Homemade sweet potato gnocchi with roasted garlic sauce is a delicious twist on traditional Italian comfort food. It’s easy to make fresh sweet potato gnocchi and the roasted garlic sauce pairs perfectly with the potato dumplings. Perfect as a vegetarian main course or a flavourful side dish, this sweet potato gnocchi recipe will be a favourite. With a few simple ingredients and a little bit of patience, you can create a homemade meal that’s both comforting and delicious.
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Showcase your impressive Italian cooking skills by making homemade sweet potato gnocchi for dinner tonight. This restaurant-worthy dish is simple to put together and it’s a great weeknight dinner or Thanksgiving recipe.
Why You’ll Love this Homemade Gnocchi
- Easy: If you thought making sweet potato gnocchi from scratch was going to be difficult, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. The steps to make it are easy to follow.
- Authentic: Italian-style sweet potato dumplings are a traditional Italian dish, which can be made using regular potatoes or sweet ones. This delicious gnocchi will bring a true taste of Italy to your dinner table.
- Versatile: When preparing homemade gnocchi, you can tweak the recipe as you wish, perhaps using different herbs or rice.
Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe Ingredients
You don’t need too many ingredients for this easy dinner dish. For the gnocchi, you will need sweet potatoes, ricotta cheese, an egg, grated parmesan cheese, flour, truffle salt, oregano, and thyme. The garlic sauce calls for garlic, oil, shallot, salt, white wine, parmesan, oregano and thyme.
How to Make Sweet Potato Gnocchi
For more detailed instructions, with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Bake the potatoes and garlic: Wrap the garlic in foil and bake it, along with the potatoes, in the oven.
Make the garlic sauce: While the potatoes cool, sauté the shallot, add the garlic, butter and herbs, and cook.
Make the gnocchi dough: Mash the potatoes (using a potato ricer) with the other gnocchi ingredients then shape the mixture into balls.
Shape the gnocchi: Use the tines of a fork or a gnocchi board to flatten each gnocchi and press grooves into it.
Cook and serve: Cook gnocchi in boiling water, remove with a slotted spoon and then serve with the garlic sauce and fresh herbs and cheese to garnish.
Substitutions and Variations
If you are looking for a gluten free gnocchi recipe, you can simply use your preferred gluten free flour to make this homemade version. You can also use regular potatoes rather than sweet ones or even some of each. Another idea is to use butternut squash or even pumpkin for the gnocchi, or serve a brown butter sauce, creamy sauce or pasta sauce instead of the garlic sauce.
Another option is to pan fry the boiled gnocchi for a few minutes with a small amount of butter. Then add the sauce to serve.
What to Serve with Traditional Gnocchi
Perhaps you want to serve some side dishes with the gnocchi, in which case Italian giardiniera would be ideal, or you might prefer a colourful Caprese salad. Another idea would be serving some meat on the side, like beef or chicken, to round out the meal. Then again, you could always just enjoy the fresh gnocchi and garlic sauce as it is. This easy gnocchi recipe is so versatile!
Storage Instructions
Store: Cooked gnocchi can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Freeze: You can freeze uncooked gnocchi after they are shaped. Arrange the gnocchi in a single layer on a baking pan and place the pan in a level position in the freezer for 3 to 4 hour hours. Then place the frozen gnocchi into a freezer safe airtight container.
Reheat: You can warm up leftover gnocchi in a pan on the stove or microwave it.
Tips for Making the Best Gnocchi
- If you find that boiled potatoes are making the gnocchi too mushy, bake your sweet potatoes instead of boiling them. This helps to reduce the amount of water in the finished product and helps them to stay together better.
- The best way to find out if you have added enough flour is to make a couple of pieces and put them in a pot of boiling water. If they fall apart, add more flour. After you make your gluten free sweet potato gnocchi a few times you will be able to tell by how it feels.
- While not necessary, a potato ricer and a gnocchi board are great investments if you will make gnocchi often.
Homemade Potato Gnocchi Recipe FAQs
This might be because you’re using potatoes with too high of water content (older ones have a lower moisture content than new ones) or you might be using too much flour.
I love the combination of sweet potato with pungent roasted garlic but you can use any sauce you want, from tomato sauce to brown butter or anything else you’d like to try.
