Loaded Baked Gnocchi Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Do you have to boil gnocchi before baking? ›

You DO NOT need to pre boil the gnocchi as it will cook in the sauce. Allow everything to soften slightly, then top with the mozzarella and bake until crispy and golden.

The secret to the lightest, most tender potato gnocchi is to bake the potatoes instead of boiling them. A baked potato is dryer than one that has been boiled, which means you avoid having to add more flour to the dough to account for excess moisture, a practice that leads to over-kneaded, tough gnocchi.

Don't overwork the dough: When making gnocchi dough, it's important not to overwork it. Overworking the dough can make the gnocchi tough and chewy. Mix the ingredients together just until the dough comes together, and then stop mixing! You're not kneading bread here.

Nutritional Value

Believe it or not, regular pasta is actually more carb-heavy than gnocchi, coming in at around 2 times the amount of carbs per serving. Gnocchi is also notorious for having a lot more sodium, with over 200 grams of it per serving. Regular pasta doesn't have nearly as high of a sodium content.

Roast, stirring once or twice, until gnocchi are golden and starting to crisp, most of the tomatoes have burst, and onion is golden, 25–30 minutes.

A classic choice for saucing gnocchi is a simple combination of butter and sage, but the possibilities are endless. Simpler sauces like pesto, marinara and vodka are good choices, as are heartier sauces like Bolognese, cheese and cream sauces. Since gnocchi is fairly neutral in flavor, it pairs well with most anything.

After your gnocchi is cooked and drained, you can toss it with any sauce and/or vegetables you want. Store bought gnocchi is great with marinara, pesto, bolognese ragu, sun-dried tomato sauce – and this tomato-mushroom sauce, of course.

Some gnocchi recipes recommend floury potatoes instead, such as Idaho potatoes or Russet potatoes, but I don't always agree. They're too mealy. Tipo 00 Flour is a soft, fine milled flour from Italy. It's a must-have for light and tender gnocchi and homemade pasta.

The Best Potatoes for Gnocchi

Step one: Start with Yukon Gold potatoes. Russets will do, but Yukon Golds have more of the nutty flavor of the yellow-fleshed boiling potatoes used by the Italian and Provençal cooks who have mastered gnocchi.

Why are russet potatoes best for gnocchi? ›

Russets are dryer and hold less water, making them ideal for gnocchi making. Because of their dry and starchy texture, they may require less flour than other varieties, yielding an airier texture, and making them an excellent choice for a beginner or anyone who wants a no-fuss gnocchi experience.

A perfect quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe, the mini gnocchi is cooked directly in the vodka sauce, no pre-boiling necessary (which means less dishes for you!)

If you overdo it with flour, your gnocchi will be too hard, if you put too little they will break during cooking. The rule says that the flour must be at most a third of the amount of potatoes.

When cool enough to handle, scrape off the skins and push the potato through a ricer or food mill, then, while still warm, start working your dough on a floured work surface. (Here, Davies offers up another tip to fight the mush: “Spread out the mash to cool; the escaping steam will further take away any moisture.”)

If you've never tried pan frying gnocchi, you are in for a treat! Forget boiling it, you can actually just toss it in a skillet and cook it. This means less dishes, as it's all cooked in one skillet and crispy, pan fried gnocchi is the result. I love the texture of crispy gnocchi, with it's crunchy browned exterior.

Gently heat the oil and butter in a frying pan until the butter has melted. Add the gnocchi. Don't overcrowd the pan – you want the gnocchi to be spread out in a single layer across the bottom of the pan. Cook over a medium heat, stirring every few minutes, until crisped up to your liking (around 10-15 minutes).

Are there alternative methods to boiling store-bought gnocchi? Yes, there are alternative cooking methods for store-bought gnocchi. You can sauté them in a pan with a little olive oil or butter until they turn golden brown on the outside. This method creates a slightly crispy texture while keeping the inside soft.