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This Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi is soft, tender, and perfectly pillowy with a natural sweetness that makes it extra cozy and comforting. It’s surprisingly simple to make from scratch and pairs beautifully with everything from butter and herbs to your favorite sauce!
And if you like this recipe, check out my Spinach Gnocchi, this Gnocchi with Sage Butter Sauce, my Easy Pesto Gnocchi, and my Baked Gnocchi Casserole!
Why you’ll love this top recipe of mine!
This has been one of my most popular recipes for well over 10 years and today it’s getting a much needed update! The recipe is still the same but now it comes with process shots to help you make it and a lot more tips and tricks!
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Only 3 simple ingredients 🙌
- Soft, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth texture
- Naturally slightly sweet + super cozy
- Freezer-friendly and great for meal prep!
In this post…
Ingredients needed
The ingredient measurements for this sweet potato gnocchi recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
- Sweet potatoes – roasted until soft for natural sweetness and structure
- All-purpose flour – brings the dough together; add gradually to avoid a dense texture!
- Salt – enhances flavor
- To serve – I like to keep it simple and serve mine with olive oil and fresh herbs. I also have a delicious gnocchi sage sauce you should try!
Optional notes/subs:
- You can use gluten-free 1:1 flour if needed
- A potato ricer gives the best texture, but mashing very well also works
How to Make It
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written homemade gnocchi recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you :)
- Roast your sweet potatoes on a baking sheet until fork tender, about 45-60 minutes depending on size. Let cool and then peel off the skin.
- On a clean work surface, combine the flour + salt. Make a well in the center and rice the sweet potatoes right into the middle. If you don’t have a potato ricer, simply mash the potatoes with a fork or a potato masher and then add them to the flour.
- Using clean hands, work the dough together until a dough forms. Add more flour as needed so that the dough isn’t stick to the touch.
- Work the sweet potato gnocchi dough into a round disk and cut into 8 even pieces. Have extra flour readily available.
- Roll each of the 8 pieces into a long log, about 1 inch thick. Lay on a floured surface and cut it into inch pieces. Roll each piece into a little flour so the the cut edges have flour on them.
- Optional: using a gnocchi board to roll each piece and create grooves for the sauce to stick. You can also do this by simply pressing the back of a fork into 2 sides to create the grooves.
FINAL STEP: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium heat. Drop in the gnocchi and cook for a few minutes until the start to float to the top. Remove the cooked gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon and toss with your favorite sauce.
Recipe Tips
- Don’t overwork the dough or the gnocchi can become dense
- Add flour gradually! You want a soft dough that isn’t sticky
- Rice or mash the potatoes while still slightly warm for best texture
- Lightly flour each piece to prevent sticking
- Test one gnocchi in boiling water before cooking the whole batch – if it floats, it’s ready.
- Use a bench scraper for easier cutting
Why is my gnocchi falling apart in the water?
This usually means the dough is too soft or doesn’t have enough structure. The most common cause is not enough flour, especially since sweet potatoes can vary a lot in moisture.
To fix it:
- Add a little more flour until the dough is soft but not sticky
- Make sure your sweet potatoes aren’t overly wet (roasting helps reduce moisture!)
- Avoid overworking the dough, which can weaken the structure
Also, try testing one piece first in boiling water – if it falls apart, mix a bit more flour into the dough before cooking the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Your potatoes likely had more moisture – just add a bit more flour until the dough is workable.
This usually happens from adding too much flour or overmixing the dough.
Nope! A fork works great to create those classic ridges. Alternatively, you can skip this step altogether although the ridges do help the sauce cling to your gnocchi.
3 Ingredient Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Video
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork, and then bake them for 40-50 minutes or until tender. You’ll know they’re done when a fork can be pressed into the center rather easily. Set aside to let cool enough for you to handle them easily.
- Combine the salt and 2 cups of the flour. Flour a work surface and pour your flour mixture onto the surface. Make a well in the middle of the flour.
- Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skin and place them, one at a time, into the potato ricer.* Rice both of the potatoes right on top of the flour.
