Ricotta Gnocchi, plus Broccoli Cream Sauce

Easy homemade ricotta gnocchi served with a good parmesan and broccoli cream sauce. You won't believe how easy it is to make these ricotta dumplings from scratch and how light and good they are. The sauce is guaranteed to be your new favourite!

Homemade potato gnocchi are something we love to make. When done right they are light as can be, soft and pillowy. Serve them with you're favourite pasta sauce and it's a meal made in heaven!

The thing is homemade potato gnocchi can be a little time consuming. They can also be a little tricky to make without a few key tips and tricks (see our full tutorial here if you want to make solid potato gnocchi) so what's the alternative?

Ricotta gnocchi! Oh yes, you don't need to make gnocchi with potatoes, you can make them with ricotta instead and the whole process is so much easier.

This recipe is made with an good and totally addicting parmesan and broccoli cream sauce. We mean, everyone raves about this sauce it's so good!

P.S No time to make any kind of gnocchi from scratch? No worries use store-bought stuff and toss them with the good sauce. It's the solid meal either way!

How to make Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi – step by step

Top Tip: The trick to making the best ricotta gnocchi is to use as less flour as possible. Always add the flour a little at a time so you can keep an eye on the texture of the dough.

Add all the gnocchi ingredients apart from the flour in a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until thoroughly combined (photos 1 & 2).

Gradually add the flour while stopping to fold it into the ricotta mixture. Keep doing this until a soft dough forms (photo 3).

Tip: We find the amount of flour needed depends on the creaminess of the ricotta (some can be wetter than others). Keep adding the flour until the dough is soft and easy to handle without sticking to your hands.

Dust a work surface with flour and tip the dough out from the bowl. Shape the ricotta gnocchi dough into a rough rectangle log shape and cut it in half. The dough will be quite sticky at the edges you cut so always dust the knife with flour before cutting and then lightly dust the cut edges (photo 4 & 5).

Divide each half in half again so you have 4 pieces of dough (photo 6). Carefully roll each piece of dough into a long log that's around 1/2 inch to 1 inch (photo 7).

Cut each rolled out log into gnocchi (small-medium sized) and set them aside on a flour-dusted chopping board or surface.

How to prepare the Broccoli Cream Sauce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the thick stalk off the broccoli so you only have florets left. Add them to the boiling water for 1 minute then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside (keep the water boiling).

Finely chop the garlic and fry it in a little olive oil in a large pan. Roughly chop the broccoli into small-medium pieces and add to the garlic.

Fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute then add the cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper. At this point add the gnocchi to the boiling water.

Bring the cream to a boil then add the parmesan. Keep the sauce simmering until it started to thicken then remove the gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the sauce.

Toss to coat in the sauce, season with more salt and pepper and serve.

Other ways to serve this sauce

• Serve the sauce over steak (we normally omit the broccoli and add a little extra parmesan & serve with these fried gnocch i).
• Broccoli rabe ricotta gnudi with parmesan cream
• Veal cutlets with prosciutto and parmesan cream

• Gnocchi alla Sorrentina
• Easy Pesto Gnocchi
• Gnocchi With A Brown Butter Sage Sauce
• Easy Sausage Ragu With Ricotta Gnocchi

Ingredients

Makes 6 - 8 servings

For The Ricotta Gnocchi

• 1 3/4 - 2 cups flour (, plus extra for dusting (250g-300g))
• 3 large eggs
• 14 oz ricotta cheese ((400g))
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (, grated (20g))
• salt and pepper (to season)

For The Sauce

• 1 small broccoli
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 1/4 cup heavy (double) cream ((300ml))
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese ((50g))
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch nutmeg
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Add all the gnocchi ingredients apart from the flour in a large mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until thoroughly combined.

2. Gradually add the flour while stopping to fold it into the ricotta mixture. Keep doing this until a soft dough forms. *See notes

3. Tip: We find the amount of flour needed depends on the creaminess of the ricotta (some can be wetter than others). Keep adding the flour until the dough is soft and easy to handle without sticking to your hands.

4. Dust a work surface with flour and tip the dough out from the bowl. Shape the ricotta gnocchi dough into a rough rectangle log shape and cut it in half. The dough will be quite sticky at the edges you cut so always dust the knife with flour before cutting and then lightly dust the cut edges.

5. Divide each half in half again so you have 4 pieces of dough (photo 6). Carefully roll each piece of dough into a long log around 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick.

6. Cut each rolled out log into gnocchi (small-medium sized) and set them aside on a flour-dusted chopping board or surface.

7. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the thick stalk off the broccoli so you only have florets left. Add them to the boiling water for 1 minute then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside (keep the water boiling).

8. Finely chop the garlic and fry it in a little olive oil in a large pan. Roughly chop the broccoli into small-medium pieces and add to the garlic.

9. Fry for 30 seconds to 1 minute then add the cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper. At this point add the gnocchi to the boiling water.

10. Bring the cream to a boil then add the parmesan. Keep the sauce simmering until it started to thicken then remove the gnocchi from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the sauce.

11. Toss to coat in the sauce, season with more salt and pepper and serve.

Kitchen notes

• The amount of flour will depend on how wet the ricotta is an how large your eggs are. Keep adding a little at a time until a dough forms.
• Always use as less flour as possible and dust your hands to prevent the dough from sticking when rolling.
• We like to sieve the flour into the ricotta so it is totally lump free.