The best recipe for Vegan Sweet Potato Gnocchi with only 3 ingredients. It’s so easy to make, gluten-free and incredibly delicious! Serve them crispy pan-fried with oven roasted tomatoes for a perfect comfort meal!
Is there anything more heavenly than enjoying some delicious Gnocchi that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside? This Vegan Sweet Potato Gnocchi served with flavorful roasted tomatoes and dairy-free parmesan cheese is the ultimate comfort food! I absolutely love making them for lunch or dinner or as a simple side dish. Gnocchi is also a perfect food you can make ahead and freeze in batches, so you can have homemade gnocchi any time you want!
Enjoy gnocchi as a cozy weeknight dinner or share with your family on festive days
I’ve always been a big fan of dumplings, such as Ravioli, Pierogi and Gnocchi. When I was a child my grandma made potato dumplings every Sunday for the whole family. It was kind of our family tradition and everyone was looking forward to this special day over and over again. We loved sitting together while enjoying these delicious pillowy potato dumplings. For some reason, we always made Gnocchi with regular potatoes but today I want to show you another version made of sweet potatoes instead.
How to make Sweet Potato Gnocchi from scratch
Making gnocchi with sweet potatoes is easier than you might think. First, microwave or bake a pierced sweet potato until soft. Once the sweet potato is cool enough to be handled, start making the gnocchi because the hotter potato will require less flour, making a lighter gnocchi. Peel the hot potato and mash. Add flour, nutritional yeast (optional) and a pinch of salt. Knead just until a dough forms but please do not over knead it, or the dough will get sticky and you have to add more flour. It’s just that, the more flour you have in your gnocchi, the denser. So the goal is to use as little flour as possible.
How to form Gnocchi
The Gnocchi dough made of sweet potatoes has a different texture than made of regular potatoes, so they usually don’t look that pretty and perfect. But it doesn’t matter because I think they taste even better.
First of all, on a floured surface roll out the dough into logs about 2cm (3/4 inch) thick and cut them into pieces. You can either cook them this way or create the distinctive ridges. Place the gnocchi at the top of the fork tines and gently press down, rolling it across the fork with your thumb. It will be slightly curled with the indentations on the opposite side.
How to cook Gnocchi
To cook the sweet potato gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the gnocchi. As soon as the gnocchi start floating, they are ready (usually it takes 2-3 minutes). Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in the pan with the sauce/ pesto of your choice, or roast them crispy in vegan butter and serve with your favorite vegetables. They taste also very delicious then served with my Vegan Mac and Cheese sauce.
I hope you’ll like this Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi. They’re:
- Vegan
- Plant-based
- Dairy-free
- Eggfree
- Healthy
- Soft & Pillowy
- Easy to make
- Crispy roasted
- Incredibly delicious!
Making Gnocchi ahead or freeze
If you‘d like to make gnocchi ahead, you can refrigerate the uncooked gnocchi in an airtight container. When ready to serve, simply boil the gnocchi according to the recipe below. Feel free to double the amount of the recipe to make more gnocchi, because they freeze very well. You can spread them in a single layer on a floured baking sheet or freezing box so they don’t stick together. Put it into the freezer for 1 hour or so. Once frozen, you can put the gnocchi into a freezer bag to save room. To cook them, just drop the frozen gnocchi directly in the boiling water without defrosting.
I hope you’ll enjoy these delicious Vegan Sweet Potato Gnocchi! Have fun trying!
Sweet Potato Gnocchi (vegan, easy recipe)
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Gnocchi:
- 1 large sweet potato (about 600 g)
- 1 1/3 cup (gluten-free) flour* (170 g) (+more for dusting)
- 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes or vegan parmesan cheese (optional)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegan butter (to pan-fry)
Oven roasted tomatoes:
- 250 g cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3-4 garlic cloves
Topping:
- 4 tbsp pine nuts
- fresh herbs of choice
Instructions
Sweet Potato Gnocchi:
- Prick the sweet potato a few times with a fork and microwave until soft, for 7-10 minutes. (Optionally, bake the sweet potato in the oven for about 50-60 minutes).