- Once all of the potato has been riced, flour your hands and begin working the sweet potato into the flour. Continue to work the mixture until it’s fully combined. You don’t want the dough to be sticky so keep adding flour until you get a nice dry dough. This *could* take a decent bit of extra flour if your potatoes were on the larger side.
- Once fully combined, roll the dough into a ball and cut it into eight even pieces. Roll each piece into a long log that's about 1/2 an inch thick. Cut pieces the gnocchi into 1 inch pieces. Gently toss each piece into flour to ensure that it's dry and not sticky at any edges. Continue until you've cut out pieces from all of the dough. Optional: using a gnocchi board or fork, press grooves into each piece of gnocchi.
- The gnocchi can be stored in the fridge for 3 days, the freeze for a few weeks, or cooked right away.
To cook the gnocchi:
- Heat a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the gnocchi and let cook for a couple minutes. Once the gnocchi floats to the surface of the water, let it boil for 30 more seconds and then remove it from the water using a slotted spoon.
- Toss in your favorite sauce (I like toss mine in a bit of dairy free butter and fresh herbs) and ENJOY!
Notes
- Fridge: Store uncooked gnocchi for up to 3 days
- Freezer: Freeze in a single layer, then transfer to a bag for a few weeks
- To cook from frozen: Boil straight from frozen—no need to thaw
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Will this mix make pasta? If I run it through my machine i’d Like to make ravioli
While I do think that this would make pasta, I have never tried it and cannot say for sure. Sorry I can’t be of more help. If you end up testing it out. Please let me know how it works out!
Oh Brita, this looks fabulous! Who knew gnocchi could be so easy and look SO pretty? I love your photos! I love sweet potatoes but rarely eat them… always calorie and carb conscious. I don’t suppose this might work as well with butternut squash or perhaps pumpkin? What do you think?
Ya know, I’ve been wanting to try it with pumpkin and hope to do that in the next week or so. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
DId you try it with pumpkin yet? Thanks!
How many sweet potatoes for 5 people? 3 potatoes?
For 5 people I would double the recipe. So, 4 medium-large sweet potatoes. You *might* have a little extra depending on how much people eat and if you’re serving anything with it
I just have a question, I’m new to the no wheat thing, been doing the whole 30 and been cooking with coconut flour. Do you think it would work for the sweet potatoes gnocchi?
Thank you,
Janis
How is large for the sweet potatoes please?
So good! My 4 year old loved helping make it and he’s eating his second helping.
yay! SO glad that you all liked it!
I’ve just made these and they were AWESOME. Followed your recipe exactly. And then I fried them in a bit of browned butter to give them that outer crispiness that my boyfriend and I love so much… then I threw some wilted kale on top and the colors and flavors were great. Thanks for the simple and delicious recipe!
Hi! This looks amazing – I can’t wait to try this out. I had a quick question – have you tried you try making this with canned pumpkin? I think this would be an awesome fall recipe.
Do you know what kind of sauce was used with the original recipe from The Family Wash? I’ve been looking for the recipe since it’s been taken off the menu and finally came across yours!!! But I also loved their sauce. I would greatly appreciate any information as I am excited that I have now found this and can make myself.
Thank you!
Did you ever find out? My dad taught me how to make gnocchi. He died a few years ago, but I like making gnocchi on his birthday. My boyfriend is gluten-free, lactose-intolerant and allergic to nightshades so this Sicilian-American is looking for something I can still make on my dad’s birthday but that I can share with the BF. I really don’t know what sauce to use.
I’m honestly not sure what the sauce was. BUT, I know someone who works there and will see if I can find out!
Awesome! A restaurant back home used to do brown sugar, butter and pork and walnuts, but IDK the actual recipe. If I get that, I’ll share! I also saw a butter, sage and sausage that goes with butternut squash, so it should work with sweet potato. But if that restaurant your friend works at got rave reviews, I’d love to try that! Hope your day is going well!
Can I freeze the gnocchi after they’re shaped and before they are boiled?