For those who have spent their lives enjoying wheat-based pasta, a Keto lifestyle is a challenge. Our Keto Ricotta Garlic Gnocchi will meet that challenge and win! Since we do not use wheat-flour or potato, our gnocchi are gluten-free, low-carb, and delicious. We make a pillowy, light, and tasty gnocchi – just like the original. It is a recipe that we can use for all of our Italian gnocchi dishes. Paired with a simple marinara, topped with grated parmesan, and garnished with a sweet basil leaf – you have perfection!
Joanie was born in Canada and until she came to the United States she had never tried a pasta called “Gnocchi.” Perhaps many of our followers do not know about gnocchi. It is traditionally a potato, onion, and doughy ball made with egg, ricotta, and wheat-flour. Gnocchi are shaped like a little pillow and are boiled until they rise. They are used as the base for many Italian pasta recipes. It is usually topped with a marinara, a butter and sage sauce, and even a pesto sauce.
Ingredients
We use a blend of almond flour and coconut flour as the base for our Keto Gnocchi. We always use a blanched almond flour. It is finer, lighter in color, and is better for baking than un-blanched almond flour, since the skins are removed. Blending coconut flour allows our gnocchi to hold a bit more moisture, so they are not too dry to the taste. We like Anthony’s products. Click the picture links below to purchase.
The Xanthan gum is an essential ingredient. It adds elasticity and also holds the gnocchi together. Again, Anthony’s brand is a good choice. See the picture link below to purchase. For taste, we add garlic powder and for creaminess we use ricotta cheese. Both add that Italian flavor, as well. The flavor is enhanced with the nutty taste of grated parmesan in each bite.
Preparation Tips
To form a dough ball we add the wet ingredients to the dry. We use a fork to combine the ingredients for our Keto Ricotta Garlic Gnocchi. At first it will form into crumbles. We use our hands to knead it into a slightly sticky dough ball. We have tried using dough hooks on our stand mixer, but it seems to form softer gnocchi when we blend the dough with a fork.
Next, the dough balls should be rolled into a cigar-shaped tubes. The tube would be best if the diameter was about 1 inch. If your dough becomes too long to handle simply cut it into smaller cigar length tubes. The idea is to roll the dough into a cylindrical form so it will be easier to cut into gnocchi sizes. We find that keeping our hands slightly moist when rolling on our cutting board will help to keep the dough together. We then wrap the cigar-shaped dough into plastic wrap before refrigerating for 30 minutes.
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An Easy Way to Make Gnocchi Indentions
After cutting the refrigerated gnocchi and rolling into one inch ovals, press one side lightly with a fork. This will indent the top and slightly flatten the other side. You will have a perfectly shaped gnocchi. Separate the gnocchi and place on a parchment lined tray. Place them back in the freezer for 10 minutes to insure they hold together when cooked.
Finally, please “DO NOT BOIL.” A lot of recipes call for boiling the gnocchi, and then waiting for them to rise in the water. That may work with wheat-based gnocchi, but our Keto version will just become soggy and fall apart. Fry them in garlic butter and olive oil with a little ground basil, sage, or Italian seasoning.
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Keto Ricotta Garlic Gnocchi
Make a bigger batch and freeze the unused gnocchi for another meal. There are so many recipes using these Keto Ricotta Garlic Gnocchi! We have a delicious recipe that we will post soon. It is made with asparagus and shrimp. After freezing, thaw briefly, and fry before using. The perfect Tasty Low Carb pasta!
Keto Ricotta Garlic Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup Almond flour (blanched)
- 2 tablespoons Coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons Xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ cup Ricotta cheese
- ⅔ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
- ¼ teaspoon Sea salt
- 1 Egg (beaten)
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil (extra virgin)
- 4 cloves Garlic (sliced)
- 3 large Basil leaves (chopped)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, Xanthan gum, and garlic powder until thoroughly combined.
- In a second medium bowl mix the ricotta, parmesan, and egg. Add salt.
- Combine the cheesy egg mixture with the dry ingredients and mix throughly with a fork. The crumbly mixture should then be formed into a sticky ball. If more liquid is needed add a teaspoon of water at a time. If too watery, add more almond flour.
- Wrap the dough ball in saran wrap and roll into a long cigar shape. Place in the refrigerator for a half hour to rest.
- Use a dough knife and cut into 1 inch square pieces. Use your hands to form into an oval, then press down lightly with a wet fork to make traditional gnocchi marks. Place the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes to rest.
- Melt the butter and olive oil in a non-stick skillet and then add the garlic, and chopped basil, and fry for 1 minute over medium heat. When fragrant, drop the heat to medium-low and add the gnocchi. Make sure the cold gnocchi are not crowded (make in batches if needed) and fry for 3 minutes. Baste with the garlic butter. Move them around but do not flip – you want a crusty bottom.
- Plate and serve 1/6 of the gnocchi with a topping of your choice. We love it with marinara sauce.
Chef’s Notes
Nutrition
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Do you have to use the coconut flour? I’m allergic to it.
The coconut flour works well with the almond flour. That is why I use it. I have been making these Gnocchi for many years and always use coconut flour. Try it without and let me know. You can always try flaxseed or increase the almond flour. Let me know how it works with more almond flour.Thanks for the question . . . Joanie.
I want to make these but don’t have xantham gum. Can something else be used?
Xanthan Gum is a thickener that also works to keep recipe ingredients from separating. It is also Gluten Free. It will trap gases and help in rising. That is why I use Xanthan Gum in the recipe. You could try baking powder, and let me know how you make out. You could also try Ground Flax Seed or Chia Seed. They are delicate gnocchi, but please experiment. You can also buy Xanthan Gum on our site or from our Amazon site. Thanks for the question . . . Joanie.
LOVED these! And my husband did too! Just curious: have you tried boiling them, like traditional gnocchi?
Pleased you enjoyed my gnocchi! I actually did try boiling them in the traditional way when I first experimented and found they simply got soggy and fell apart – not good. Stick with the recipe and enjoy. If you experiment, let me know. Thanks again . . . Joanie.
My wife and I enjoyed the recipe very much. First time doing it , I dropped by accident the eggs in the dry ingredients so i went food processor crazy was afraid the gum would clump)so I did everything together in the processor and resulted in a perfect dough I could roll into 1/2 cm cilinders, after sleeping in the fridge it was easy to cut in fork wide piece and pressed them between two forks, I wanted gnocci marks and brown on both side. Delicious with very small sausage balls (as small as the gnocci’s) in marinara sauce. Thanks for the recipe
So pleased you enjoyed my recipe. It is a fun one to make together. We usually make a large batch and freeze for later use. I like your idea of two forks. Thanks for that tip . . . Joanie.