Sweet Potato Gnocchi
My daughter loves gnocchi. She recently tried some sweet potato gnocchi at a restaurant that she said was super tasty and she asked me to see if I could make her a paleo version. There are quite a few recipes out there, but I decided just to wing it. I was sure that they would fall apart and not work.
They absolutely worked and they turned out dangerously delicious. We topped off our gnocchi with some roasted walnut and sage pesto and I know my daughter will love them. I’ve put most of what I made in the freezer for her so that she can enjoy them during her visit.
Worth the effort (but actually pretty easy to make)
Don’t let the long instructions put you off. These really are quite easy and well worth the effort.
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes (mine totaled 550 grams), baked and peeled
- 2 1/2 cups arrowroot powder (plus a bit more for rolling)
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes and bake them in a 400 F (200 C) oven for about an hour (or until soft and done).
- Remove from the oven and cool completely.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and then mash them in a large mixing bowl.
Mashed sweet potato and flours
- Add your flours in 1/2 cup at a time (1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup arrowroot then stir before adding more).
- After you have a whole cup of each flour added in, mix in the salt and baking soda and stir.
- Now beat your egg white until it is frothy and then stir it in.
- Resume adding in the flours half a cup at a time until you reach a dough consistency that you are able to grab a handful of and roll into a ball. For me, this equaled 2 1/2 cups of each flour. You may need a little more or a little less depending on the humidity where you are.
- Put your dough in the fridge for at least half an hour.
Ready for the fridge
- Once it’s chilled, dust your counter top or a sheet of parchment paper with some arrowroot powder.
- Take a handful of dough and roll it out into a long snake shape with your hands. If it’s sticking to your hands, just dust your hands with some of the arrowroot powder.
Grab a small clump for rolling out
Roll out into snakes
- Cut your snakes into segments about an inch each. You can leave them in that shape or you can flatten them a bit with a fork dipped in arrowroot.
Cut into segments
We made fork prints on ours
- Once all of your dough has been shaped and cut, drop each piece of gnocchi into a pot of boiling water.
Ready for the boiling water
- Within about a minute, they will float to the surface. Let them cook for about 30 seconds after they float to the top and them remove them to a colander with a slotted spoon.
They hold together really well
- If you want, you can serve them at this point.
- We went a step further and melted some ghee in a frying pan with a pinch of salt over medium heat and pan fried the gnocchi. It’s important to let it brown before flipping it to brown the other side. If you flip too soon, they will stick and you will know you are trying to turn them too soon.
Fried in ghee
- Remove to a serving plate and top with the sauce of your choice.
Dangerously delicious
Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes (mine totaled 550 grams), baked and peeled
- 2 1/2 cups arrowroot powder (plus a bit more for rolling)
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg white
Instructions
- Poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes and bake them in a 400 F (200 C) oven for about an hour (or until soft and done).
- Remove from the oven and cool completely.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and then mash them in a large mixing bowl.
- Add your flours in 1/2 cup at a time (1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup arrowroot then stir before adding more).
- After you have a whole cup of each flour added in, mix in the salt and baking soda and stir.
- Now beat your egg white until it is frothy and then stir it in.
- Resume adding in the flours half a cup at a time until you reach a dough consistency that you are able to grab a handful of and roll into a ball. For me, this equaled 2 1/2 cups of each flour. You may need a little more or a little less depending on the humidity where you are.
- Put your dough in the fridge for at least half an hour.
- Once it's chilled, dust your counter top or a sheet of parchment paper with some arrowroot powder.
- Take a handful of dough and roll it out into a long snake shape with your hands. If it's sticking to your hands, just dust your hands with some of the arrowroot powder.
- Cut your snakes into segments about an inch each. You can leave them in that shape or you can flatten them a bit with a fork dipped in arrowroot.
- Once all of your dough has been shaped and cut, drop each piece of gnocchi into a pot of boiling water.
- Within about a minute, they will float to the surface. Let them cook for about 30 seconds after they float to the top and them remove them to a colander with a slotted spoon.
- If you want, you can serve them at this point.
- We went a step further and melted some ghee in a frying pan with a pinch of salt over medium heat and pan fried the gnocchi. It's important to let it brown before flipping it to brown the other side. If you flip too soon, they will stick and you will know you are trying to turn them too soon.
- Remove to a serving plate and top with the sauce of your choice.
39 Comments
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These look great 🙂 Is the 550 grams of sweet potato raw or cooked? Thanks.
Hi MJ,
That was the weight after cooking. A little more or a little less won’t matter, it may just change how much flour you end up needing to add in. They are little starch/carb bombs and I’ll probably only make them once a year because they totally ring my bell just like a donut would 🙂
Thanks! I think they deserve to be made more than once a year 😉
Could it really be so simple?! This could be dangerous…
Hi Meg,
Yes, totally dangerous!
