These homemade whole wheat gnocchi are really easy to make and such healthy comfort food! Serve them with your favorite sauce for a crowd-pleasing dinner.
Do you fancy an Italian comfort dish that’s similar to pasta but not actually pasta? Then get ready for our homemade whole wheat gnocchi!
It’s a 3-ingredient recipe and the easiest way to make your own pasta. So, if you’re ready to prepare vegan gnocchi from scratch, keep reading to find out more!
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With around half an hour of preparation time, these gnocchi aren’t the quickest dinner recipe. However, it’s really rewarding to make them from scratch!
By the end, you’ll have loads of chewy and slightly fluffy little potato pillows that taste fantastic slathered in your favorite sauce.
If you love pasta dishes, try our one-pot vegan pasta marinara, pesto pasta or pasta white sauce next!
Images by Logan Ink
Recipe overview
- Super versatile & delicious
- Homemade comfort food
- Budget-friendly recipe
- Whole food plant-based (egg-free!)
- Soft, chewy & pillowy
- Meal prep-friendly
You can totally make a large batch of these homemade gnocchi ahead of time and reheat them with your favorite sauce at your convenience!
Ingredients needed
- Potatoes – the main ingredient. Go for Russet, Yukon Gold, or any other really starchy potato variety.
- Whole Wheat Flour – yes, traditional gnocchi are made with white and fluffy flour, but we like to keep things wholesome!
- Salt – this is optional; we sometimes omit it because the whole wheat gnocchi get salty enough for our tastes when we cook them in salted water.
Just looking at these basic ingredients, you’d think that gnocchi taste really bland.
But if you follow our tips for how to make them (and choose your favorite sauce or veggies to serve with your vegan gnocchi), you’re in for a surprising treat!
How to make whole wheat gnocchi
Cook your potatoes
Place your potatoes (skin on) in a large pot and cover them completely with water. Cook for 20-30 minutes until they are tender.
Peel & mash potatoes
Once they are cooked, let them cool for a few minutes until they are cool enough to handle safely yet still warm!
At this point, peel your potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Mash using a potato masher. If you don’t have one, a fork and a lot of patience will also work.
Create the dough
Now, create the gnocchi dough by incrementally adding your whole wheat flour to the mashed potatoes. One more caveat awaits you here!
Don’t overwork the flour into the mashed potatoes because gluten can start to develop. Think of it like a pie crust: knead it quickly, so it doesn’t become damp!
The mixture should be tacky to touch but not stick to a clean surface. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.
Cut & shape the gnocchi
Flour a clean surface for the next step.
Divide the whole wheat gnocchi dough into 4 chunks, rolling each of them into long ropes.
Now, slice them into 1-inch long gnocchi pillows. You can cook them as they are, or you can use a fork to create the traditional ridges.
Cook the gnocchi
Once you have cut your whole wheat gnocchi dough into beautiful little gnocchi shapes (ridges or not), bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
In small-ish batches, carefully add your vegan gnocchi to the hot water and let them cook for 2-3 minutes. Once they are done, they start to rise to the top of the water.
You can now remove them with a slotted spoon, place the cooked gnocchi in a bowl and cover them. Repeat with the rest of the uncooked gnocchi!
Serving suggestions
From marinara sauce to pesto or mushroom gravy, there are many ways to serve gnocchi!
We like to add some sautéed veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus and tomatoes to our gnocchi.
Feel free to add them to stir-fries, made gnocchi bakes or a cold gnocchi salad!
The easiest way is to serve them freshly cooked with salt, pepper, herbs and olive oil.
Storage & meal prep
Store the cooked and cooled gnocchi in a container in the fridge for up to a week and use as a quick dinner.
You can also make these gnocchi ahead of time in a few different ways!
The first option is to let your prepared gnocchi sit in their tray at room temperature for up to 3 hours before cooking.
If you want to make them 2-3 days in advance, coat your shaped gnocchi well with flour and place them in the fridge before cooking them.
Freezing gnocchi
Lay the uncooked gnocchi next to each other on a sheet pan, making sure they don’t touch. It’s best to let them dry out at room temperature for about 45 minutes before freezing them!
If you let them freeze for about 3 hours on a sheet pan, you can place them into freezer bags or containers and store them this way for 2-3 months!
Once you’re ready to cook them, remove the serving of gnocchi you want from the freezer and cook them in salted water in small-ish batches. No need to let them thaw first!
Tips & FAQs
Is gnocchi healthier than pasta?
This mainly comes down to the flour that’s used and the way that you serve your gnocchi!
Gnocchi made with whole grain flour are healthier compared to white flour gnocchi, and omitting the eggs means that they are lower in saturated fats.
Serve them with veggies and lighter sauces or olive oil to keep your dish health-promoting overall!
Are gnocchi vegan?
Some types of gnocchi you can find at the store are actually vegan, yes! Be sure to read the label since about 50% are made with eggs.
Typically, the non-refrigerated varieties are vegan. When eating at a restaurant, you need to ask the staff if your gnocchi are vegan!
