Sweet Potato Gnocchi (Paleo)
Soft, pillowy sweet potato gnocchi that are easy, and completely Paleo, gluten free, and vegan, yet you’d never know! Coated in a garlic sage sauce, these homemade gnocchi are incredibly easy to make and perfect for all eaters!
Gnocchi is my all time favorite type of pasta.
Like it beats out spaghetti, angel hair, linguine, cavatelli, even gemelli pasta for me. The first time I truly had gnocchi happened to be while I was studying abroad in Italy. My friends and I took a trip out to eat (something that we rarely did studying abroad- most of our meals were with our host families, which I loved!), and found this hidden gem of a restaurant.
Tucked away in the corner of the streets with no boisterous signs was a little restaurant that served the best homemade gnocchi I’ve ever eaten (because that’s where it’s really at). I literally *dream* of that dish, I kid you not.
My love for gnocchi runs deep, and these sweet potato gnocchi definitely cement that love.
Soft, pillowy, and fluffy pieces of the Italian pasta dough balls coated in a deliciously creamy sage and garlic sauce.
Oh, but I didn’t tell you the best part. These sweet potato gnocchi just so happen to be naturally Paleo, gluten free, dairy free, and vegan. Yes, even the sauce too, and you’d never be able to tell.
And you know what’s really cool about gnocchi? They’re honestly not all that hard to make. Like I’m talking, it’s wayyyy easier than making any other pasta by hand.
How to make gnocchi
Well, lucky for you, I have an entire video for you on how to make gnocchi! So I definitely recommend giving that a watch (and check out my YouTube channel for more fun cooking videos if you’d like!).
But because I’m me, I’ll also give you the run down in words (because if you couldn’t tell, I like to talk. A lot. Basically, I think I just like to hear and read my own thoughts).
- First make the dough. You’ll start by combining the cooked and mashed sweet potato with the cassava flour, sea salt, and a cooking oil, such as olive, coconut, or avocado. Knead the dough (it will truly feel like a gluten dough, it’s incredible) until it’s firm, yet soft, and doesn’t stick to the bowl.
- Flour a clean surface and slice the dough into quarters. Then you’ll roll each quarter into a long pole, but start with one quarter first. Roll it to be about 1 inch thick in diameter.
- Take the rolled gnocchi dough and slice the dough into 1 inch thick gnocchi. You can use a pizza slicer, which I recommend, or a thin knife. After the sweet potato gnocchi are sliced, lightly flour each gnocchi and place them on a plate.
- Bring a pot of 2 quarts of salted water to a boil. Place about 1/4 of the gnocchi into the pot and give it a swirl. Let the gnocchi cook for about 1-2 minutes, until they’ve risen to the top. That’s how you’ll know when they’re done!
- Remove the gnocchi and add them to a sauté pan to sauté until they’re crispy. This step isn’t exactly necessary, but I do think it adds a great flavor to them!
See? I told ya making gnocchi wasn’t all that scary! Now you’re a seasoned pro 😉 The magic has been revealed!
Buttttt now we need to make a sauce to go with your gnocchi 😉
What sauce to use with this sweet potato gnocchi
Really, any sauce would go great with these homemade gnocchi. For this recipe specifically, I’ve included a garlic sage sauce that just blows these Paleo gnocchi out of the water.
I mean, you’d never know that this recipe is completely dairy free, naturally vegan, gluten free, and grain free.
And the garlic sage sauce is just too easy. Here, these are the ingredients:
- Light coconut milk
- Garlic
- Sage
- Sea Salt
- Arrowroot Powder (or cornstarch if not doing completely Paleo)
I mean…it doesn’t get any simpler than that! This vegan cream sauce goes perfectly over these gnocchi.
But I also recommend doing a pesto, such as this one, or a creamy Alfredo sauce, like my lightened up version here.
Orrrrr since it is fall (if that’s when you’re reading this!), I definitely would recommend a fun pumpkin sauce, because pumpkin is just so good this time of year!
Tips & Tricks for making homemade gnocchi
- Make sure that the water is boiling! Give the water a few seconds after it first initially boils to ensure that it’s hot enough.
- Sweet Potato Gnocchi Dough: the dough of the Paleo gnocchi should be extraordinarily similar to regular gnocchi dough, so much so that you shouldn’t be able to tell the difference between the two. This means that the dough isn’t sticking to the sides of the bowl or on the floured surface. If it is, work some more flour in there. You don’t want the gnocchi to disintegrate in the water!
- What sweet potato to use: I recommend using a regular yam, but you could also have a more traditional looking sweet potato gnocchi and use a white sweet potato (Hannah or Japanese are both great!).
- What if I don’t need to be/want to be Paleo? No problem! If you just want sweet potato gnocchi, and not Paleo gnocchi, you can use whichever flour you’d like. Gluten free flour or all-purpose flour will work perfectly here!
- The gnocchi get sticky after they’re boiled, so place them on the plate so that they’re not touching each other! Much easier to sauté then.
And there ya have it! Creamy and delicious fluffy homemade gnocchi that tastes just like something you’d get in a restaurant. Truly, you will not be able to tell that these gnocchi are indeed gluten free and grain free! Not to mention dairy free, with the addition of this vegan garlic sage cream sauce!
