It’s so easy to make soft, fluffy sweet potato gnocchi and you only need 5 easy-to-find ingredients. Toss with nutty brown butter, rosemary, garlic and chorizo for a wonderful showstopper of a meal, fab for weeknights, special occasions or the holiday season.
I am kind of shocked at how easy it is to make these gorgeous little sweet potato (kumara for my Kiwi friends!) gnocchi. No eggs, no need to boil, steam dry and rice anything, and truly the most pillowy soft parcels of joy, in less than an hour.
These are a lovely twist on regular potato-based gnocchi, and I’m serving them with an elevated twist on a simple brown butter sauce by adding garlic, rosemary and crispy chorizo. The result is a flavour and textural powerhouse. I’ll also show you how to make them into cute little pumpkin shapes, perfect for the holiday season.
They’re also easy to prep ahead of time so make a wonderful option for dinner parties or entertaining. You can make the gnocchi, then freeze it to cook straight from frozen in minutes. The brown butter can be made in advance too if you like, as can the chorizo, so all you have to do is cook the gnocchi and toss it with the sauce to serve.
Everything you need to make the gnocchi
- Ingredients you’ll need
- How to make them, step by step
- How to make pumpkin-shaped gnocchi
- Frequently asked questions
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes. You’ll need 500g (or 1lb), which is roughly two large sweet potatoes. Use a scale if you have one to be precise, otherwise, you may find you need more (or less) ricotta and flour to form the dough.
- Ricotta. This helps keep the gnocchi lovely and fluffy and acts as the binder (usually this would be egg but I prefer the lightness of using ricotta).
- Flour. Plain flour is absolutely fine, but if you have 00 flour, you could use that. The key to light, fluffy gnocchi is to add JUST enough flour for the dough to stick together, and not to overwork it. Overworking the dough = tough gnocchi. Use your judgement – if your dough feels like it’s sturdy enough and you’ve still got a little flour left, you don’t need to add it.
- Nutmeg. I love to use just a little nutmeg here which pairs perfectly with sweet potato, but you could skip it if you don’t have any.
How to make them
Roast your sweet potatoes (or you can pierce them with a fork and pop them into the microwave on high for 7 to 8 minutes). Once they’re super soft, scoop out the flesh into a bowl and add the ricotta, parmesan, salt and nutmeg then mix well. PRO TIP: You can mash up the sweet potato after cooking if you like, but I find it’s soft enough that it mixes perfectly well without this step in the bowl. Don’t worry too much if your mixture isn’t perfectly smooth.
Add the flour slowly (about 1/2 cup at a time), mixing to JUST combine it with the dough before adding more. Try not to handle it too much. Transfer it to a floured surface, then start forming your gnocchi. Set them aside on a baking paper-lined tray.
Brown the butter, then cook your gnocchi in boiling water until they float. Transfer them to the brown butter, toss, and let sit in the pan to crisp the bottoms up slightly, then add the garlic and rosemary. Toss again, then divide between plates. Scatter with parmesan and crispy chorizo (if you like) to serve.
How to make pumpkin-shaped gnocchi
This is one of the most fun ways you can present these gnocchi, especially around Halloween and the holiday season. It’s also INCREDIBLY easy:
- Follow the recipe up until you shape the gnocchi. Then, roll roughly a tablespoon of the gnocchi dough into a flat disc.
- Use a piece of kitchen string to press indents into the disc, working your way around to create lines that resemble a pumpkin. That’s it! Set aside then continue with the recipe as written.
Got a question?
Yes! There are a couple of ways you can get ahead in this recipe. You can roast the sweet potatoes up to 5 days ahead of time and store them in the fridge, or, you can freeze the shaped gnocchi and then cook them straight from frozen. Just arrange them on a single layer on a baking paper lined tray, then pop into the freezer and transfer to ziplock bags when solid. They’ll still only take a couple of minutes to cook. You can make the brown butter, then store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and the chorizo can be cooked a couple of days ahead of time and stored in the fridge.
You can really use any sauce you like – roasted tomato sauce would be great, as would basil pesto or sun-dried tomato pesto. You can swap pasta for the gnocchi in any pasta recipe you like – I love them with creamy gochujang sauce or in place of fettuccine in this creamy mushroom Alfredo.
It has a subtle sweet potato flavour, but it’s not super strong. You really get a lovely deep, savoury sweetness, thanks to the roasting so they pair particularly well with salty or spicy flavours.
