This is an easy sweet potato gnocchi recipe. It’s perfect for a quick weeknight dinner! Soft gnocchi pillows served with green pesto and Parmesan are hard to resist!
3 reasons to try sweet potato gnocchi:
- Easy recipe – Anyone can make this delicious dinner!
- Quick preparation – In 15 minutes you are ready to serve!
- A few ingredients – you only need 4 simple ingredients to make these sweet potato gnocchi. And if you don’t have time to make a sauce, just grab green pesto and Parmesan from your local store and you are good to go!
Also no special tools are needed to make sweet potato gnocchi – of course you could go the extra step and buy a so called gnocchi stripper to achieve the typical texture but you absolutely don’t have to! I don’t have one and never felt like I needed it.
Other easy sweet potato recipes:
How to make sweet potato gnocchi
The dough comes together in a few minutes. You don’t need any bowl or special tools. Just a clean worktop where you will mix all the ingredients together. I start with flour and pureed sweet potato. They are combined altogether with a generous pinch of salt.
Fork works well for bringing the mashed potato and flour together. After you mixed these 3 ingredients a little bit, make a well in the middle and add beaten egg. Again use the fork to combine everything together and later use your hands. The dough should come together in about 2 minutes.
Making sweet potato gnocchi – Cut the dough into 7-8 pieces. Roll each piece into a sausage. The thickness is entirely up to you but the thicker the sausage the thicker your gnocchi will turn out. Everyone’s first batch is usually a trial.
Just note that gnocchi will grow while cooking. I usually roll the sausage little thinner than a cigar. Then each “cigar” is cut again into small pieces and you are done! The sweet potato gnocchi are ready for cooking.
Cooking gnocchi – Throw them into salty boiling water and cover with a lid. The reason I cover them with a lid is that the minute you throw them in, the water stops boiling and it takes longer to cook them.
However, you need to be standing near the pot as it only takes about a minute, maybe 2 for them to come up to the surface. Also at the same time (or seconds earlier) the water might wanna boil over. If that is the case, just remove the lid.
Now all you have to do is drain the water and serve. You can also toast them in a skillet/frying pan, if you like them crispy on the outside. Use olive oil or real butter for this.
What do you eat gnocchi with?
In most recipes you will come across garlic sage butter as a sauce for gnocchi. First there is no rule that you have to make this with your gnocchi. There are so many great sauces you can choose from! So what do you eat gnocchi with you ask?
Well, let me give you a few examples:
The easiest and quickest option is mixing your cooked sweet potato gnocchi with a couple of tablespoons of pesto. My favorite is Parsley Pesto and that is what I have on the pictures as well. However, any other pesto whether it is homemade or shop-bought will do. Just use your favorite one.
If I don’t have pesto on hand, I make a quick tomato-based sauce. Top it with buffalo mozzarella or burrata and you’ll be in for a treat! A creamy mushroom sauce or cheese and bacon sauce would also taste delicious.
Tips for making sweet potato gnocchi
- Make sure that the mashed sweet potato is cold. If it is not, wait until it gets cold or place it in the fridge to speed up the cooling process.
- Don’t use a stand mixer or any other mixer to knead the dough. It only takes about 2 minutes to put it together. An over-worked dough will result in hard gnocchi and no one likes hard gnocchi, right? In this case less is more.
- The size of sweet potato gnocchi can vary. I prefer them small rather than large. Also note, that they will puff up in the water.
Gnocchi lovers might also like Spinach Spaetzle.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 cup Mashed Sweet Potato , packed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- Pinch of Salt + extra for water
- 1 small Egg , beaten
- Oil for frying, optional
- 2 tbsp Green Pesto , optional
- Parmesan , optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Meanwhile: On a clean work surface, roughly combine together cold mashed sweet potato, flour and salt (don’t knead yet). Make a well in the middle and add beaten egg.
- Using a fork or your hand mix everything together first, then knead until dough is formed. This should not take about 2 minutes. It’s important not to overwork the dough.
- Cut the dough into 8 pieces. Dust your work top with flour. Roll each piece into a sausage that is slightly thinner than a cigar. Now cut them into small pieces.
- Cook in a large pot with salted boiling water. They are done when they float on the surface (this takes about 2 minutes or less).
- Serve them either boiled or boiled and pan-roasted with a sauce of your choice. Green pesto and Parmesan are a great option.
Lauren Vavala says
Such a great idea! I’ve never had sweet potato gnocchi, but this recipe does look amazing!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks, Lauren!
Jill says
Gnocchi has long been on my list of things to make. I’m not sure why I haven’t yet. Your recipe looks delicious and seems easy enough. I’ll have to finally make some gnocchi!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
It’s very easy to make, Jill. You will love it!
rebecca says
ohhhh this looks delicious! I need to try this sweet potato gnocchi asap!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Yay!
Eden | Sweet Tea and Thyme says
I LOVE homemade gnocchi. This is such a great fall twist to them.
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Thanks!
Edyta says
I love gnocchi. I haven’t eaten lunch yet and you made me so hungry now! Gosh, I need to make them soon!
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
:) It’s hard not to love gnocchi, right? :)
Helen says
Not nearly enough flour. I had to use close to 2 cups for 1 cup of mashed sweet potato+1 egg. Almost wished i didnt add the egg and made it with just 3 ingredients…
Julia | Happy Foods Tube says
Hi Helen. You should not use so much flour as it will make the gnocchi hard. The dough should be soft and sticky. Did you follow all the instructions and tips in the post? Sweet potato has to be completely cooled down before you add the flour. Also the dough needs to be made by hand – no mixers!