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This sweet potato gnocchi with pesto combines light and pillowy gnocchi with a sage pesto that tastes like fall. And yes homemade gnocchi is worth the time.
I love me some gnocchi - from chicken pesto gnocchi to gnocchi carbonara to sun-dried tomato pesto gnocchi.
Have you ever made homemade gnocchi? Up until a few years ago I hadn't. I imagine it's something not many people think of making. I mean you can easily just buy the pre-made stuff at the store.
While it's decent, there really is nothing like fresh homemade gnocchi. And it really is much easier than you imagine! With fall just starting, I figured it was time to make this sweet potato gnocchi with pesto.
You might be questioning the fall taste with pesto, but it's a sage pesto that I shared earlier! I mentioned before you really shouldn't be scared of making gnocchi.
This recipe is literally just 4 ingredients and can be made in about 40 minutes - 30 if you're super quick! Since there is no egg in this recipe, it's light and pillowy - yes that's a word. You can add an egg if you want but it makes it more dense.
When making gnocchi, you mix the ingredients until it just comes together and is still slightly sticky. Then you roll into long skinny rope-like shapes and cut. You can be really fancy and use a gnocchi board to give it texture and catch the sauce a little more, but I find it unnecessary.
The great thing about this sweet potato gnocchi is you can pair it with almost any sauce but my wife and I loved this sage pesto. And I think you will too.
Jump to:
Ingredient Notes
- Pesto - I like to make my own sage pesto as it pairs well with the flavors of the sweet potato and gives fall vibes.
- Sweet potatoes - adds sweet and earthy undertones with hints of nuttiness to the gnocchi.
- Ricotta - helps act as a binder and also keeps the gnocchi light and pillowy.
Ingredient Swaps
As with any recipe you can swap out some of the ingredients. Some variations include:
- I like making my own sage pesto as it is unique and complements the flavors of the sweet potatoes, but you can just use store-bought pesto if you prefer.
- While I use sweet potatoes, pumpkin or butternut squash are good substitutes.
- Ricotta cheese is great for gnocchi, but cottage cheese or even goat cheese are good substitutes.
- While not a substitute, if I want some protein, pancetta is my go-to.
Step-by-Step Photos
Poke holes in the sweet potato and wrap in damp paper towel. Microwave on high for 7 minutes or until it is soft. Remove the skin and mash. Mix in the ricotta, salt and Parmesan before adding flour ½ cup at a time. Mix until you can just form a ball.
Form dough into disc on floured surface and cut into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll the dough into a long skinny rope that is 1 inch thick. Cut 1 inch wide gnocchi and place on a floured baking sheet.
Boil gnocchi until they float and then pan-fry in skillet over medium-high heat with some butter. Cook about 3 minutes per side.
While gnocchi is cooking, make sage pesto. Remove the gnocchi from heat and toss in the pesto so it is coated.
FAQs
Yes you can. Just use the same amount of pumpkin - which is 1 lb. You could even try butternut or acorn squash as well.
Of course. I just liked to mix it up and the combination of sage and goat cheese with this sweet potato gnocchi paired well. However a brown butter sauce also works great.
Yes. Once the gnocchi is cut and placed on a baking sheet, just put in the freezer for an hour before transferring to a bag. When you are ready to cook, it will take slightly longer to float but will still be ready quickly.
Benefits of Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are super popular these days and there is good reason for it. Some of the health benefits of sweet potatoes include:
- Great source of fiber, vitamins and minerals.
- Promotes gut health.
- Regulates blood pressure and sugar levels.
- Helps with keeping healthy vision.
- May improve brain function.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Add just enough flour. Let me be clear. While most times, you need 1 ¼ cups of flour for this recipe, there are times you need slightly more or slightly less. Every sweet potato is different in moisture content which is what controls the amount of flour you use. Use either a wooden spoon or your hands to mix in the flour until just incorporated and where the dough forms a loaf. It should be a soft dough.
- Don’t overmix. Just like anything with flour, if your overmix or knead too much, you’ll get a tougher gnocchi. It won’t be soft and pillowy. You want to mix until it just comes together.
