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Grain Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi. (Gluten/Dairy/Corn/Soy Free)

by Brittany on October 2, 2012

In our home Gnocchi is special, and not due to the fact that I come from an Italian family. My great grandfather was off the boat Sicilian, with his thick wonderful accent and amazing worth ethic. I grew up attending family get together’s with huge spreads of food- pizzelle cookies famously always being made by my  great aunt were and continue to be a  favorite.

But Gnocchi, frankly I had never even heard of it! Not until I met my husband. He’s not Italian in the least bit, but he had spent much time in a friends home who’s mother made ricotta gnocchi from scratch in giant batches. Being the new girlfriend, to this guy that I was (and am) crazy about.. I had to figure out how to make this coveted gnocchi that he often spoke about. Seven years ago, I knew nothing about cooking and baking. Infact my husband had to teach me how to cook chicken! But I was determined to impress him, and impress him I did! I made incredibly delicious little dumplings of heaven, and he taught me how to roll and shape each little piece of dough.

As the years have passed Gnocchi has been made time and time again. Its something Rich and I always do together. As our diets have changed from using bleached white wheat flour, to gluten free grains and now paleo the gnocchi recipe has lovingly been altered to meet our needs.

Last night for the first time together we made a giant batch of Grain Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi, and it was damn good. The almond flour adds an incredible tenderness and gives them the perfect mouth-feel. Dare I say, these are the best gnocchi we have ever made, and thats saying a lot.

Don’t fool yourself, this gnocchi is not carb free- the starch provides plenty of carbs, and it is  important to the recipe as it plays a crucial role in the texture and holding the dough together.  But, I can tell you that this gnocchi is much MUCH healthier than your average pasta recipe. Its loaded with protein, and has a much lower carb count than those made using wheat or even gluten free grains. Thanks to the almond flour this pasta is filling. You won’t need to eat a lot.

Making a big batch of this delicious pasta is our tradition. We place the finished nuggets on cookie sheets sprinkled  starch to prevent sticking and we freeze them. Once frozen we place them in freezer bags and throw smaller portions into boiling water to cook as we want them. This way they last us a week or two, or can be pulled out as a last minute gourmet meal for company! I highly recommend making the big batch that I provide ingredients for below. If you aren’t ready to commit to using that much flour, feel free to divide the recipe in half.

Grain Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi

3 1/2 Cups of Mashed Yam or Sweet Potatoes (roughly 3 large potatoes)
1 Tsp. Xanthan or Guar Gum 
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Large Eggs
6 Cups Blanched Almond Flour
4 1/2  Cups Tapioca Flour (Potato Starch or Arrowroot will also work- or a mix of any of them).

Additional Almond and Tapioca Flour for dusting.

  1. Prep your potatoes. Peel, Cube and Boil them until tender. Mash the potatoes in a bowl and then let them rest until they cool to room temperature.(You just don’t want them steaming hot so that they cook the eggs).
  2. Once the potatoes have cooled stir in the xanthan gum, salt and eggs.
  3. Begin adding in a cup by cup the Almond Flour and Tapioca. After adding a cup, stir the dough, then add another cup. Slowly the dough will become firmer and less sticky. The finished dough you will be able to roll out in your hands without it sticking like crazy. It may still be a little sticky on the inside, but as long as you can roll it between your hands its perfect.
  4. Dust a cutting board, or counter top with equal parts Almond Flour and Tapioca. Take a handful of dough and roll it out in the flour like a snake. You want it only about an inch thick. Using a knife slice “the snake” into smaller pieces. Each piece should be no larger than an 1/2 inch wide.
  5. At this point, you can use a gnocchi board to shape the dough extra fancy as I have, or just leave the gnocchi in its square shape. It doesn’t really matter, as they will taste exactly the same!
  6. Dust 3 baking sheets with a little tapioca flour and place the finished gnocchi on the 3 trays. Place the trays in the freezer. Once the gnocchi is frozen remove it from the trays and place into freezer safe bags. Store in the freezer until you are ready to use. 

Note: The gnocchi can be cooked fresh as soon as you finish making it!  To cook bring a pot of water to a boil and add the gnocchi. Let it cook until it floats for maybe 30 seconds. Remove and eat!  To cook the frozen gnocchi you will follow the same process except the cooking time will take 2 minutes.

