Ricotta and spinach gnudi are a little like gnocchi without the potato. They're light, cheesy and incredibly comforting and delicious!
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Gnocchi have been one of my elder son's favorite meals for many years now. It was one of the first meals he gobbled down faster than us, and ate just as much. His younger brother has never been quite such a fan, though is getting more in to them now he can help.
Earlier attempts to get the kids to help make gnocchi tended to end in very messy hands and not a whole lot of help. However these days, I can get them to do a pretty good production line with me (as they did with some beet gnocchi not long ago). Which is just as well, as we need quite a lot these days.
Recently, I was looking to try something a little different on the theme and came back to gnudi. I made them a couple years ago, but somehow got out of the habit. I don't think the kids will be letting that happen again.
What are gnudi?
Gnudi come from Tuscany in Italy. The name literally translates as "nude" as they are in effect like the filling for ravioli or other filled pastas without the pasta covering. They are sometimes called "malfatti" meaning "malformed".
Neither name is particularly kind, really, and the simple ingredient list doesn't really give you a true sense of how wonderfully delicious these little bites are either.
All gnudi use ricotta as the base ingredient, with egg to hold them together and typically some parmesan or pecorino for additional flavor. You use some flour, but not that much so the cheese flavor dominates. Some, like these, also include spinach. It adds a nice flavor and texture (and the healthiness balances out all that cheese, I like to hope!).
Tips for making spinach gnudi/malfatti
I won't lie, these take a little time to make since you need to form all the little balls. But it's not difficult and you can soon get yourself in a rhythm.
Some tips to help them turn out well:
- Drain the ricotta ahead of time to remove excess moisture.
- Make sure you drain the spinach really well - I recommend squeezing out twice - and chop it really fine.
- Chill the mixture before you form into balls - this makes it a little easier to work with.
- Line and dust a large baking sheet with flour before you start rolling.
- Use damp hands to help you roll the gnudi into balls.
- You can form the balls ahead of time and chill for a couple hours before cooking.
Since the flavors in these are relatively delicate, I'd recommend you keep things simple in how you serve them. Here we had them with a simple sage browned butter which pairs really well. You could also use a simple tomato sauce, but I wouldn't go for anything much fancier than that.
Ricotta and spinach gnudi might look a little like gnocchi, but their flavor is even more cheesy and comforting. They're easier than you might think to make and worth every bit of effort in rolling them up. These delicate little bites are pure deliciousness.
Try these other comforting vegetarian meals:
- Pumpkin ravioli (tortelli di zucca)
- Vegetarian bibimbap (a delicious mix of rice and veg)
- Mushroom galette
- Plus get more vegetarian meals and Italian recipes in the archives.
Ricotta and spinach gnudi
Ingredients
- 12 oz ricotta
- 12 oz spinach weight after any thick stems have been removed
- 1 egg
- 2 oz all purpose flour plain flour (2oz is a little under ½ cup)
- 1 oz parmesan finely grated (1oz is around ½ cup, light packed)
- 1 dash pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Place the ricotta on a piece of kitchen paper (or clean starch-free dish towel) in a strainer and cover with an additional piece of kitchen paper. Leave to drain excess liquid for around an hour.
- Place spinach in a bowl, pour over boiling water and leave for a couple minutes to wilt.
- Drain the spinach and place spinach in a clean dish towel. Squeeze out as much water as possible, moving it around then squeezing again. Finely chop the spinach and unless you're really sure how dry it is, it can be worth trying to squeeze again before you set aside.
- Pat dry the ricotta to remove any drained liquid then put it in a bowl with the spinach, egg, flour, parmesan and pepper. Mix all together then cover and refrigerate for ideally 2 hours, or at least an hour.
- Once it has rested, prepare a baking sheet with parchment sprinkled with flour to put the gnudi on. Get a little bowl with cold water to use for your hands as you work.
- Take a spoonful of the mixture at a time (I use a tablespoon measure to get roughly even size) and with slightly damp hands, roll into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with all of the mixture, trying to work quickly so you don't get the dough too warm and sticky. Dampen your hands with the water in your bowl as needed.
- If time suits, you can chill the prepared gnudi for a couple hours until you need to cook them, or cook straight away.
- Bring a wide, shallow pan of water to the boil. Add a few gnudi at a time to the water, keeping the water over a high heat so it continues to boil.
- When the gnudi rise to the top, remove with a slotted spoon to an oiled bowl and repeat, cooking in batches.
- Serve as you prefer but suggest with browned butter - for this quantity melt around 3 ½oz/ 100g butter in a skillet and allow to cook over medium heat until it becomes a nutty smell and gently brown color. Once the butter has melted you can add around 3-4 chopped sage leaves for a lovely flavor that works well with the gnudi.
Video
Notes
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(By the way, in case you are curious, I found this interesting article in Saveur about the evolution of gnocchi whose early forms seem to have given these dumplings their name.)
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Christine
Hi! Would it be better to make ahead then boil day of, or make and boil then refrigerate and reheat somehow? I’m hoping to mostly make these a day or two before having company!
Caroline's Cooking
So I'd always recommend cooking right before eating rather re-heating. They will keep a few hours in the fridge no problem, and probably fine a day ahead - I'd just make sure you cover them and you may want to sprinkle on a little extra flour before cooking if they look damp (and also don't put on extra flour before refrigerating as it will likely just go gummy). The other option, if you want to make them a bit further ahead, is to make and freeze them before cooking. Just place them on a baking sheet in the freezer, so they are separated, then once frozen, transfer to a container or freezer bag. Then you can cook them from frozen - they will take a minute or two longer. I think you may lose a little bit texture-wise, but they should still be good!