Like this recipe? Here are more comforting favourites you might enjoy
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave me a comment below.
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5 Ingredient Sweet Potato Gnocchi
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
It’s so easy to make soft, fluffy sweet potato gnocchi and you only need 5 easy-to-find ingredients. Toss with nutty brown butter, rosemary, garlic and chorizo for a wonderful showstopper of a meal, fab for weeknights, special occasions or the holiday season.
Ingredients
For the sweet potato gnocchi –
- 500g/1lb sweet potato (roughly 2 medium)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/4 cups plain flour
For the brown butter sauce –
- 50g/2oz chorizo, casing removed and diced (optional)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 sprig of rosemary, stem removed
- 1 teaspoon flaky salt
- Grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Roast the sweet potatoes. Heat your oven to 200C/390F fan and line an oven tray with baking paper. Slice your sweet potatoes in half, then drizzle the exposed sides with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place them cut-side down on the prepared tray, then transfer them to the oven and roast for 30 minutes, until you can easily pierce them right through with a knife.
- Mix the gnocchi dough. Scoop the sweet potato flesh straight from their skins into a large bowl, then add 1 cup of ricotta, 1/4 cup grated parmesan, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Mix the sweet potato through the other ingredients, using your spatula or spoon to break up the flesh into a semi-smooth mixture (don’t worry if it’s not perfectly smooth).
- Add the flour. Working with about 1/2 cup at a time, add the flour into the bowl. Mix it through the dough until it’s JUST combined, then keep adding, until the dough is less sticky and able to be handled.
- Shape the gnocchi. Lightly flour a flat, clean surface, then transfer the dough out onto it. Form it into a chunky log, then cut off a roughly 1-inch piece from the short end. Roll the dough out into a long rope, then use a knife to slice pieces off, about 1 inch long and transfer to a baking paper lined tray or plate. Continue with the rest of the dough.
- Make the brown butter sauce. If you’re using the chorizo, add the diced chorizo into a high-sided pan or skillet, then turn the heat to high. Cook the chorizo, stirring, for a couple of minutes, until super crispy. Transfer to a plate, but keep any chorizo oil in the pan. Add the butter and let it melt, stirring as it starts to foam up, develop little brown spots and smell gorgeously nutty. This is your brown butter. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Cook the gnocchi. Bring a large pot of water to the boil (I literally boil my kettle and pour that in the pot to save time), then add the gnocchi. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the gnocchi float to the top of the water. At this point, they’re ready.
- Finish the gnocchi in the sauce. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked gnocchi straight into the pan with the brown butter (don’t worry if some of the cooking water gets in the pan – this is going to help form a lovely luscious sauce). Turn the heat back on to medium, then toss the gnocchi through the brown butter, letting it sit undisturbed on one side for a few minutes, to crisp up the bottom. Add the crushed garlic, flaky salt and rosemary leaves, then toss them through the gnocchi and remove from the heat. Divide between plates and top with the crispy chorizo and grated parmesan. Enjoy right away.
Notes
TIME SAVER: You can cut down cooking time by piercing the sweet potatoes with a fork, then popping them into the microwave on high for around 7 to 8 minutes, until super soft.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The gnocchi is best served right away, but leftovers can be reheated in the microwave and will keep for 3 days in the fridge. You can freeze the uncooked gnocchi and then cook it straight from frozen if you like – arrange them on a lined tray on a single layer, then freeze until solid. Once solid, transfer to ziplock bags. You can make the brown butter up to 2 weeks in advance (store it in the fridge) and the chorizo can be made a few days in advance and stored in the fridge.
INGREDIENT NOTES: Skip the nutmeg if you like, and you can use 00 flour if you have it. If you want to keep this vegetarian, you can cut out the crispy chorizo garnish.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: If you don’t use the brown butter sauce, you can use the gnocchi in any pasta recipe you like (just replace the pasta with the gnocchi). I love it with creamy gochujang sauce, basil pesto, sun-dried tomato pesto, mushroom Alfredo sauce or spicy tomato ‘nduja sauce.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: pasta
- Cuisine: italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 350g
- Calories: 570
- Sugar: 8.5g
- Sodium: 1027mg
- Fat: 27.8g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Carbohydrates: 60g
- Fiber: 5.3g
- Protein: 20.9g
- Cholesterol: 69mg
Keywords: kumara gnocchi, homemade gnocchi
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