A couple months ago, I bought a package of vegan-friendly gnocchi to make at home, and thought to myself (actually, I’m pretty sure I told this to my husband out loud as well) “I could totally make this at home”. The ingredients are simple, and the idea of fresh homemade gnocchi (or fresh homemade anything for that matter) certainly sounds appealing!  

Homemade gnocchi is a little time consuming, and certainly not something I would whip together if I was short on time. That being said, there is nothing stopping you from making gnocchi ahead of time, so when you are in a pinch and need a quick meal, you have delicious homemade gnocchi all ready to go. You can freeze the dough and keep it frozen until you are ready to throw it (or rather, place it gently) in a pot of boiling water. Instructions for freezing gnocchi are at the bottom of the recipe on this page.  If you want to save some time, you can skip the step where you roll the dough over the prongs of a fork. This step creates ridges which helps sauce stick to the gnocchi better, but you can make delicious little ridge-less pillow shaped gnocchi as well. 

2 1/2 lb Yellow Potatoes

1 1/2 – 2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 tsp Salt

Peel and cut potatoes into quarters.

Boil the potatoes in a large pot of water, for approximately 20 minutes, or until soft and easily pierced with a fork. 

Drain the water from the potatoes.

Add the salt to the potatoes, then using a potato masher or ricer, mash the potatoes no large lumps remain. 

Let cool until it is not too hot to handle with bare hands. 

Press the potatoes into a ball shape, and place on top of a floured surface. 

Use your hands to flatten the pile of potatoes until approximately 1 1/2″ thick. Then sprinkle 1 1/2 Cups of flour on top of the potatoes.

Knead until a smooth dough is formed, adding more flour as needed until it is no longer sticky. 

Break the dough into 6 – 8 pieces, and roll into 1/2″ thick logs. 

Cut the dough into 1/2″ lengths to create little dough pillows. 

Boil the gnocchi in a large pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or until the gnocchi floats to the top. 

Saute with vegan butter, drizzle with balsamic reduction, or serve with your favorite pasta sauce. 

Enjoy!

If you will not be eating the gnocchi right away, you can lay the uncooked gnocchi on a lined baking sheet and freeze it, then transfer the frozen pieces to a freezer safe container for storage. To cook frozen gnocchi, follow the same instructions as above, cooking it in boiling water until it floats to the top.