Anne
I made these and they were delicious. I made the sage butter too. I served with burrata and a simple tomato sauce. I’m going to make more and serve as part of a dinner party buffet.
Caroline's Cooking
Glad to hear you enjoyed, and sounds great with the burrata and tomato sauce too!
Dwc
I made these for dinner last night and they were absolutely wonderful. I thought I read it wrong when I saw the small amount of flour but I found out that is what makes them so light and fluffy. Once you roll them in flour they come out great. I did add a little nutmeg and put them on top of some Rao marinara sauce that I had. My husband said it was like having a meal at a fine Italian restaurant. Thanks for the great recipe, I look forward to trying more of yours.
Caroline's Cooking
So glad to hear you enjoyed! They are one of our favorites. Yes, I know the flour can seem so little but it really is what gives them there wonderful texture. Hope you find other recipes to enjoy, too!
carol burns
Made them and they were lovely. How long can you leave them in the fridge before cooking
Caroline's Cooking
Glad to hear you enjoyed! I'd say a few hours in the fridge is fine, but you probably don't want to make them the day before, for example, as they will likely become a little wet and sticky feeling - you can roll in a little more flour if that's the case, but you want to make sure they don't become too floury as then you lose the delicate cheese flavor.
Rose Gallegos
Tasty but no matter what I did they would dissolve when trying to cook them. I ended up putting them on top of the sauce and letting them cook that way. They spread out over the top so it was not really balled any more but tasted good
Caroline's Cooking
Sorry to hear that, did you chill them well before cooking, as that can help them hold together? Also getting the spinach really squeezed out of any liquid makes a big difference too - I often squeeze multiple times to keep getting that bit more out. Glad they were at least tasty, though!
Randy Smith
It is a fun simple dish to make while having friends at the kitchen counter marvel at my “skill”. This recipe worked perfectly the very first time.
Caroline's Cooking
So glad to hear you enjoyed, and that it impressed your guests!
Nancy
Hi. Looking at the recipe, I’m wondering if the amount of Parmesan and flour are reversed. It says 60g of flour (1/4) cup and 30g of Parmesan (1/2 cup)
Caroline's Cooking
No, that's right - flour is a lot heavier than grated parmesan which is why the volume is less for a higher weight.
Deb
I was super excited about this recipe. I’ve made sweet potato gnocchi many times and love it! Everything seem to be going perfectly. I had lovely little ricotta and spinach balls, however, they completely disintegrated when I put them in the boiling water. I double checked I did not miss any ingredients. What the heck did I do wrong?
Caroline's Cooking
Oh dear, unfortunately they are relatively soft which can mean just being a little off can cause problems. A couple possibilities - most likely your dough was a little too soft, meaning either the ricotta needed to drain a bit more, or the spinach needed squeezed out more. For the spinach, you really do want to squeeze multiple times as you will almost certainly find more will always come out. Putting it in a piece of cheesecloth and squeezing in that can help. When you scoop and form them, they should feel slightly sticky but not super soft. If they seem a little too soft, at this stage since you can't really drain any more, you can add a little more flour (though not too much as it can impact flavor). The other thing is making sure they chilled before cooking, as this also helps them stay firmer. And finally while you want to put them into boiling water to cook, you are better with a gentle boil than a roaring boil - if it's boiling really strongly, this can encourage them to split.
Eileen
This was fantastic! 1st time to make it and after researching a few other recipes I went with yours and followed it exactly. Although it is a little labor intensive with all of the wait time, squeezing spinach (so important!), letting the dough sit, putting the rolled gnudi in the fridge for an hour before cooking (I think this definitely helped them stay together while cooking which I was worried about), etc. I was so happy with the end result. I ended up making some meatballs the same size and served those in the same dish with red sauce to bulk up the meal a little. Next time I will make a double batch and freeze half so we have another meal. Thanks for a great recipe!
Caroline's Cooking
So glad to hear they worked out well! Yes, I know they do take a little time but I do think the steps are all worth it, and they definitely feel quicker once you've done it once before.
K
So I've made these once now and cannot believe how good they turned out. I was thrilled with the outcome and am about to make them again for famiky over the holidays. Can these be frozen and if yes at which stage and then how do you cook them after, from frozen, thawed, reheat or boil? Thanks for advice.
Caroline's Cooking
Glad to hear they turned out well, this is one of our favorites too. Yes, I'd freeze them after you have formed them into balls - just place them slightly spaced out on a baking sheet in the freezer and once frozen, take them off the baking sheet and put in a freezer bag or container. Then when you want to use them, just cook from frozen giving them an extra couple of minutes to cook (they will just take a bit longer to rise up to the surface, so you can still use that as a guide). Make sure your batches aren't too big as you cook them as they will bring the temperature down that bit more being frozen. Enjoy!
S
Just checking in to say “thank you”. I followed all the ratios in the recipe and the result was great.
Caroline's Cooking
Glad to hear you enjoyed!
Helen @ family-friends-food.com
Wow - those look fabulous. Pure cheesy comfort food - yum!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, they are indeed!
Shashi
I haven't ever made gnocchi or gnudi - but I love the idea of the pasta stuffing basically without the pasta covering - so this is going on my to make list! Thanks for opening up my eyes to something new today.
Caroline's Cooking
I do hope you give it a try - it's such a tasty dish!
Allison
I absolutely LOVE gnudi and these look fantastic.
Caroline's Cooking
Thank you, they are such a delicious dish, I agree.
Chris Collins
I've never tried these before but after reading through I'll definitely be giving them a go! Can't go wrong with ricotta and spinach!
Caroline's Cooking
It's such a delicious combination - so comforting but relatively light-tasting as well.