I hope you love these gnocchi as much as I do 🙂 If you give them a go, let me know down in the comments section how they went! And as always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there so that I can reshare them!
Happy kneading, rolling, and gnocchi-eating! Oh, and buon appetito 😉
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
Sweet Potato Gnocchi (Paleo)
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Soft, pillowy sweet potato gnocchi that are easy, and completely Paleo, gluten free, and vegan, yet you’d never know! Coated in a garlic sage sauce, these homemade gnocchi are incredibly easy to make and perfect for all eaters!
Ingredients
Paleo Sweet Potato Gnocchi:
- 2 cups mashed sweet potato
- 1 1/4 cup cassava flour, or gluten free 1-to-1 flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/8 cup olive oil, or coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
Garlic Sage Sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 1/4 cup chopped sage
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Place mashed sweet potato in a large bowl.
- Add flour, sea salt, and oil to the bowl, and knead until it’s a consistent dough. Make sure that all of the flour is absorbed. The dough will be ready when nothing is sticking to the bowl.
- Flour a clean surface with extra cassava flour and place the dough onto the floured surface.
- Use a knife to slice the dough in quarters.
- Take one quarter and roll the sweet potato dough to be long and about 1 inch thick.
- Slice in 1 inch sections with a pizza slicer or thin knife.
- Tuck the edges so that they’re more rounded and lightly flour. Place the ready-to-boil gnocchi onto a plate and repeat with the remaining quarters.
- When the gnocchi are done, bring a large pot with 2 quarts of water and a pinch of sea salt to a boil.
- When the water is boiling, add about 1/4 of the gnocchi to the pot and give the water a swirl.
- Let the gnocchi cook until they start to rise to the top (about 1-2 minutes). When they’ve risen, remove them from the water, and repeat for the remaining gnocchi.
- Once all the gnocchi are cooked, add 1 tsp of olive or cooking oil to a large sauté pan and sauté the gnocchi until crispy. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
- In a separate large sauté pan, heat the remaining oil on medium-high heat and add the minced garlic to the pan. Sauté until golden brown, then reduce the heat to medium and add the sage.
- Sauté the garlic and sage together until fragrant, then add in the coconut milk, sea salt, and arrowroot powder.
- Stir until the arrowroot powder is combined, and let the sauce cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until thickened.
- Once the sauce is thickened, add the gnocchi to the pan and toss until coated.
- Serve with pepper.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 461
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 71
- Fat: 12
- Saturated Fat: 4
- Carbohydrates: 82
- Fiber: 5
- Protein: 2
Keywords: gnocchi, garlic sage sauce, sweet potato gnocchi, paleo, vegan, dairy free, gluten free
Oh my goodness, gnocchi was my absolute FAVORITE dish growing up, but I haven’t had it in ages. This tastes even better than I remember! The texture is incredible and that cream sauce is the perfect compliment to the pillowy gnocchi! Thank you so much for sharing this yummy creation!! 🙂
★★★★★
Aw I am so beyond happy to hear that!! That’s why I make these recipes 🙂 So that you can enjoy something you used to love!! It shouldn’t be off limits, may just need a tweak in how it’s made 😉
Um…AMAZING!!! I’ve never had gnocchi before, but your pictures made me crave it, haha. Made your fettuccine alfredo sauce and let me just say: MY LIFE IS CHANGED. Thanks for making my day a little brighter with this recipe. 😉
★★★★★
Oh my goodness, you’re so kind!! I’m so so happy you enjoyed the Alfredo!! Have a beautiful day!
I love gnocchi, very simple but delicious.
Aw thank you so much!! Enjoy!
I’m making this for someone who is allergic to Coconut. Can I sub milk and oil?
Absolutely! So if they’re not allergic to nuts, you can use almond milk, or you can do pea milk as well (oat milk won’t be Paleo, but it will be gluten free and still very good). The oil is olive oil, so that should be fine, but if not you can use avocado oil as well!
Do you think the gnocchi freezes well? I really like to take a Sunday and prep a bunch of freezer meals. This looks so delicious!
Yes! I would just reheat it like you would any other frozen pasta (think like TJ’s cauliflower gnocchi). Let it thaw on the countertop and then add it to the pan to sauté! It would be wonderful to meal prep!
I am so sad! After boiling the gnocchi, it tasted pretty good. But when I tried to sauté those adorable little dough balls, they totally turned to mush. I tried a smaller batch, but that didn’t seem to make a difference. What did I do wrong???
Aw no, I’m so sorry to hear that! Did you happen to cool and/or freeze the gnocchi before sautéing? That can occasionally cause gnocchi to go mushy in general!
I doubled the recipe and have added about 3x the amount of flour and it’s still quite sticky. Did I do something wrong? How do I fix the dough?
Hi Maria- I’m so sorry to hear this! It’s okay if the dough is still a bit sticky, as long as it’s moveable and you’re able to roll it with some extra flour. sprinkled on the surface. That usually helps to solidify things.
This is a rookie mistake but I used coconut flour and it was a total failure lol I will try again but just wanted to write this so no one else makes the same mistake!!
Aw no!! yes, coconut flour really doesn’t work here! It doesn’t bind the sweet potato because there’s nothing to act “glutinous!”
You can use oat flour though if you don’t have cassava! That also works! Not paleo but GF!
almond flour also doesn’t work whoops