I first wrote this article back in 2017, just months before my wedding. I was so excited and preparing for a new life not only as a wife but also to move to a different country and change everything that I know and was used to in life. And now 5 years later, going back and reading those stories in my article make me reflect on how far I developed myself and this website since then. All thanks to your love and support!
I first created this homemade egg-less vegan gnocchi recipe back in 2017 during Easter lent season. When I was craving those delicious pillowy gnocchi bites.
I know when someone says homemade pasta it might sound intimidating but it is not the case here.
These homemade egg-less vegan gnocchi are very easy to do with no need for any special equipment.
There are a lot of videos and recipes if you surf the internet that needs a special “gnocchi paddle”. It is is very cute by the way I have been meaning to buy one. Not because I needed but just because I am a big addict to buying kitchen gadgets.
But you don’t have to buy anything special. A fork or absolutely nothing at all even can do the trick.
Are the grooves necessary?
You can prepare gnocchi and just cut them into small pillows and cook with no need to add any grooves. This way will save you a lot of time for sure if you are in a hurry.
But I find that those little cute grooves we make will help the sauce, later on, to stick to the gnocchi better. As I said before I didn’t buy any special equipment for making the grooves and a fork will do the trick just fine. But my favorite way to create some imprints on these cute little pillows is the Lebanese way.
In our Lebanese cuisine, we have a very traditional recipe called “maakroun”. It is a sweet small crispy bite that we prepare on certain special occasions. You can check my healthy recipe version of maakroun here on the website! I sometimes use the same traditional way of creating imprints on the maakroun with the gnocchi also. And this method my friends is with a cheese grater or any perforated kitchen tool you can have on hand as a Gnocchi paddle
Now back to the recipe itself. This egg-less gnocchi recipe is so easy and simple. It needs just 2 ingredients and very few cooking skills. The traditional version is with eggs but this one is vegan with no dairy product In it. This homemade egg-less vegan gnocchi just needs some potato and some flour and that’s it! I like to add a little bit of salt and nutmeg for an extra flavor.
Can we prepare this egg-less gnocchi in advance?
Once you finish shaping your gnocchi pillows you can cook them right away and toss in any sauce you like. They are delicious in any sauce from the simplest red tomato sauce or just some garlic and butter. In my personal opinion, I found that gnocchi tastes better the next day. I like that pillowy chewy texture of the gnocchi but not gummy. and I find that when I cook them a little bit in advance of assembling with the sauce even one day in advance gives them time to cool down and firm and get that perfect chewy texture. So, you can prepare and cook the gnocchi and toss them the next day with sauce. I wouldn’t go more than two days on them after cooking because from there the texture will start to become gummier.
Can we freeze gnocchi?
I love to prepare a big batch and make one big mess once and freeze these homemade egg-lee vegan gnocchi to enjoy whenever I want. Just after you finish shaping the gnocchi and before cooking, freeze the gnocchi in a single layer on a tray. After they freeze completely transfer them to a ziplock bag and store for up to 2 months. When you want to serve, boil directly from the freezer. They will need an extra minute to cook because they were frozen but they will taste just like the freshly made ones and for sure much better than the store-bought version.
Few more tips for the perfect homemade egg-less gnocchi
Always pre-boil your water and let it be very salty as the sea. Using very salty water to boil will prevent the dough from soaking a lot of water and ending up with soggy gummy gnocchi.
Boil your potato with the skin on and whole without cutting. This is the best way to prevent them from absorbing a lot of moisture. And let the potato cool completely before pealing and kneading. This way you will prevent burning your hands and it will help release some of the moisture also while cooling down.
The amount of four needed for gnocchi can depend a lot. You can never know for sure how much moisture is in your cooked potato and how much flour it needs to absorb that moisture and to have a good dough that is not sticky.
Especially with a homemade egg-less vegan gnocchi dough version, you might need more flour than a traditional recipe. For that, I recommend using this recipe as a start base and working your way up from there with the flour. You need to judge your dough on feel. whenever the dough is shapable and you can work with it and create a groove without a sticky mess you will know it is ready to go. If it is still very sticky and hard to shape with a fork, or grater then this means it needs more flour.
How can we serve those homemade egg-less vegan gnocchi?