Additional Notes:

  • If you want to take the gnocchi to another level of bliss, try throwing the finished cooked pasta into a hot skillet with either butter or oil. Saute it until it develops a delicious crust. You will thank me for this idea.
  • Making this recipe without the xanthan or guar gum will probably work. You may need to use a little extra starch, and the texture may suffer slightly.. but if you are extremely opposed to the idea of gums, give it a try.
  • It *might* be possible to make this recipe without the eggs. They will not cook up quite as firm, but the starch should hold them together enough that they are still quite edible. If you want to experiment in that department, I hereby give you the reigns to do so. Pay attention to the stickiness of the dough, and adjust your flour levels accordingly. If you leave out the eggs, please report back to all of us how they turned out!
  • The eggs could probably be replaced with duck eggs! ( A safer option for those sensitive to eggs). Duck eggs are larger and therefore you will probably need a little bit more flour and starch to get the dough to the right consistency.
  • The sweet potatoes could probably be replaced with Pumpkin Puree or White Mashed Potatoes. I’m hesitant to recommend mashed cauliflower as I’m not sure that its starchy enough.

Make this Gnocchi. You will not regret it. I promise.

-Brittany- 

 

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{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }

Katherine October 2, 2012 at 1:21 am

Any idea how much this makes? There is only two of us in the house and I don’t want to over do it. :)

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Brittany October 2, 2012 at 1:25 am

3 cookie trays worth- or 3 big freezer bags. There are only two of us in our house as well.. but its so good that we never tire of having it ready to cook in the freezer.

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Katherine October 2, 2012 at 1:31 am

Good to know it freezes well. Thanks so much for all you do. It is really appreciated.

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Dorie October 2, 2012 at 1:25 am

I have everything but the Xanthan or Guar Gum, is it an absolute must have ingredient?

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Brittany October 2, 2012 at 1:26 am

Please re-read the recipe notes :) I answer this question..

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Dorie October 2, 2012 at 2:17 am

Sorry I was so excited to even fathom having these I just read the ingredients and wrote. lol

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Brittany October 2, 2012 at 2:28 am

Haha :) it happens often!

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Beth @ Tasty Yummies October 2, 2012 at 12:03 pm

Oh my this recipe makes me soooo happy!! I love gnocchi but haven’t attempted making them myself. I can’t wait. You’ve done it again Brittany, you’re brilliant. Thank you.

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Brittany October 2, 2012 at 2:31 pm

Thanks Beth!! It made us REALLY happy too! I wasn’t sure if gnocchi would work grain free.. let alone taste as amazing as it did! :)

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Jenna | The Paleo Project October 2, 2012 at 3:39 pm

This is huge for me! My boyfriend’s mother is a fantastic Italian cook, and since going Paleo two years ago, we say no to most of her creations. But this will hopefully bring some of that tradition home! Thank you Brittany

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kelly October 2, 2012 at 6:45 pm

Whoa! I bet this would be fabulous with a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg sauteed in fat of choice. Girl you rock the recipes!

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Brittany October 2, 2012 at 7:27 pm

That’s exactly what we do! I sautee them in a little butter or oil, sprinkle on some nutmeg and then throw in some fresh sage! So good :)
Thank you for the kind words!

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kelly October 2, 2012 at 6:54 pm

I just googled gnocci board… I never knew such a tool existed. I always used the tines of a fork. That board is pretty awesome. I’m feeling inspired.

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Katherine Eby October 2, 2012 at 7:58 pm

I have two daughters with celiac disease. One is also allergic to corn and almonds. Can you think of a suitable substitute for the almond flour? Would rice flour work in this recipe?

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Brittany October 2, 2012 at 9:15 pm

Hi! I have another gnocchi recipe for you that calls for rice flour instead!
You could use all sweet potato in that recipe as well if you don’t want to use the white potato/ butternut squash that I call for:

https://realsustenance.com/recipe/glutendairy-free-butternut-squash-potato-gnocchi/

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Christina October 8, 2012 at 6:20 pm

I made these this morning with my three year old. My one year old isn’t eating nuts so I subbed freshly ground millet flour and it was PERFECT!! We had a ball making them and feasting for lunch! Seemed like it needed much less than 6 cups, so go easy when you add the flour to the sweet potato. Thanks, Brittany! I’ve missed gnocchi!

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Brittany October 8, 2012 at 6:34 pm

Yes- that is correct- if subbing in grains you would need way way way less flour. The nut and grain based flours work nothing alike..
I’m glad the recipe still turned out and that you enjoyed them :)

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Donna May 15, 2013 at 3:07 pm

I have teff and millet flour…even buckwheat…Christina, did you halve the amount of almond flour or how should one “adapt” when not using the almond meal/flour?…Thanking you in advance for any enlightenment!

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Miranda October 3, 2012 at 1:04 am

Made this with regular potatoes tonight, omitting the gums and using the saute in butter tip. They really, truly taste like the real deal. I am the happiest of campers – belly full of gnocchi that doesn’t feel like a gluten bomb. THANK YOU.

