Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi
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An Easy Sweet Potato Gnocchi Recipe everyone will love! Learn how to make sweet potato gnocchi with only a few ingredients!
We absolutely love making homemade pasta (these ricotta cavatelli are our favorite!). It’s much more delicious than store bought and even though gnocchi are technically dumplings, they are served similarly and can be super easy to make.
This recipe takes a little time, but only 4 ingredients come together to make pillowy soft Sweet Potato Gnocchi that can be served with a variety of delicious sauces (we love our Brown Butter Mushroom Sauce) for an easy and delicious meal.
You will be amazed at how flavorful this recipe is. I can’t wait for you to try it!
You will love this Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi Recipe
There is a lot to love about this homemade recipe. It’s one of our favorite dinners to make because it’s:
- Simple Ingredients: This gnocchi only needs 4 simple ingredients!
- Packed with vitamins: Sweet potatoes contain vitamins A, C, and manganese. You should also try these Baked Sweet Potato Fries.
- Healthy Carbs: Unlike traditional gnocchi, this recipe contains healthy carbohydrates.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi Ingredients
To make this homemade gnocchi you’ll need:
- sweet potatoes
- egg yolk
- all purpose flour
- salt
You’ll also need:
- plastic bowl scraper or spatula
- a potato ricer & cavatelli board will also be super helpful!
In the green shaded box, you can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below.
How to make Sweet Potato Gnocchi
- Cook your sweet potatoes in the oven or microwave until you can easily pierce the flesh of the potato with a fork. Place in a bowl for 30 minutes to cool. Tip: If you have dogs, let them enjoy the cooked sweet potato skins for a healthy snack!
- Mix together flour, salt, and egg yolk on your counter. Use a plastic bowl scraper, potato ricer, or a spatula to mash your sweet potatoes and add to the mound of flour/salt/egg. Begin to incorporate. It will be a bit messy but don’t worry, trust the process.
- Continue to gently knead. It may take time, but a round dough ball will form.
- Cut the dough into individual pieces strips about a 1/2 inch thick.
- Gently roll out into ropes, and continue adding a bit more flour as needed to the surface to prevent sticking.
- Cut them into small 1/2 inch pillow shaped gnocchi and dust with flour to prevent sticking
- If you have a ridged pasta board gently press to create ridges in your pasta.
- Freeze the gnocchi on a heavily floured baking sheet. Once they have frozen, shake the excess flour off in a strainer. Then cook according to the directions below.
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR GNOCCHI
Normally we like to provide substitutions, but you really can’t use many subs in this recipe!
Flour: We haven’t tried substitute regular flour for gluten-free flour in this recipe to make it gluten-free. If you try it, let me know!
Egg yolk: We do not recommend substituting the egg yolk in this recipe.
Sweet Potatoes: Red Garnet & Jewel sweet potatoes have more moisture, so we don’t recommend using those.
Pro Tips for making Gnocchi:
Buy a potato ricer to make the fluffiest gnocchi, mashed potatoes, or mashed cauliflower.
Pierce your potatoes so they don’t make a mess of your microwave or oven.
Save your sweet potato skins for your dogs!
What to serve with Sweet Potato Gnocchi
This gnocchi is so good on its own and we really love it with our Brown Butter Mushroom Sauce!
We also love pairing it with our Ground Chicken Meatballs Recipe for an easy protein, or with our Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad.
How to store this Gnocchi Sweet Potato Recipe
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing!
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave, or on the stove.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi Recipe FAQ
Sweet potato gnocchi tastes similar to traditional gnocchi. It’s not too sweet and light and airy.
Boiling your gnocchi is the best method, it gives it a light and fluffy texture.
Cold water is the secret to making gnocchi light and with a good texture.
The most common causes of mushy gnocchi are boiling your potatoes and using potatoes with too much moisture in them.
Other healthy pasta recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw sweet potatoes about 3 small sweet potatoes
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a parchment or foil lined baking sheet
- Prep your sweet potatoes. Weigh three small potatoes to get around a pound of uncooked potatoes (a little under or over a pound is fine, you can compensate with flour if needed)
- Pierce the potatoes about 3-4 times with a fork. Place your potatoes on the baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for one hour or until you can easily pierce the flesh of the potato with a fork.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and slice down the middle with a knife. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Place the sweet potato filling in a bowl for 30 minutes to cool. Tip: If you have dogs, let them enjoy the cooked sweet potato skins for a healthy snack!
- Once the potatoes have cooled, add flour and salt in a pile on your counter. Add egg yolk to the flour pile
- Use a plastic bowl scraper or a spatula to mash your sweet potatoes, breaking them apart in a cutting motion.
- If you have a potato ricer, we encourage using one to make the potatoes as fluffy as possible.
- Add your mashed sweet potatoes to the mound of flour/salt/egg. Begin to incorporate by mashing with a fork or plastic bowl scraper. It will be a bit messy but don’t worry, trust the process.
- Once a shaggy dough forms, continue to gently knead with your hands or dough scraper. A soft and slightly sticky dough will begin to form- if it’s too sticky add 2 tablespoons of flour at a time to your dough and hands on the surface. A round dough ball will form and then you are ready to cut and make your individual gnocchi.
- Cut the dough into individual pieces strips about a 1/2 inch thick and gently roll out into ropes, continue adding a bit more flour as needed to the surface to prevent sticking.
- The dough will be a little sticky and soft which will make for light and fluffy pillow like gnocchi.
- Cut them into small 1/2 inch pillow shaped gnocchi and dust with flour to prevent sticking
- If you have a ridged pasta board (link here) gently press to create ridges in your pasta. This is recommended because the ridges help to soak up all of that great sauce of your preference!
- Freeze the gnocchi on a heavily floured baking sheet. Once they have frozen, shake the excess flour off in a strainer.
- You can boil water and prepare these as is or freeze and save them for a later date, I like to freeze them so they hold their form a bit more when cooking.
- These will cook in 3-4 minutes, stir gently and once they float to the top, they’re done!
