Low Carb Ricotta Gnocchi. 5g carbs per serving. Low Calorie. Nut Free. Coconut Free.
These pillowy soft dumplings melt in your mouth just like the Italian originals made with wheat and potatoes.
Serve them with a good ragù, a tomato (marinara) sauce, or a delicious home-made pesto. Or do it Italian-style and simply drench them in butter. Top with lots of Parmesan and you have a delicious meal that ticks all the keto boxes.
Making gnocchi from scratch is indeed a bit of a skill. And practice makes perfect. But if you’ve ever had a go at normal home-made gnocchi, you’ll find this a breeze, as the process is virtually identical.
How to Make Low Carb Ricotta Gnocchi
Once you’ve whipped the drained ricotta and egg, you just need to combine the dry ingredients.
The next step is what takes a little skill, which comes with practice. My recipe instructions are pretty detailed. But if you prefer a visual introduction to rolling gnocchi, there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube (not mine) – just don’t sprinkle as much flour as they demonstrate.
The most important thing to remember is that the dough has to be very soft, otherwise you’ll end up with dry, unpleasant dumplings. To that end, you must refrain from adding more than a light, very minimal sprinkle of flour as you roll them out. You can see how little I use in the photos above ↑.
I strongly recommend oat fibre (not oat flour), as it’s perfect for the job. It’s very fine, not at all granular (e.g. coconut flour) and not oily (e.g. almond flour). It’s a common ingredient in many of my recipes. I use it to roll out dough, to increase bulk without additional carbs, to retain moistness in some bakes and to change the texture in others. If you don’t have any, I urge you to get some – you’ll find it invaluable.
Once prepared, all you have to do is plunge the dumplings in salted, boiling water and watch them rise. After 1 minute or so they’ll come up for air, and that’s when they’re done. DO NOT LEAVE THEM TO BOIL OR THEY’LL BECOME MUSH.
The recipe yields 3 standard portions. They may look meagre, but trust me, these gnocchi a very filling. Plus don’t forget you’ll be adding a sauce and lots of Parmesan.
Enjoy!
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Low Carb Ricotta Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 240 g ricotta - drained weight
- 1 large egg - 55g weighed without shell
- 70 g lupin flour (U.S. option HERE, or world-wide delivery HERE)
- 20 g oat fibre (U.S. option HERE)
- ½ tsp fine himalayan pink salt (U.S. option HERE)
- 1.5 tsp xanthan gum (U.S. option HERE)
- ½ tsp sunflower lecithin (U.S. option HERE)
Instructions
- in a large bowl, whip ricotta with egg until smooth and creamy.
- mix dry ingredients and tip them into the ricotta mix, combining quickly with a spoon.
- leave to rest while you get ready for the next steps.
- have some oat fibre (or similar non-oily, fine flour) to hand, as well as a knife, a chopping board and a plate or tray.
- dust hands lightly with oat fibre; sprinkle and smear a little of the same on a chopping board.
- spoon some gnocchi dough onto your palm and shape into a thin oblong; then roll this out onto your chopping board, using a back-and-forth motion while lightly pressing outward to elongate the sausage (no innuendos intended, ha-ha), until it is uniform and about finger-width.
- cut into 2.5cm chunks as you roll the sausage 90° between each cut; set gnocchi aside onto your plate or tray.
- repeat until you've used up all the dough.
- (optional) one by one, press and slide the gnocchi unto a fork to create ridges (see post images).
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Just like with potato gnocchi, the dough will feel very soft, but you must refrain from adding flour, other than a very light dusting to stop it sticking, or you'll end up with stodgy, unpalatable gnocchi.
- bring a small saucepan of salted water to a fast boil, while you heat your chosen sauce and keep it warm.
- quickly but carefully drop 1/3 of the gnocchi into the boiling water, a few at a time - to avoid getting burned from splash-back, go as close as possible to the water and the edge of the pan, rather than dropping them from a height.
- watch as the gnocchi float up within seconds; lift and drain them quickly using a straining ladle (U.S. option HERE) and transfer them directly onto the first serving plate.
- repeat twice more.
- drench with your chosen sauce and topping, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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This recipe is amazzzzing and so easy to make…. you will never know the difference! I wonder how freezing would be before cooking just to have on hand!
Thank you John! I would imagine that the ricotta would release more liquid once frozen, and ruin the gnocchi, but I may be wrong. Do let me know the outcome if you try.
Hello!
Can the dough be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen?
Hi Nicole, I’ve not tried either, but I would say no to freezing and yes to chilling.
Looks great and easy enough to make.
Question: What is the purpose of the the sunflower lethicin and can anything be used in place of its place? Can’t wait to try this!
Hi, it helps with emulsification and structure. You don’t have to use it.