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Sara October 3, 2012 at 10:21 pm

I made this tonight with pumpkin and without the gum since I didn’t have any, lol. I cooked them and then sauteed them in butter… I added finely chopped walnuts and at the end I drizzled with a tiny bit of maple syrup and then served it topped with crispy chopped bacon. I served it with green smoothies (my kids know them as “tinkerbelle smoothies”)

RIDICULOUS. Seriously. I think I might love you.

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Brittany October 3, 2012 at 10:25 pm

That sounds SO SO SO good!! I love that you added walnuts and bacon and maple syrup. Awesome to hear it worked great with pumpkin and without the gums! So good to know. Thanks for the feedback!!

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Stacey October 8, 2012 at 1:38 am

Just wanted to mention that If you are very sensitive to corn, I would try and experiment with replacing the xanthan gum with something else. Xanthan gum is produced with corn. It’s minimal but it’s there.

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Brittany October 8, 2012 at 1:46 am

I think it depends on the source? ( maybe I’m wrong?) Guar gum is safe for the corn free’ers!

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Cassidy @ Cooking Gluten (& Dairy) Free October 16, 2012 at 10:20 pm

This looks so great!! I’m pinning this right now and can’t wait to make it :)
BTW- I tried to comment on your pumpkin smoothie recipe but it wouldn’t let me, I can’t wait to make that either :)

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Brittany October 16, 2012 at 10:25 pm

That pumpkin smoothie post is acting really funny! Hope you enjoy BOTH recipes :)

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Sarah December 24, 2012 at 8:21 pm

I just made this with 1/4 cup whole chia seeds in place of the eggs. It held together like a champ and cooked up soft and tender!

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Brittany December 24, 2012 at 9:25 pm

That is great to hear!!!

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Amanda January 7, 2013 at 4:27 pm

First, I’m really excited to have stumbled onto your site today while looking for GF gnocchi recipes!! I look forward to perusing further. When searching for a gnocchi recipe, I noticed that one site said baking the potatoes in the oven will require less flour than boiling them on the stove. Have you ever heard that or tried it? I’m going to try the recipe the way you posted above, but if I experiment after with baking the potatoes, I’ll let you know how it turns out! (I just ran out of almond flour, so it’ll be a little while!). Thank you!!

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Brittany January 7, 2013 at 4:37 pm

I have never heard that- it does make sense though I’m sure the texture would be a little different. Traditional Gnocchi is boiled so that’s how I always do it! :)

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Erin January 20, 2013 at 10:01 am

Hi!! I was so excited up try this recipe! I made it tonight (without the gum) after looking at other recipes that didn’t use it) but my gnocchi dissolved in the boiling water! So, I added more flour but they still didn’t hold up! What am I doing wrong?? PS I used almond flour.

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Brittany January 20, 2013 at 11:06 am

Did you use blanched almond flour?
Additionally – When you remove an ingredient you are always taking a big risk that the recipe will fail. ( especially when working with grain free recipes).
Keep in mind that just because other recipes online don’t use it doesn’t mean my recipe doesn’t need it. Baking and cooking is a science.. I only add ingredients to my recipes if I know they are absolutely needed.

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Gina Nagy January 22, 2013 at 3:48 pm

Does anyone have a recipe for Grain free sweet potato cake for a birthday? Thanks

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Lauren January 22, 2013 at 10:00 pm

I made this a few nights ago using canned pumpkin that I had on hand and it was AMAZING!!!!! I halved the recipe and still had plenty to freeze. I had it for breakfast the next day with a bit of butter, cinnamon and maple syrup. I had it again for lunch today. It’s such a GREAT recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! I will be making this again soon with sweet potato. Can’t wait!

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Joanne May 3, 2013 at 3:36 am

I absolutely loved these! I made them for my family who I am slowly converting to the paleo lifestyle. What a hit!

I didn’t plan ahead very well – I was 1/2 cup short on each flour and didn’t have any of the Xanthan Gum, but I managed to make it work by adding in a cup of ground chia seeds (closest thing to flour left in my house!) as substitution for the flour. It worked great.

Thanks for this recipe – I was apprehensive because of how much almond flour it took (that stuff is not cheap) but I’m glad I made the full recipe.

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Elizabeth June 4, 2013 at 2:21 pm

Made this last night and added chicken sausage with kale and red pepper flakes to it. so so yummy. Thanks for the recipe! It was my first time cooking gluten free, and turned out wonderful!

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Denise September 17, 2013 at 3:12 am

I want to make a healthier version of gnocchi and would like to try your recipe. Could I still use a tomato red sauce over them like I do on traditional gnocchi? Is there much difference in taste from gnocchi made with potato, egg and white flour?

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