Fried Butter Gnocchi with Garlic & Parmesan (2024)

FAQs

Do I need to boil gnocchi before frying? ›

To make crispy gnocchi in a skillet, you're going to ignore the directions on the package. There's no need to boil them first, it will just make things more complicated and messy.

So instead of boiling or baking a package of gnocchi on a Wednesday night and wishing it tasted more like the pillowy homemade version, I broil it. Yep, that's right: I rip open one of those shelf-stable packages, toss the gnocchi with a tablespoon of olive oil, a lot of grated Parmesan cheese and a little bit of salt.

On the outside, you have a delicate and soft potato gnocchi dough, while on the inside a tasty filling which melts as you heat them. You can boil them for a few minutes or even pan-fry or deep-fry them to make crunch Italian-style croquettes! Perfect for all ages as mini 'pizza bites'.

Oh yes, you don't always have to boil them and toss them with a sauce. You can pan-fry them to crispy, soft-centered delicious little bites that make a great alternative to fries or roasted potatoes which can take the best part of 40 minutes to 1 hour to prepare.

Never boil potatoes for gnocchi. Always bake potatoes in their skins to make gnocchi from. It removes maximum moisture from the potato. Don't bake them in advance as you need to use them as soon as they come out of the oven.

Roasted potatoes and polenta are perfect to serve alongside this dish. The trick for making this is to prepare it the day before, then let the meat rest overnight so that the oil softens its fibers even more.

Nutritional Value

Believe it or not, regular pasta is actually more carb-heavy than gnocchi, coming in at around 2 times the amount of carbs per serving. Gnocchi is also notorious for having a lot more sodium, with over 200 grams of it per serving. Regular pasta doesn't have nearly as high of a sodium content.

The first thing you need to know when buying gnocchi is what they are made with. If the label says 'potato gnocchi', it means that potatoes are the main ingredient; if, on the other hand, it says 'gnocchi with potatoes', then flour is the main ingredient. So checking all the ingredients of the dough is important.

There is no need to pre-cook the gnocchi. It'll cook in the sauce. The sauce is meant to be quite thick, but if you find it gets too dry before the gnocchi is cooked, add in another splash of chicken broth or wine.

Like pasta, gnocchi is the perfect vessel for a variety of delicious sauces, from tomato, bolognese and quick butter sauce with sage to creamy gnocchi sauces.

How much gnocchi per person? ›

Allow approximately 125g gnocchi per person. For best results, place the gnocchi into a large pan of boiling water. Bring back to the boil and cook for 3 minutes according to taste. Drain thoroughly and serve immediately.

Recipe Tips and Notes:

You can skip the boiling when frying your gnocchi. However, if you prefer your gnocchi a touch softer, you could boil it first and then pan fry them for about 3-5 minutes instead of the full time to brown. If making this as a full meal, this will serve 2-3.

Instructions. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a medium skillet and carefully mix in the packaged gnocchi until every dumpling is nice and glossy. Toast the gnocchi for 5-7 minutes until golden brown and plump and the butter is absorbed. Careful you don't brown it too much or the exterior gets a little too crunchy.

This simple tomato sauce gets tons of flavor from herbs steeped in olive oil that lusciously coats potato pillows of gnocchi, topped with fresh balls of mozzarella.

(To re-hydrate, most packages recommend boiling the gnocchi for about three minutes before saucing, topping, and eating.)

That's because we discovered you don't even actually have to boil the gnocchi in order to make it for dinner. Toss them directly from the package onto a sheet pan with a slew of veggies, roast them for 20 minutes, scoop into bowls, and dig in. Seriously — that's it.

The basic ingredient of store-bought gnocchi is, of course, potatoes, which in this case are precooked. But in addition there are various raw flours and/or starches, such as rice, wheat, corn, and potato. These latter are inedible when uncooked from the standpoint of both digestibility and safety.

There is no need to pre-cook the gnocchi. It'll cook in the sauce. The sauce is meant to be quite thick, but if you find it gets too dry before the gnocchi is cooked, add in another splash of chicken broth or wine.