There are several methods to try. You can use a potato masher, a fork, press through a sieve, use a food mill or grate on a box grater. I don’t recommend a food processor as it will make it too mushy.
Yes, you can substitute all purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten free flour.
Sweet Potato Gnocchi Recipe
Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Roasted Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 sweet potatoes medium
- ¼ Cup ricotta whole milk
- 1 egg
- ¼ Cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 ½ Cups flour 1:1 gluten free flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 Teaspoon truffle salt
- 1 Teaspoon oregano
- 1 Teaspoon thyme dried
Roasted Garlic Sauce
- 1 Bulb garlic
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- Pinch sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon shallot minced
- ½ Cup white wine
- 3 Tablespoon Butter
- 2 Teaspoon oregano dried
- 1 Teaspoon thyme dried
- parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Wash the potatoes, then pierce several times with a fork. Brush with coconut oil and place onto a foil lined baking sheet.
- Remove most of the peel from the garlic then slice off ¼” of the top. Place into the center of a small square of foil. Drizzle with coconut oil and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. Wrap the foil around the garlic and place onto the baking sheet with the potatoes.
- Add to the center rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour.
- Cut the potatoes in half and place into the refrigerator to cool for 20 minutes
- Meanwhile, prepare sauce. Heat a deep skillet over medium heat. Add a splash of coconut oil.
- Once hot, add the diced shallot. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Gently squeeze garlic out of the bulb and into the pan. Add butter, oregano, thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté 2 minutes.
- Next, pour in the white wine. Lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Next, prepare the gnocchi. Peel the potatoes and discard the skin.
- Cut potatoes into chunks and add to a large mixing bowl. mash completely.
- Next, combine potatoes with the ricotta, egg, parmesan cheese, truffle salt, oregano, and thyme. Add the flour and mix until the dough is no longer sticky. Add more flour if needed.
- Dust a wooden cutting board with flour.
- Bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil.
- Once dough is thoroughly mixed, place onto the cutting board. Form into a ball.
- Divide the dough into 4 sections. Roll each into a smaller ball.
- Place dough into the refrigerator as you work. The dough is easier to work with when it is slightly chilled.
- Working one dough ball at a time, roll each ball into a 1” thick log.
- Cut into 1” pieces. *for ridges- roll the dough over the tongs of a fork. Optional step but gives a more visually appealing gnocchi.*
- Add gnocchi to the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Remove with a strainer.
- Add to the skillet and toss with the sauce. Garnish with fresh thyme and parmesan.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
These pillowy gnocchi bites with roasted garlic sauce are a delicious dinner idea if you enjoy Italian flavours. Once you learn how to make your own gnocchi from mashed sweet potatoes you’ll never use pre-packaged or frozen gnocchi again. This sweet potato gnocchi recipe is one you will make on repeat!
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Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a storyteller, food lover, dog mom and adventure seeker living on the Pacific coast. She shares her passion for food, dogs, fitness, adventures, travel and philanthropy, in hopes of encouraging followers to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places and stand for a cause. Bella lives with Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease.
Oh my yummy! This sounds perfect for fall and a lot better than the smoothie I am currently having for lunch.
I really enjoy gnocchi but have never had the sweet potato version. It look delicious. I am going to try it next week when I start my Fall cooking.
I’ve never heard of making these with sweet potato before! Yum!!!
Gnocchi is SO GOOD! I can’t wait to try this version. And, yes, I absolutely need a potato ricer in my life!
Looks delicious, thanks for sharing! Will definintely try this over the weekend 🙂
This looks delicious! Will give this a go over the weekend 🙂
Make this often. Love this recipe!
This was so delightfully rich and flavorful and much easier to make than I anticipated. We plan on making it part of our regular dinner rotation!
I don’t know what I loved more, the gnocchi or the sauce! What a perfect combination. Loved every bite!
I don’t know what I loved more, the gnocchi or the sauce! What a perfect combination. Loved every bite!!
This gnocchi was so good!! I made it for a friend who is gluten free and we both loved it!
This sweet potato gnocchi was incredible! I added a butter sage sauce. Oh my goodness!
I love gnocchi and was glad to have the flavor of sweet potatoes, and the roasted garlic sauce is totally delicious and easy to make.