- Don’t make them perfect. Gnocchi doesn’t have to be perfect shapes or have ridges. Mine never look exactly the same but they taste great! Also you can skip the ridges. It’s time consuming and not worth the effort.
- Sprinkle with flour when cutting and transporting. Gnocchi can get sticky if there isn’t flour sprinkled on it. As I’m rolling out the dough to cut and then cut into gnocchi and then transfer to a sheet, I sprinkle with flour to make sure it doesn’t stick. Learn from me as I didn’t do this in the past.
- Boil until they float. When cooking the sweet potato gnocchi, boil it until they float and then remove and add to a sauce.
Other Gnocchi Recipes
If you’ve tried this sweet potato gnocchi with pesto or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below. You could also try this pesto gnocchi! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pesto
Ingredients
Sage Pesto
- ½ cup fresh sage
- ½ cup fresh Italian parsley
- ¼ cup roasted pistachios
- 2 tablespoon goat cheese
- 1 garlic cloves, chopped
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Gnocchi
- 1 lb sweet potato
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup goat cheese
Instructions
Sage Pesto
- Add sage, parsley, pistachios, goat cheese, garlic, and salt to blender or food processor and blend until thoroughly combined. With blender or food processor on, slowly add olive oil until well combined. Add the Parmesan and blend for 10 more seconds until just combined. Set aside.
Gnocchi
- Poke a few holes in the sweet potato and wrap in damp paper towel. Microwave on high for 7 minutes or until sweet potato is soft. You can also bake in oven at 400°F for 45 minutes.
- Remove the skin and mash. Add in the ricotta, salt and Parmesan cheese and mix until combined. Add in flour ½ cup at a time. Mix until just combined and you form a ball. Do not over knead, otherwise it will be tough. The dough should be sticky.
- Flour a clean surface and place the dough there. Cut into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll and stretch the dough until it forms a long skinny rope, about 1 inch thick. Cut about 1 inch wide and then transfer to a baking sheet, making sure each gnocchi is covered in flour so they don't stick to each other.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the gnocchi until they float, which should be about 3-4 minutes. Drain and toss with some olive oil so they don't stick.
- Heat 2 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the gnocchi and pan-fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. You will have to do this in batches if you can't have gnocchi in single later.
- Mix ½ pesto with ¼ cup of goat cheese and toss with gnocchi. Top with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Notes
- Add just enough flour. Let me be clear. While most times, you need 1 ¼ cups of flour for this recipe, there are times you need slightly more or slightly less. Every sweet potato is different in moisture content which is what controls the amount of flour you use. Use either a wooden spoon or your hands to mix in the flour until just incorporated and where the dough forms a loaf. It should be a soft dough.
- Don’t overmix. Just like anything with flour, if your overmix or knead too much, you’ll get a tougher gnocchi. It won’t be soft and pillowy. You want to mix until it just comes together.
- Don’t make them perfect. Gnocchi doesn’t have to be perfect shapes or have ridges. Mine never look exactly the same but they taste great! Also you can skip the ridges. It’s time consuming and not worth the effort.
- Sprinkle with flour when cutting and transporting. Gnocchi can get sticky if there isn’t flour sprinkled on it. As I’m rolling out the dough to cut and then cut into gnocchi and then transfer to a sheet, I sprinkle with flour to make sure it doesn’t stick. Learn from me as I didn’t do this in the past.
- Boil until they float. When cooking the gnocchi, boil it until they float and then remove and add to a sauce.
TheBrownSugarCafe says
This looks so good!!!!!
Karolina says
I love it! My kids will too, hence it landed in my Pinterest board for them:) thanks!
Cristina Alciati says
Love this variation on gnocchi. They look fab! I roll the gnocchi on the back of a fork to give them texture and sometimes add a splash of grappa or white wine to add to the flavour. Great pictures too!
Jen says
Sounds delicious!
LaRena Fry says
Oh my!! What a wonderful recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kathryn says
Love it. It’s such an easy simple recipe. Will definitely be making this for the family this week. Thanks for sharing.!