Crystal Godfrey
Use this as a fun activity with friends or family or as an easy cheat for your favorite Olive Garden soup!
QUICK & EASY HOMEMADE GNOCCHI
*This post is based on a LIVE Instagram Meet Up I did on April 8, 2020, you can catch the video HERE in the private Outsmart Dinner Facebook group*
Looking for a fun dinner party idea, something to do with your kids while you’re on quarantine, or just a quick 4-ingredient substitute for pasta, this quick and easy gnocchi will knock your socks off.
Traditional gnocchi is laborious to make. First you have to bake some potatoes, wait for them to cool, mash, roll, make, press, boil…you get the idea…it’s long and harder than it needs to be. That’s why I love this cheater recipe that uses potato flakes instead of fresh potatoes. Done in 15 minutes, it’s a perfect choice to add into your dinner rotation. But if you need it to double as entertainment, it’s also a great task for little hands to help with.
But it’s also as versatile as any pasta. Serve it with sauces like tomato, Alfredo, or pesto; with meat, vegetables, or plain; or in your favorite soup instead of dumplings. Give it a try and let me know what you think, because I love ’em even more so because they’re easy to make earlier in the day or even to double the recipe and freeze some for later!
HOW TO MAKE IT EARLIER AND TURN IT IN TO A FREEZER MEAL…EASILY
If you’ve been following me for any time at all, you know that I’m a huge believer in starting dinner at lunch. Not because it should take that long, but because you’re usually crazy busy at dinner time helping kids with homework, driving around, and you’re just plain tired and wishing someone else would come and drop off dinner….am I right? Just changing when you prep dinner will make a HUGE difference in how your family and YOU enjoy dinner. So, I’m pretty much always trying to figure out ways to streamline the process, cut down on dishes, and help you start dinner earlier (after all, that’s pretty much why I created the Outsmart Dinner Meal Planner). So if you’d like to prep this earlier, know that you can make this at lunch and leave it on your counter or in the fridge for a few hours until you boil it. You can also double the recipe and freeze a batch for later. Just shape the gnocchi and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon liner and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours. Remove the gnocchi to a freezer-safe, tiptop bag and place back in the freezer until you need it. Then just cook in small batches (placing too many frozen gnocchi will cool the water quickly and ruin the cooking process).
EASY HOMEMADE GNOCCHI
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry potato flakes
- 1 cup very hot water (as hot as will come out of your tap)
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or a combination of white and whole wheat flour)
Instructions
- Start your water boiling. I like to boil water in a large deep skillet to cut down on waiting time.
- Place potato flakes in a medium-size bowl. Pour in boiling water; stir until blended. Let cool.
- Blend egg in the liquid measuring cup you used to measure water. Add in salt and pepper, and stir. Blend in enough flour to make a fairly stiff dough. Turn dough out on a well-floured counter and knead lightly.
- Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a long thin roll, the thickness of a breadstick. With a knife dipped in flour, cut into bite-size pieces.
- Using the back of your fork, gently roll dough pieces to give it that signature look and crevice to hold that delicious sauce.
- Place a few gnocchi in boiling water. As the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot, remove them with a slotted spoon. Repeat until all are cooked.