Can you give a substitute for arrowroot? It is not sold in Hungary 🙁
I’m afraid it is quite important in the recipe. Thanks a lot for all Your help and useful posts!
Hi Judit,
Can you get tapioca powder/flour? It’s interchangeable with arrowroot. Best of luck finding it 🙂
Yes, I hope so. Thank you so much for Your help and the great recipe.
Hi Jodi, you can buy arrowroot from Culinaris http://www.culinaris.hu/
I mean Judit! 🙂
Did you make the sage pesto? If so can you post the recipe!
Thanks
Hi Shannon. Yes I did. It’s linked to in the gnocchi recipe post or you can see it here: http://swisspaleo.ch/roasted-walnut-and-sage-pesto/
Rice flour can be substituted for arrowroot flour. I’m waiting to cook mine with anticipation.
Thanks Nancy! Let me know how they turn out if you make them 😉
Tried and can confirm – these are great. Superb with mushroom sauce, too.
Hi Ruby! Thanks for that…it’s always a relief to know when somebody tries something out and likes it 🙂
Nice looking photos! I like how they really help with the instructions on how to make this cause I’m one of the crappiest cooks in the world!
Thanks! I pretty much just point and shoot when it comes to taking pictures. I’m never sure I’m explaining a recipe very well and I’m glad to hear that the pictures help 🙂
I just made these tonight. My first attempt at making gnocchi a few years ago was a disaster. Your instructions and wonderful recipe made this such a success. This is absolutely delicious. For anyone who is considering trying this recipe out, I am not even remotely close to being a skilled cook and I was able to pull it off. I’ll be posting about this dish on Wednesday over at Snacks for Sophie, so for my full review, come visit!
Give it a try. It is well worth the effort!!
Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Elizabeth,
Wow, than you so much for the lovely comments. I’m always so thrilled (and relieved) when my recipes turn out for other people 🙂 I’ll be sure to stop by our blog and check it out!
What if you wanted to make a large batch to consume at a later date — would you boil and then freeze or do you think you could freeze the dough at the pre-boiled stage? I’m thinking of how gnocchi is usually packaged in the dried pasta section.
Hi Amber,
I froze it in the pre-boil state. Enjoy 🙂
Wanted to let you know I made these tonight and they were perfect! Also wanted to share that toward the end of crisping, throw in some halve-sliced grape tomatoes and allow them to burst, then mix in the pesto. Heavenly. Thank you for such a wonderful and paleo-friendly recipe!
Hi Amber,
Thanks for the feedback. Great idea with the tomatoes 🙂 So glad you enjoyed them!!
Has anyone substituted the egg white I’m vegan….
Hi! This recipe looks great and i think the arrowroot flour is a great addition. I have tried similar recipes in the past and they fell apart on me- wasting very expensive food! Do you think using a whole egg (including the yolk) would change the gnocchi at all?
Hi Celine,
I think it would make it turn out eggy in taste and it would change the texture. Egg whites act as a binder and help the gnocchi to hold its form. Yolks would add texture and tenderness and I think might add too much moisture and make them fall apart. I always save up the egg yolks and add them into the next days breakfast.
I made these gnocchi, and they are amazing. So easy to make. Light to eat with a bit of chewiness. Yummy.
Hi Glenys,
YAY! I’m so glad you enjoyed them 🙂
I liked the taste, but I thought that the gnocchi were a little slimy after boiling. I then browned them in a little olive oil, and that improved the texture, but I thought that the consistency was too dry, even with the pesto. I believe that there is too much arrowroot in the recipe for my taste. The arrowroot also adds a LOT of carbs. I wouldn’t make this recipe again without modifications.
Has anyone tried these with a traditional italian red sauce?
I haven’t, but I think it would be just as good 🙂
Hi. I have a quation. Most regular Gnocchi recipes (‘i’ve seen) calls for egg yolks, why does every paleognocchi I find call for egg-whites ??
(it might have been answerd already but didn’t have time to read all the comments) 🙂
You know, I really don’t have an answer for that! I used the egg white as a binder but thought that adding in the yolks would make it too “eggy”. I have a biscuit recipe that I’ve tried with just whites and with whole eggs and the ones with just whites turned out much lighter but were heavy and eggy with the whole eggs. I’ve never tried the gnocchi with whole eggs or just yolks, but they might turn out just as good.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I tried it tonight and was so afraid it would fail but it turned out great! Do you think I can freeze some of it after it was already boiled and pan fried?
Hi Judy,
YAY! I’m so glad it worked for you 🙂 You can absolutely freeze it. I froze some for several months. If you have enough freezer space, it’s best to lay them on a tray in the freezer until they are frozen and then put them in a ziplock once they are frozen. That should keep them from freezing into a large clump.
Love this recipe. I made them and they held up very well and the flavor was good. But I found mine to be a bite spongy/chewy. Has anyone else noticed this? I wonder if I use more Arrowroot and less Almond flour, if that may help them to be less chewy. Any thoughts?