Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Simple and delicious homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi in just a few easy steps hand made with love. This hearty dish is tossed in a light brown butter and sage sauce and toasted until golden.  

‘Tis the season for warmer, heartier comfort meals. Why not flex your cooking muscles and make your own from scratch?! This gnocchi is a beautiful, “rustic elegance”style meal that is SURE to impress.

Don’t be scared, this gnocchi is as unintimidating as it comes – with only 4 ingredients! The completed dish highlights the crispy sweet potato, and features a brown butter and sage ‘sauce’ that perfectly compliments the flavours. This is a filling dish, so you don’t need to add any sauce that’s too thick or heavy. So I kept it simple! However, I wouldn’t be afraid to add some greens like chopped kale or spinach at the end with the garlic (goat cheese would be delish too).

Sweet Potato: Facts

Sweet potatoes are a versatile root vegetable with so much to offer! You can usually find them easily at any grocery store, and can be prepared in many different sweet or savoury ways. They are something I always have in my pantry, especially in the fall and winter. They store well at home, and have the ability to elevate a meal or dish with their delicious rich flavour and naturally sweet taste. Add them to your holiday menu this year with my oh so yummy Maple Hasselback Sweet Potato recipe!

Sweet Potato: Nutrition

I love sneaking as many healthy ingredients into meals for my family. Sweet potatoes are highly nutritious and are an excellent source of beta-carotene, vitamin C, fibre, and potassium. As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, yams and sweet potatoes are often actually mistaken for one another and can even be marked incorrectly at the store (read more about that here). Look for a more reddish copper skin! These versatile root vegetables can be mashed, puréed, toasted, baked, roasted, BBQ’d, and the list goes on….

What is Gnocchi?

Excuse me while I Google “how to properly pronounce gnocchi.” Gnocchi is an Italian dumpling or pasta (jury seems to be out when I researched it) typically made out of potatoes and flour. The word gnocchi (pronounced “nyawk-kee”) actually comes from the word “nocca” which means knuckle. Once you’ve tried this recipe, make sure to give the Cauliflower Gnocchi a try by Bailey over on Jilly’s blog!  This beauty of a recipe is from Shay, the newest member of our team!

If you love gnocchi as much as I do check out this recipe for Creamy Mushroom Gnocchi (with the option to use store-bought gnocchi if that’s more up your alley… it is a bit time consuming).

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

5 from 1 vote

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Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Simple and delicious homemade gnocchi in just a few easy steps. This hearty pasta is tossed in a light brown butter and sage sauce and toasted until golden. This makes 4-6 hearty servings.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Dinner, Gnocchi, Pasta, Sweet Potato

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Author Fraîche

Ingredients

• 2 cups mashed sweet potato (1 large sweet potato)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup grated parmesan, divided
• 1/3 cup butter
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh sage, finely chopped (plus extra leaves for garnish)
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook the Sweet Potato

1. BAKING INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and poke several holes in sweet potatoes with a fork and place sweet potatoes. Roast in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until tender and cooked through. Allow to cool, then remove skin and mash 2 cups of sweet potato until smooth - use a ricer for best results. You can also use a masher or immersion blender.

   BOILING INSTRUCTIONS: peel the sweet potato, cut into 1" cubes, cover with water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until soft, around 15-20 minutes. Mash with a ricer, potato masher or immersion blender until smooth and set aside.

Make the Gnocchi

1. In a large mixing bowl, add the sweet potato, egg, 1/2 cup parmesan and mix together. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, forming a soft dough. Knead the dough until it is firm and not overly sticky - add flour as needed. Form a ball with the dough.

2. Cut dough into 8 equal parts. Take each part and roll into a long rope about 1/2-inch in diameter, sprinkling with more flour as needed. Slice each rope into 1/2-inch "bite-sized" pieces.

3. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and drop in gnocchi for just under 1 minute or until floating. Remove with a slotted spoon and set in a bowl.

4. Add the butter to a large pan over medium heat. Once melted add the gnocchi, garlic and sage and cook until the gnocchi is golden on both sides.

5. Serve with extra sage leaves and the remaining parmesan.