A fabulous and flavorful dish of tender Sweet Potato Ricotta Gnocchi covered in a rich garlic brown butter herb sauce and topped with fresh lemon ricotta.
We’re obsessed with sweet potatoes. Definitely prefer them over white potatoes in almost every way…baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries, sweet potato hash browns, baked sweet potato soup, sweet potato brownies, really sweet potato anything. LOVE!
The other night, Brandon was itching to make lamb ragu with gnocchi. He’s the fancy chef around here! 😉 Most traditional gnocchi is made with white potatoes, flour and egg, but we wanted to switch it up a bit and thought sweet potatoes would be great in gnocchi and would compliment the rich savory ragu so well. We also wanted to use ricotta in the gnocchi for the added flavor and texture.
They turned out amazing! Pillowy soft yet tender to the bite with a slight sweetness that could compliment really any sauce you could think of.
We tossed them with Brandon’s amazing lamb ragu the first night and with a traditional tomato sauce the next night. And then they were all gone and we were all sad so I just had to make them again…
For the next batch I made a simple garlic brown butter herb sauce that I generously drizzled over the sweet potato ricotta gnocchi and WOW!
The sweetness of the gnocchi with the rich savory flavor of the brown butter sauce pretty much blew us away. Topped with a dollop of lemon spiked fresh ricotta and this dish was so delicious we couldn’t put our forks down.
Gnocchi is much easier to make than you’d think and this recipe makes quite a bit so you can have this amazing meal a few times if you’re not serving a large group the first time.
Mashed sweet potatoes are combined with ricotta and flour to form the dough that will quickly become little tender pillows of gnocchi perfection…
While you’re prepping the dough, start bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Then you’ll just fill the bottom of the pot with a layer of gnocchi and shortly after they float to the top, they’re done.
While the gnocchi are boiling, brown the butter with the garlic and add the chopped fresh herbs just before serving. Also, stir the lemon zest, lemon juice and salt into the fresh ricotta and it’s ready for topping.
A fabulous dish that’s so full of flavor and will quickly become a favorite for an easy weeknight meal or an impressive course when entertaining. Enjoy!
xoxo,
Sweet Potato Ricotta Gnocchi with Garlic Brown Butter Herb Sauce
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Main
Description
A fabulous and flavorful dish of tender sweet potato ricotta gnocchi covered in a rich garlic brown butter herb sauce and topped with fresh lemon ricotta.
Ingredients
Gnocchi:
- 2 cups mashed cooked sweet potato (2 large sweet potatoes)
- 1–1/2 cups fresh ricotta
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1–1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
Brown Butter Sauce:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (such as rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, sage and/or chives)
Lemon Ricotta:
- 1–1/2 cups fresh ricotta
- zest of half a large lemon (about 1 teaspoon)
- juice of half a large lemon (about 2 teaspoons)
- salt to taste, about 1/2 teaspoon
Instructions
- Bake or microwave sweet potatoes to cook them. To bake, heat oven to 400°F. Pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork. Bake until tender, about 40-45 minutes. To microwave, pierce sweet potatoes several times with a fork. Microwave on high for 5-8 minutes or until tender.
- Let sweet potatoes cool slightly before slicing down the middle and scooping out the flesh. Mash the sweet potatoes and use a measuring cup to transfer 2 cups to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the ricotta and salt until well combined. Add the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms.
- With floured hands, form the dough into a ball and place on a large lightly-floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 smaller balls and roll each ball into a 1-inch thick rope. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces, about 120 gnocchi total.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the water comes to a boil, add a teaspoon of kosher salt and return to a boil. Add the gnocchi in 4 batches, covering the bottom of the pot with a single layer of gnocchi each batch. Cook until gnocchi float to the top and are tender to taste, about 5-6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, drain the gnocchi and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in a warm oven or tent with foil to keep warm while you cook the remaining gnocchi.
- To make the brown butter sauce, place the butter and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter is melted and just starting to turn a golden brown, stirring frequently. Turn heat to low and add the chopped herbs. Let the herbs sizzle into the brown butter for a minute before turning the heat off.
- To make the ricotta, place the ricotta, lemon zest and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir together until well combined and smooth. Stir in salt to taste.
- To serve, place the gnocchi in individual serving bowls and drizzle generously with the brown butter sauce. Top each serving with a dollop of lemon ricotta. Or toss all of the gnocchi with the brown butter sauce and serve family-style with the lemon ricotta on the side.
Notes
Leftover cooked gnocchi can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to a month. Reheat by placing in boiling salted water until tender and warm in the center.
I have made many different sweet potato gnocchi recipes and never had a problem and always had great results.
I followed this recipe exactly as printed. The dough was soooooo sticky that I ended up having to use double the amount of flour, 3 cups instead of one and a half and still super sticky and hard to work with. And the sweet potato taste was dampened by so much flour. Wonder what I did wrong???
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Hi Julie! Oh no, I hate to hear this. I’m wondering if your ricotta was too liquidy? Some ricottas are more liquidy than others and don’t hold their ricotta texture well. And you measured exactly 2 cups mashed sweet potato? Otherwise, I can’t imagine what else would have caused your dough to be so sticky. Hope this helps and that you’re able to try the recipe again with greater success.
Love this! The ricotta is an awesome addition.
Yay! So great to hear. Isn’t it such an amazing combo of flavors and textures?
Hi, I love using sweet potato in recipes instead of white potatoes. I was curious if almond flour or coconut flour could be substituted in this recipe?
Hi Krista! I haven’t tested the recipe with either of those and don’t use them often so I couldn’t say for sure, but I think it’s certainly worth a try because I know a lot of people use them as substitutes for all-purpose flour successfully all the time. Fingers crossed. Enjoy!
Hi! Thank you so much for this recipe, I loved it! I made a large portion and kept some dough in the fridge, is it still good to roll out into gnocchi to cook? It’s been stored for just under 2 days. Thanks again! Susie x
Hi Susie! I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe as much as we do. Yes, the dough you have stored in the fridge can still be rolled out and cooked. Just let it come to room temperature before trying to roll it out. Enjoy! 🙂
Hi! I know you did this post last year, but I was wondering which herbs you used specifically? I’d like to start there and then branch out for future batches. 🙂 Thank you for your help!
Hi Abigail! I use rosemary and thyme most often with this recipe. Hope this helps. Enjoy! 🙂
I just wanted to say thank you for getting back to me. pat.
keep up the good work.
I made your sweet potato ricotta gnocchi with gluten free measure for measure flour.
everything was perfect until I placed them in water they were frozen I took them from
water after they came to top. they were very mushy. were did I go wrong. thank pat.
Hi Pat! I’ve never made this recipe with gluten free flour so I couldn’t say for sure, but I’m assuming that might have something to do with it. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.