- Peel the sweet potato, scoop the flesh into a bowl and mash until smooth. Add nutritional yeast/ parmesan + salt and mix until combined. Add the flour and knead gently but don’t over knead it or the dough will get sticky. Add more flour if needed but try to add as little as possible to get fluffy and soft gnocchi.
- Transfer the dough to a floured working surface, form it into a flat ball and cut into quarters. Take a piece and form a long rope, rolling it along your floured surface. Cut the rope into 3/4-inch (2 cm) pieces and either cook them this way or create the distinctive ridges.
- To create the typical gnocchi ridges, place the gnocchi at the top of the fork tines and gently press down, rolling it across the fork with your thumb (see pictures in the text above).
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the gnocchi, and cook until the gnocchi float to the top of the water. Drain and optionally, toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Now you can continue making the recipe to serve them immediately, or refrigerate the gnocchi to serve them later, or freeze them for further meals.
Pan-fried Gnocchi with roasted Tomatoes:
- Put the tomatoes onto a baking sheet or baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle garlic cloves throughout. Season with a little salt & pepper and toss to coat. Spread out into a single layer and roast in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15-20 minutes.
- Toast pine nuts in a small pan without additional oil. Then set aside.
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly bubbling. Add the gnocchi and roast until golden-brown and crispy on the outside. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve your crispy Gnocchi with roasted tomatoes and toasted pine nuts and sprinkle over vegan parmesan cheese and fresh chopped herbs, if you like.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use regular wheat flour or a gluten-free flour blend.
- Water will absorb more flour, resulting in a denser gnocchi. So please do not boil the sweet potato.
- You can find suggestions about the storage etc. in the text above.
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This was easy enough to make and absolutely delicious. I wasn’t sure about making gnocchi, thinking that it would be too difficult to make at home. But I’m glad I decided to try it. I was happy to find this recipe that didn’t call for eggs or ricotta, even though I’m not vegan. The hardest part about doing this was rolling the ‘dough’ into cylinders and getting the fork imprint. Mine were not as pretty as those pictured here but they were soooo pillowy and yummy. Made with a sage butter sauce. Thank you!!
So glad you enjoyed making these gnocchi! The most important thing is that they’re delicious! 😊 thank you so much for your amazing feedback! ❤️
What job wheat or corn flour can I use
What kind of flour can I use?
I cannot have wheat or corn
You can use this gluten-free flour blend.
You can use regular all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose blend.
This was my first time making gnocchi and i just loved it! I will definitely do it again!
Thank you so much for your amazing feedback! So glad you love these gnocchi! 😊
Have fun making them again! ❤️
My gnocchi fell apart when i went to boil it. I used sweet potato, almond flour, and nutritional yeast.
Sure, they will fell apart when you use sweet potato and almond flour! 😃 You can either use all-purpose or light spelt flour or a gluten-free all-purpose blend.
Looooved this recipe! It was my first time making gnocchi, and I had my doubts, but in the end, it was TOTALLY doable and one of the more delicious meals I’ve ever made!!
So glad you love this Gnocchi recipe! Thanks for your feedback! 🙂
This recipe is really nice. I made it using whole wheat flour, and it tasted amazing! I think I made them a little oversized, and I suggest you do them smaller than bigger. Had them with a homemade mushroom gravy – my omnivorous partner LOVED it, we’ll make them again for sure 🙂
So glad you love this recipe! Thank you so much! 🙂
This was my first time making gnocchi and following your recipe was a hit! To top it off they were amazing. My children usually leave their sweet potato on the plate no matter how I integrate it into a meal but this time my seven year old son polished off his and said they were delicious 😋.
Vielen Dank Bianca ☺️
Thank you so much, Katie! So glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂 Dankeschön 😀
do you think this would work with butternut squash??
You can check out my pumpkin gnocchi recipe! 😉
Great recipe. Used it tonight, had regular pre-made gnocchi on standby due to past disasters with other recipes and fear of dumpling disappearance during drainage. Were my fears ever ungrounded! These worked perfectly. My gnocchi board was happy to come out of the cupboard again.
