Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi is a simple pasta recipe made from potatoes with all of your favorite cacio e pepe flavors! It’s so much easier to make gnocchi than you think and only requires a few ingredients.

Three pink bowls filled with cacio e pepe gnocchi on white surface

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Homemade gnocchi. Have you made it?! It’s so much easier than homemade pasta and absolutely delicious.

Gnocchi are like little pasta dumplings thanks to their shape and inclusion of potato into the dough. They’re super simple to make and require very few ingredients: just potatoes, flour, and egg, plus your seasonings of choice!

In fact, I’ve been known to turn leftover mashed potatoes into gnocchi. You could even just make a big batch of my cacio e pepe mashed potatoes and used the leftovers in this recipe! So easy, so yummy.

With the addition of cacio e pepe flavors, this dish is bound to be a crowd pleaser.

What You Need to Make Gnocchi

Ingredients for cacio e pepe on white surface

The good news is, you don’t need much in terms of equipment or ingredients to make this cacio e pepe gnocchi recipe!

Equipment:

  • A good stockpot. Cuisinart stockpots are my favorite.
  • A colander (strainer)
  • A large skillet. My mom got me these pans for Christmas and they’re officially my go-to.
  • A bench scraper make things easier
  • Oh, and a fork!

Ingredients:

  • Yellow Potatoes. When I say “medium sized” I mean 4-5 inches long.
  • Grated parmesan cheese. We want that powdery texture! This doesn’t mean reaching for the green can, though.
  • Black pepper, freshly ground! Skip the dry flavorless gray powder and grind it yourself. Trust.
  • A large egg
  • Flour. All purpose flour is all you need!

How to Make Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi

This is such an easy recipe to make! The most time consuming part is kneading the dough.

Start by peeling and boiling the potatoes until they’re fork tender. Add them to a bowl and mash ’em. Add egg, parmesan, and black pepper, then start incorporating the flour 1/2 cup at a time. Eventually, you’ll NEED to add it to a floured surface and KNEAD in the remaining flour (can’t resist a dad joke opportunity!).

Once the dough is no longer sticky, you’ll pull out that bench scraper and divide the dough into 6 pieces. Place a clean, damp tea towel over the dough balls while you work.

Roll out one of the dough balls into a long rope about 1 inch thick. Use the bench scraper to cut the rope into 1/2 inch pieces. Repeat with all the remaining dough balls.

Rolling out gnocchi on floured white surface

Roll each piece of gnocchi against the back of a fork to create those signature ridges. Don’t overthink this – you just want to give them some texture! They can look *rustic*.

Boil the gnocchi until they float, about 3-5 minutes.

Make the sauce by melting lotso butter and adding reserved pasta water. Then stir in even more parmesan and black pepper. Toss it all together and you’ve got cacio e pepe gnocchi!

What to Serve with Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi

Need some inspiration for what to serve alongside this gnocchi?

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Get the Recipe:

Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi is a simple pasta recipe made from potatoes with all of your favorite cacio e pepe flavors! It's so much easier to make gnocchi than you think and only requires a few ingredients.

Ingredients
 

For the gnocchi:

  • 3 medium sized yellow potatoes
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 3-4 cups flour

For the sauce:

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Reserved pasta water
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Garnish:

  • Grated parmesan
  • Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Instructions
 

  • Set a stockpot half full of water on the stove and bring to a boil. Peel potatoes. Boil until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cold water run over the potatoes.
  • Add potatoes to a large bowl and mash with a fork. Add egg, parmesan, black pepper, and salt and mix together with fork.
  • Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, until it becomes difficult to mix with a fork. Flour a clean surface and transfer dough to surface. Continue to knead in flour 1/2 cup at a time, until dough is no longer sticky.
  • Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Place a damp tea towel over the dough balls. Working one at a time, roll each dough ball into a rope about 1 inch thick. Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the snake into 1/2 inch pieces. Toss the pieces with a little flour to prevent them from sticking to one another. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
  • Press the gnocchi against the back of a fork for those signature gnocchi ridges.
  • Bring a stockpot half full of water to a boil. Salt the water 1 tbsp of salt at a time - it should taste salty.
  • Boil the gnocchi for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they float. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain.
  • Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add 1/3 cup pasta water. Stir occasionally, until mixture comes together. Add the parmesan and pepper.
  • Add the gnocchi and toss to coat. Add more pasta water to loosen the sauce as needed.
  • Spoon into pasta bowls and garnish with more parmesan cheese and black pepper.

Notes

Amount of flour will depend on how much water your potatoes retain.
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Pasta
Author: Chelsea Cole
Calories: 560kcal, Carbohydrates: 95g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 67mg, Sodium: 557mg, Potassium: 675mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 347IU, Vitamin C: 25mg, Calcium: 178mg, Iron: 6mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @aducksoven on Instagram or tag #aducksoven.