surface. Once they are floating, cook for a further 1-2 minutes, then drain.
- Serve hot with your favourite sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipes that use gnocchi
If you’re after delicious ways to serve your homemade potato gnocchi, how about
- comforting tomato soup with gnocchi and aubergine ‘croutons’
- delicious gnocchi with spinach and smoked salmon
- luxurious gnocchi with cavolo nero and cream
Sam
I’m confused by this recipe do you mean potato flour or potato starch because those are two different things and you have both in the recipe. I only have potatoes flour and I’m trying to find a recipe that uses that, but all I can find is potato starch recipes. I want to make sure this isn’t another potato starch recipe
Helen
Hi Sam. Apologies for any confusion. In the UK we refer to potato starch as potato flour, or sometimes, farina. It is a fine, white powder, similar in appearance to cornstarch (which we call cornflour!). From what you’ve said, I think this isn’t the recipe that you’re after, but I hope you find something suitable elsewhere. Take care and all the best, Helen x.
Catherine Ashdown
I just made these. I couldn’t grate the baked potatoes because they were too soft so I put them in the food processor. This did not get out all the lumps. I think a ricer would have been better, but unfortunately I do not have one. I just cooked up a batch. As soon as I drained them, they fell apart into a soggy potatoey mess!! They were a disaster. I did use cheese, so maybe they made them too moist, or maybe I cooked them too long ( 2 minutes instead of one) but I am very unhappy that they took so long to make ( very fidgety to use the fork to make ridges ( why is this necessary?) ) and they are not something I can serve at all. I am going to freeze a batch to see if it makes a difference by drying them out a bit, but this was not worth the effort.
Helen
Hi Catherine. I’m sorry you had a bad experience and this recipe didn’t work for you. I’m trying to troubleshoot from what you’ve told me but it’s hard to guess where it went wrong. Did you use floury baking potatoes, as they will have a drier texture when cooked? Is it possible that the potatoes were still too moist? Did you need to add extra potato flour? The gnocchi should swell up quite a bit when boiled but shouldn’t fall apart as you describe. It sounds like you won’t be giving this recipe a second chance anyway and I’m really sorry 🙁 I’ve made them several times without any problem. Thanks for the feedback, and all the best, Helen.
Pearl Safrin
Can you freeze them cooked already?
Helen
I have never tried! You can freeze them raw and then cook from frozen though. Hope this helps, Helen.
Tammie
Is it possible to use other gluten-free flours?
Helen
Hi Tammie, I haven’t tried the recipe with other flours so I’m afraid I don’t know! But please let me know how you get on if you try it. Thanks and all the best, Helen.
rachel
Hi, this looks awesome! do you by any chance know the measurements in cups and tablespoons?
Thanks!
Helen
Hi Rachel, I’ve updated the recipe with cup measurements for the potato flour and cheeses. Hope this helps!
All the best, Helen.
rachel
thank you, it really does!!
Rina
This sounds great. I will do a batch with tomato sauce and meatballs. I doubt that we will have leftovers. Thanks for s great idea
Helen
My pleasure Rina! I hope you all enjoy them 🙂
Chaya pollak
Hi I’m in New York. By potato flour, do you mean Passover Potato Starch? Thanks
Helen
Yes. In the UK they’re the same thing! It’s a fine white powder, looks like powdered sugar or cornflour (cornstarch!).
Jane Hoddes
I always thought pesach gnocchi should be feasible. I always meant to experiment myself. Thanks for saving me the trouble. I will use your tested recipe instead ?
Helen
My pleasure! I hope you enjoy them.
Lily Lau
Gnocchi, I just had some the other night and they were tasty, so I can’t imagine how much more delicious yours must be, Helen! 🙂
Helen
Thanks Lily! We certainly enjoyed them!
kerrycooks
Yummy! I’ve never made gnocci but I’d like to give it a go
Helen
Thanks! They were actually much easier and less of a faff to make than I’d feared.
efwalt
I love gnocchi. Particularly the home-made variety. God only knows what they put in the store bought stuff coz its just not the same! This looks great. Thanks for sharing.
Helen
Thanks Emma! So true – the shop bought ones don’t really taste of anything. And they last for a suspiciously long time, too…
efwalt
Anything that can be kept for weeks on end gives me the creeps. Home-made every time 🙂
Anita-Clare Field
These look wonderful, I love gnocchi, loving the use of potato flour too. I am going to try this recipe, it looks like they’ll be a lot fluffier than the traditional ones?
Helen
Thanks! The Texture was pretty much the same as usual. The only real difference we noticed was a more potatoey flavour.
Nazima Pathan
these look great – I have not ever cooked with potato flour. you seem to have the lovely texture of traditional gnocchi too!
Helen
Thanks Nazima. They were just like the traditional ones only the flavour was even more ‘potatoey’ than usual. Potato flour is pretty useful stuff!