Delicious homemade sweet potato gnocchi are great for people with food sensitivities since they are nightshade free, gluten free, grain free and paleo.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you a very special creation: Sweet potato gnocchi. They are super delicious and those of us with certain food restrictions can still enjoy these. Because these bad boys are gluten free, grain free, paleo, and nightshade free. It is actually not hard at all to make them so you should definitely give it a try.

I haven’t been able to eat gnocchi for years and I always really loved them. For awhile I was in denial talking myself into believing that they are entirely made out of potatoes. Until I finally actually checked and of course…flour. This was before my nightshade-free days of course. You might wonder what the heck are nightshades? Nope, those are not the type of sunglasses one wears in a club.;)

Nightshades are a whole group of vegetables that belong in the family of the Solanaceae. They can be tricky and inflammatory for some, especially those with an autoimmune disease. Potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant for example belong into that category. So when I started the autoimmune protocol gnocchi were now a complete no-go for several reasons. Thank god for sweet potatoes! Even though they have the word potato in them they don’t belong to the nightshade family. Fun fact, they actually belong to the morning glory family. 🙂

So I made it my mission to recreate nightshade, gluten, and grain-free gnocchi, and a mission it was! I think I am about to turn into a gnocchi myself. When I close my eyes at night all I see is gnocchi. 😉 I finally came up with a recipe that I am satisfied with. Halleluja! The good thing is that they are really delicious, so my husband didn’t complain that we had gnocchi for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the last couple of days. 🙂

Tips for the Best Outcome of your Homemade Gnocchi

• Make sure you are very exact with the measurements of the ingredients.
• Because eggs come in different shapes and fresh ingredients like sweet potato vary in their consistency, the dough might be stickier at times. If it is too sticky to roll into a ball add a little bit more tapioca and almond flour.
• For the best outcome, I used two different kinds of sweet potatoes: Jewel and Japanese Sweet potatoes. Both are sometimes mislabeled as yams. Jewel sweet potatoes are one of the most common sweet potatoes and are easily identified by their orange skin and flesh. Japanese sweet potatoes have purple skin and butter-colored flesh. Be careful if you want to change the ratio of jewel versus Japanese sweet potato. Cooked Japanese sweet potatoes are drier than “regular” sweet potatoes and therefore require less flour for the gnocchi to stick together.
• To make sure you are on the right track check out the pictures below that show the most important steps.
• The quickest way to form the gnocchi is to cut tiny little pillows from a “dough rope”, see picture below. Feel free to form individual oval gnocchi. If you feel fancy you can even mark them with a fork to get the typical gnocchi pattern on them. This all of course will require a lot more time.

Best Way to Enjoy these Gnocchi

These gnocchi taste best when they are fried after they are boiled. The nature of tapioca flour makes them slightly chewy. I still really like them simply cooked with a more traditional sauce. Buuuuut….fried in some oil, fresh sage, salt, and pepper, OMG!!!!! Amazing! A must try! Below are a few recipes on how to use these gnocchi and different sauces you can try.

• Fried Gnocchi with Sage (My favorite way)
• Nightshade-free Marinara Sauce
• Homemade Pesto
• Spaghetti Carbonara (Use the same sauce for gnocchi instead of spaghetti)

Ok, I hope I made your mouth watery and that you will try this delicious recipe. Let me know what you think in the comment section below and if you have any questions I would love to hear from you. Don’t forget to tag me in your food pics on Instagram.

Happy cooking

~ Annika

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Delicious homemade sweet potato gnocchi are great for people with food sensitivities since they are nightshade free, gluten free, grain free and paleo.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup mashed Jewel sweet potato orange,brown skin, orange flesh (approximately 1 small one)
• 1/2 cup mashed Japanese sweet potato purple skin, white flesh (approximately 1 small one)
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 3/4 cup tapioca flour
• 3 Tbsp coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt (for boiling)

Instructions

 

• Cut sweet potatoes into large cubes and steam for about 15 minutes until soft.
• Let them cool off for a couple of minutes. Once they are cool enough to be touched, peel them.
• Mash both sweet potato varieties separately before measuring. Once you took the accurate amount of both, combine them either with a fork or potato masher.
• In a separate bowl mix the flours and the salt together.
• Add egg to the sweet potato mash and mix until smooth.
• Add flour mix to the mashed sweet potatoes and mix well using your hands. Now form the dough into a ball. The dough is going to be a little bit sticky. If it is too sticky to form a ball add a little bit additional tapioca and almond flour in the same ratio.
• Put a little bit of tapioca flour onto a large cutting board and distribute it evenly. Cut the dough into 4 parts. Roll each to make a thin rope. The thickness depends on how big you want your gnocchi to be. I recommend about half an inch. Now cut each rope into about 1-inch pieces. You can either freeze them now or cook them.
• To cook heat a medium/large pot with water and salt until boiling. Add the gnocchi and cook for 1-3 minutes. The gnocchi will float on the surface once they are done. Drain and serve.
• Enjoy the gnocchi with your favorite sauce or fry them once cooked.
• Enjoy!

Notes

Tips: I used two different kinds of sweet potatoes: Jewel and Japanese Sweet potatoes. Both are sometimes mislabeled as yams. Jewel sweet potatoes are the most common sweet potatoes and are easily identified by their orange skin and flesh. Japanese sweet potatoes have purple skin and butter-colored flesh. Be careful if you want to change the ratio of jewel versus Japanese sweet potato. Cooked Japanese sweet potatoes are drier than "regular" sweet potatoes and therefore require less flour for the gnocchi to stick together.