What are vegan gnocchi made of?
Just two basic ingredients: potatoes and flour. You can add salt to your dough if you like and choose between all-purpose flour or whole grain flour.
What do gnocchi taste like?
Since the main ingredient in gnocchi is potato, that’s what gnocchi mainly taste like.
But, we promise, eating gnocchi is not just like eating potatoes; vegan gnocchi are the perfect mixture between thick pasta and mashed potatoes – super delicious and the perfect amount of potatoey.
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Choose the right potatoes
Starchy is the way to go! Russet or Yukon Gold are the best ones. Also, make sure the potatoes are similar in size so they cook evenly.
You can also use red-skinned or sweet potatoes if you like!
Baking vs cooking your potatoes
While you can find traditional Italian recipes using dry baked potatoes, others prefer to cook their potatoes on the stovetop for about 30 minutes.
Personally, we like to keep our home-cooking and recipes as fuss-free as possible. We opt for the stovetop method for a couple of reasons, such as the increased time and energy it takes to bake the potatoes as well as the reality that not everyone has access to an oven!
More tips
Keep your potatoes unpeeled when you cook them because otherwise, they’ll absorb water and lose some of their flavor. This is crucial to your texture!
Peel and mash the potatoes as soon as you can, when they are almost too hot to handle. You’ll be rewarded with a way better consistency for the vegan gnocchi.
Don’t make the mistake of using your food processor! This will result in a sticky and gluey mixture, messing up your homemade gnocchi.
Choose a good-quality flour if you want your vegan gnocchi to taste really delicious. You may want to sift your flour to end up with lighter and fluffier whole wheat gnocchi!
More vegan dinner recipes
If you’re in the mood for more delicious plant-based dinners, check out these next!
- Creamy Mushroom Risotto
- Healthy Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Easy Bean Chili
- Creamy Veggie Lasagna
- Spicy Thai Potato Curry
Did you make you gnocchi and like them? Feel free to share with us in the comments below, rate our recipe and Pin it here.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes 900 g
- 3 cups whole wheat flour 360 g
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the washed whole potatoes into a pot, unpeeled. Cover them with water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let them simmer for around 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.
- Once they have become soft, drain the potatoes and let them cool for a few minutes, then peel them.
- Place the peeled, warm potatoes in a bowl and mash them until smooth. This works best with a masher or a fork. Don’t use a food processor or blender!
- Add the whole wheat flour incrementally to the mashed potatoes and start kneading until you get a nice homogenous dough without overworking the potatoes. Don’t forget your pinch of salt!
- You should end up with a soft, not too sticky dough and all of the flour should be absorbed by the potatoes. Depending on the potatoes you use and how well they were cooked and mashed, you may need a little bit more or less flour.
- Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. Then, divide the gnocchi dough into 4 parts.
- Thoroughly flour a clean workspace and your hands, then grab one of the changes and roll it into a long rope, about 1-inch in diameter. Repeat with the rest of the gnocchi dough.
- Cut each rope into 1-inch long pieces to create your gnocchi pillows. You can cook them like that or use a fork to create the traditional ridges.
- Meanwhile, bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add about half of the gnocchi and boil them for 2-3 minutes until they start floating to the top.
- Remove the cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon and put them into a bowl or on a plate. Add the rest of the uncooked gnocchi to your boiling water for 2-3 more minutes.
- Once all of the whole wheat gnocchi are cooked, divide them into bowls and serve with your favorite sauce.
Notes
- You can store the uncooked, shaped gnocchi in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze them (instructions in the article).
- Make sure to peel and mash your potatoes as quickly as possible – if they get too cool, they are more difficult to handle.
- Find more tips in the article above!
Thank you posting these two recipes. They look delicious. What kind of flour would work for celiacs, and still maintain flavor and consistency?
Hey Nicole,
you can use rice flour or a gluten-free universal mix. We haven’t tried it before, that’s just what most other recipes call for.
Hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Alena
Wow! Mouth watering recipes. Easy to make too.I would love to try at home.
Thanks so much Lisa, happy you enjoyed it :)
Is this a freezable item and how long a freeze time?
Hi Yolanda, we never tried to freeze them actually. But I saw that other recipes allow you to free the uncooked and pre-shaped gnocchi. Check out this article for more: http://www.thekitchn.com/what-is-the-best-way-to-freeze-and-reheat-gnocchi-181921
Hey Sally, thanks for sharing your favorite version of making a gnocchi dish! Looks quite different and so good :) Might try it sometime soon!
you make it seem so easy! Will definitely try the mushroom version :)
This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe :)
Thank you for sharing this! I’m trying this today! I hope I’ll do it right though! I’m pretty sure this tastes so delicious!
Hello! I froze these using the method you described and they turned black in the freezer! Any idea why? :)
awww, sorry to read that! It never happened to me and I’m puzzled as to why this occurred — perhaps oxidization of the potatoes? I looked around the web and my blogger colleagues recommend the same as me, so I’m afraid I cannot weigh in on this.