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Enjoy this Homemade Pesto Gnocchi as a weeknight meal or to impress your friends and family. This homemade gnocchi recipe is ready less than an hour.
Homemade Pesto Gnocchi
Do you have basil in the garden? Did you have a bunch of basil growing so you froze some? Well, I have a delicious way to use up some of your basil. This Homemade Pesto Gnocchi is absolutely delicious. If the idea of making homemade gnocchi is a little scary for you, don’t be scared! It’s actually easier than you think!
To make homemade gnocchi you only need a few simple ingredients and you probably have them all in your pantry right now. You will potatoes, flour, an egg and salt to make homemade gnocchi.
You will have to make the dough and cut the gnocchi, the overall prep time to make homemade gnocchi is about 30 minutes. If you want to speed up the process, you can use store-bought gnocchi, but I recommend making homemade gnocchi at least once.
I simply used homemade pesto for the sauce in this homemade pesto gnocchi recipe, and next time I will try my Pesto Alfredo Sauce. My Creamy Pesto Sauce is the perfect mixture of pesto and skinny alfredo sauce. YUM.
Can you use store-bought pesto? Sure. But making homemade pesto is really easy and only takes a few minutes.
When making homemade gnocchi, ideally you will have a potato ricer. However, I do know that not everyone has a potato ricer. Me included. Can you make homemade gnocchi without a potato ricer? Yes. To make homemade gnocchi without a potato ricer you can can mash the cooked potatoes with a fork making sure there are absolutely zero lumps. You can also use the back of a large spoon or a smaller bowl and push the potatoes through use a colander. You will get in your arm workout in, but it will work.
Once the potatoes are prepared you will make the dough by adding the flour, egg and salt.
Once the gnocchi dough is made, you will roll the dough into long strips and cut them into pieces. You just roll the pieces over the prongs of a fork to get the classic gnocchi look.
To cook the gnocchi you simply boil it until it floats to the top, about 1 minute. Be careful to not overcrowd the pot.
Top your prepared gnocchi with pesto, creamy pesto sauce or the sauce of your choice. Dinner is served.
Now, here is my Homemade Pesto Gnocchi recipe, be sure to Print It and Pin It so that you can make it again and again.
Homemade Pesto Gnocchi
Ingredients
Gnocchi
- 4 cups mashed potatoes about 2-3 lbs of potatoes
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
Pesto
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves washed and packed
- ¼ cup pine nuts you can substitute almonds or walnuts
- 2 large cloves or 4 small cloves of garlic peeled and minced
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil you may need a little more or a little less
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
Gnocchi
- Start by washing the potatoes.
- Either boil the potatoes or poke holes in them and microwave them for eight minutes, or until they become soft.
- Let them cool completely and remove the skin from them.
- Mash them in a large bowl or use a potato ricer.
- Sprinkle the 1 ½ cups of the flour, add the egg and 1 teaspoon of salt and continue to mash.
- Use your hands to form a smooth ball.
- Sprinkle the remaining flour onto a counter or cutting board and knead the pasta dough for five to six minutes adding flour when it gets a little sticky.
- Once the dough has become elastic, cut it into 24 equal parts.
- Roll the dough into long strips and cut them into ½ inch pieces. (Optional: roll the pieces over the prongs of a fork to get the classic gnocchi look.)
- Boil a large pot of water over high heat and add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water.
- Add 10 to 12 pieces of gnocchi to the water and let them boil until they float to the top.
- Remove and set on a plate.
Pesto
- Place the basil and pine nuts in the food processor and pulse a few times.
- Add the garlic and pulse a few more times.
- Slowly add olive oil in a constant stream while the processor is going.
- You should get a smooth, creamy consistency.
- Scrape downsides of the processor and add grated cheese pulsing until well blended.
- Add salt and pepper and give a final pulse or two to mix in.
Plating
- Add as much fresh pesto to the gnocchi as you would like before serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you enjoy this Homemade Pesto Gnocchi as much as we do!
Can you use sweet potatoes to make gnocchi? Sure can! And I did! Grab my Sweet Potato Gnocchi recipe.
Have you ever made gnocchi before?
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