I tried so many sauces for the gnocchi and I can never choose a favorite. You can use any sauce you love with pasta with this gnocchi. The basic one that I love a lot is just a simple garlic and lemon dressing with some sautéed kale. I also have another version on the website with some shrimp in it check it out!
I even experimented with the dough itself and added spinach to give a vibrant green color and toss it in red sauce, you can also check that recipe here on my website! (it is a very old recipe but very delicious!)
You can try it with any vegetable you like from carrots, to beetroot and sweet potato, any kind of veggie goes well with this dough but each type will take a different ratio of flour and potato.
So enjoy experimenting and playing with the dough and share with me all your creations 😊
homemade egg-less vegan gnocchi
Ingredients
- 6 potatoes washed and skin cleaned 900g, see notes
- 4 cups of all-purpose flour 480 g, see notes
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg optional
Instructions
- Wash your potato very well and keep the skin and don’t cut. Boil in salted water until fork-tender. Depending on the size of your potatoes it will take between 20 to 45 minutes. Just keep checking on them every 20 minutes until they are cooked. Drain from the water after they are thoroughly cooked and let them cool down before peeling and working with them.
- Cut the cooked, cooled, and peeled potatoes into smaller size sections, and using potato rice press them until you mash everything and there are no more big lumps. You also mash them by hand or fork or potato masher.
- In a large bowl, add your riced potatoes. Add the flour, salt, and nutmeg, and with clean hands knead your dough until it is cohesive. Keep adding flour and kneading if needed until you have a cohesive clean dough that does not stick and is easy to work with and form into a small pillow and groove.
- Cut your dough into 4 big pieces. Get one part to work with and cover the other so they don’t dry out. On a floured surface, Cut this part into two smaller parts and roll each into a long rope about 2.5 cm in diameter. And using a sharp knife or dough scraper cut the rope into 2 cm small pillows.
- You can leave it as it is at this phase or add to it more grooves with a cheese grater or fork. For the traditional gnocchi shape with the grooves on one side, place a fork sitting face down on the counter and take the ball and place it at the top of the backside of the tines of the fork. With your thumb on the piece of dough, slide the gnocchi down the tines of the fork until you reach the counter. The gnocchi will turn under your thumb until it has grooves going around about 3/4 of the dough and a small inset divot where your thumb was. The same method uses the cheese grater instead of the forks. And you can also just press gently each pillow with a fork to create some simpler grooves.
- Bring a big pot of very salted water to boil. And cook the gnocchi in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pan. It took me 4 batched to cook this recipe quantity. Let the gnocchi cook until it floats on the top. this means it is ready to remove. It will take between 3 to 4 minutes depending on the size.
- Toss your gnocchi directly into your favorite sauce or you can drain and let it cool and store it in the fridge to use later.
Video
Notes
- Serving sauce suggestion: add 1 tbsp of virgin olive oil with 1 tbsp of butter in a heated skillet on medium-low heat. Add 5 minced garlic cloves and 1 tsp of chili flakes and toss until fragrant. Add 1 cup of chopped kale and toss for a second Add 1 tbsp of lemon zest with ½ cup of lemon juice and toss everything together until the kale is wilted. Add the cooked gnocchi and toss till the sauce cover the gnocchi bites. Serve and enjoy!
- Potato: I used russet potato in this recipe but you can use any other kind of potato even sweet potatoes. The amount of flour will slightly differ from one type to another. Potatoes can lose a lot of their weight after cooking (up to 40%) as a general guide 1 kg of uncooked potato will give you around 600g of cooked, peeled potatoes.
- Flour: the flour quantity in this recipe is a starting point but depending on how much moisture your potatoes have you might need to use more. I also used whole wheat flour and had a successful result with it.
- Store: you can store your cooked gnocchi for up to 1 week in the fridge. And blanch a little bit whenever you need to reheat. And toss with some oil in a pan. If you have any leftovers with sauce it can stay good for up to 3 days in the fridge.
- Freeze: to freeze arrange your uncooked floured gnocchi into a single layer on a heavily floured tray. Let them air dry at room temperature for 1 hour up to 4 hours. Then transfer the tray as it is to the freezer for a minimum of 1 hour to freeze then you can transfer it to a Ziplock bag and store it for 2 months in the freezer. Whenever you need to serve, just cook the gnocchi directly from the freezer it will take an extra minute compared to the freshly cooked one to cook.