Once cooked, we baked the gnocchi in a dish with spinach and kale with cheddar, parsley and nutmeg sauce. Towards the end of baking we sprinkled the top with smoked paprika and shredded sage and put the dish under the grill for a crispy finish. Handy hint: if you need wilted spinach to go with your gnocchi, simply add your spinach leaves to a colander, then drain the cooked gnocchi through it. Hey presto, two jobs done in one go!
I think the nutritional yeast helped these stay together better. Or maybe it’s because I let the gnocchi rest a while on the counter before adding to the water? Perhaps I overcrowded the pan last time? Either way, I’ll be using this recipe in the exact same way every time now.
Hi there, so glad you’re gnocchi turned out amazing! Honestly, I have no idea what went wrong last time but happy to hear that they turned out great now! Thank you for your amazing feedback! 🙂
could you freeze this ? if yes how would you recommend doing that and how long you could keep it in the freezer. thanks !
Hi Paulina, yes they freeze very well! I’ve mentioned that in the blog post + freezing instructions 🙂
I made it with Cassava flour and I don’t know if I didn’t boil it long enough even after pan frying they were chewy
Hi Kathryn, I haven’t tried making gnocchi with cassava flour so maybe it comes from the flour? I suggest using a gluten-free flour blend or all-purpose flour 🙂
SO easy to make and so freaking delicious! It was a favorite on my Thanksgiving table and I happen to be the only vegan. Making this recipe again on Friday.
Hi Paulina, so glad you enjoyed these sweet potato gnocchi on your thanksgiving table! Thank you for your amazing feedback! Lots of love, Bianca 🙂
Can’t wait to make this recipe 🙂 was wondering if I can use regular white flour instead of GF flour. Thanks
Hi Ashley, yes, sure! You can also use regular white flour or all-purpose flour! 🙂
Can you use Almond Flour? or Coconut flour?
If so, do you know the measurements?
Hi Amanada, I’m sorry but I don’t recommend using these flours. I think it won’t work.
Hey Bianca, thanks for sharing your homemade sweet potato gnocchi recipe. It taste really good, the texture are really good. Never in my whole life felt so good eating gnocchi after couple years not eating actual gnocchi (that aren’t vegan). So, once again, Thank you!
Hi Jacqueline, thank you so much for your feedback! So glad that you enjoyed these gnocchi! 🙂 Lots of love, Bianca <3
Me and my 7 year daughter had so much fun making the gnocchi and was so delicious! She has not had sweet potato since being a toddler but loves this.thank you and so easy to make
Awww, so happy about that! Love that your daughter helped you 🙂 Lots of love to you <3
amazing pictures of food. it so amazing . can’t resist to try it right now
Thank you! Hope you’ll like it 🙂
I’ve never made gnocchi before, but I’ve had this recipe saved for a loong time. Finally decided to make it today and I’m for sure doing it again! So simple and absolutely delicious! I served it alongside some sauteed mushrooms, tofu and soinach with a homemade pesto and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you for the recipe Bianca 😍
So happy that you liked this homemade gnocchi recipe too! It’s really one of my favorites and so much better than store-bought ones, right? Love your combination with spinach, tofu, and mushrooms! Sounds so yum! Thank you for your feedback 🙂 <3
Megaaa lecker:)
Vielen Dank 🙂
I made these tonight and they were delicious! They were super easy to make too. Will definitely be my go-to recipe from now on. I made them crispy after boiling with some vegan butter and garlic! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
So glad you like this recipe! Thank you 🙂
This recipe was so easy and delish! Definitely making again!
So glad to read this. Thank you 🙂
Loved the Sweet Potato Gnocchi recipe! I am an avid cook and don’t mind complex recipes, but I was pleasantly surprised at how simple this was! Very tasty. Normal gnocchi has a slightly bitter after taste, but the sweet potato made this very gentle on the palate. I will be using this recipe again. Thank you Bianca! -Francesca H 🙂 P.S. bacon adds a very flavorful touch with either fresh basil or even cilantro as a garnish.
Thank you! ? So glad that you liked it! I absolutely agree with you. Love sweet potato gnocchi so much <3
I made this gnocchi yesterday. As we have no microwave we put the sweetpotato in the oven. It took longer than 60 min but that was fine. All in all it was really delicious. And I am a sucker for any type of sauce but I didnt need any.