This Homemade Potato Gnocchi is a classic Italian dumpling made with baked russet potatoes, all-purpose flour, one egg yolk, a pinch of salt, and a little grated Parmesan.

The dough comes together in about ten minutes, and the finished gnocchi are soft and pillowy instead of dense or gummy.

Make a batch for a slow Sunday dinner, a date night at home, or a freezer stash for busy weeknights.

Once they’re shaped, they cook in under three minutes.

I love tossing them with butter and Parmesan, or using them in a gnocchi bolognese skillet when I want something saucier.

If homemade potato gnocchi is on your list, these gnocchi and pasta dinners are worth saving too:

Ingredients You’ll Need

Russet potatoes are the only real choice here (their dry, starchy flesh means you need less flour).

Yukon Golds work in a pinch, but the dough gets stickier and you’ll end up adding more flour, which makes the gnocchi heavier.

Ingredients

2 lbs russet potatoes (about 3 large)
1 to 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Semolina flour, for dusting the tray (optional)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Extra grated Parmesan and black pepper, for serving

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F and scrub the potatoes clean.
Prick each one a few times with a fork and bake them directly on the oven rack for 50 to 60 minutes, until a knife slides through the center with zero resistance.
Baking instead of boiling keeps the potatoes dry, and dry potatoes are the whole secret to light gnocchi.
While the potatoes are still hot, slice them in half and scoop the flesh out of the skins.
Push it through a potato ricer or food mill onto a clean, lightly floured counter.
Spread the riced potato into a thin layer and let it steam off for 5 to 10 minutes, until it’s warm but no longer hot.
Don’t skip the ricer if you own one (a masher leaves lumps and a fork overworks the potato).
Sprinkle the salt and Parmesan over the potato, then drizzle the egg yolk across the top.
Add 1 cup of the flour, scattering it evenly instead of dumping it in one pile.
Use a bench scraper or your fingertips to gently fold and press everything together until a shaggy dough forms.
Knead the dough very lightly, just 30 seconds or so, until it’s smooth and only slightly tacky.
If it sticks badly to your hands, add the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time.
Stop as soon as the dough holds together. Overworking develops gluten, and that’s what turns gnocchi chewy and rubbery.
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and test one small piece of dough before shaping the rest.
Drop it in, and if it falls apart, knead in another tablespoon of flour.
If it holds its shape and floats within a couple of minutes, your dough is ready.
Cut the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one into a rope about 3/4 inch thick.
Use a floured knife or bench scraper to cut the ropes into 3/4-inch pieces.
Dust them lightly with flour so they don’t stick together.
To add ridges, roll each piece down the back of a fork or a gnocchi board with light pressure from your thumb.
The ridges help sauce cling, and the little dimple from your thumb helps them cook evenly.
This part takes a while the first time (it gets faster after the first dozen).
Set the shaped gnocchi on a tray dusted with semolina or flour in a single layer.
Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water in batches so you don’t crowd the pot.
They’ll sink first, then float to the surface after about 1 to 2 minutes.
Let them cook 30 seconds more after they float, then lift them out with a slotted spoon or spider.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the drained gnocchi and toss for 1 to 2 minutes, until they’re coated and just starting to turn golden in spots.
Splash in a tablespoon of the cooking water if the pan looks dry, then toss with parsley, Parmesan, and black pepper.
Serve warm right away with extra Parmesan on top and enjoy!

Important Recipe Notes

Use russets and bake them. Boiled potatoes soak up water, and wet potatoes need way more flour to come together. More flour means heavier gnocchi every time.
Rice the potatoes while hot. Cold potato turns gluey when you press it. Work quickly once they come out of the oven, then let the riced potato cool just enough to handle.
Measure the flour loosely. Potatoes vary a lot, so the flour amount is a range. Start with 1 cup and only add more if the dough is truly sticky, not just slightly tacky.

Always boil a test piece. It takes two minutes and saves the whole batch. If the test gnocchi falls apart, a little more flour fixes it before you’ve shaped everything.
Skip the ridges if you’re short on time. Plain pillows taste exactly the same. The ridges mostly help thinner sauces cling, so with a thick bolognese or cream sauce you won’t miss them.
Freeze them raw for later. Freeze the shaped gnocchi on a floured tray until solid (about 1 hour), then move them to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Cook straight from frozen and add about a minute to the boil time.
Don’t refrigerate raw gnocchi overnight. The potato releases moisture and the gnocchi get soft and sticky. Cook them the same day or freeze them.
Pan-fry leftovers instead of reheating in the microwave. Cooked gnocchi crisp up nicely in a hot skillet with a little butter or olive oil, about 4 minutes per side. The microwave makes them gummy.

How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe

Serving:

Homemade potato gnocchi are best eaten hot, straight from the skillet. Butter, Parmesan, and parsley is my default, but brown butter with crispy sage leaves is just as easy.

They also work well in any sauce you’d use with pasta, from a simple marinara to a creamy spinach sauce.

Storage:

Keep cooked gnocchi in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Expect them to firm up a bit once chilled.

Raw gnocchi should go straight into the freezer instead of the fridge, where they’ll keep for about 2 months.

Customization:

Swap half the russets for baked sweet potato (you’ll need a little extra flour since sweet potato is wetter).

Ricotta can stand in for part of the potato if you want an even softer dumpling.

For a gluten-free version, a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend works, though the dough is more fragile to shape.