Types of Gnocchi, from Potato to Ricotta and Beyond

A name with room for variety

Gnocchi can describe a dough, a regional dish or a way of serving dinner. The categories overlap. Spinach gnocchi may have a potato base, while the same potato dough can become a crisp skillet dish or a soft spoonful in soup.

An inviting flour-dusted wooden kitchen workbench with four small distinct clusters of uncooked gnocchi: classic pale potato, green spinach, orange squash, and yellow semolina rounds, each kept separate; a few whole potatoes and a folded linen cloth.

Recipes to try

By dough

Rustic brown-skinned potatoes, one cooked potato broken open to reveal fluffy pale flesh, a mound of soft pale gnocchi dough and several small uncooked ridged gnocchi on an old maple workbench.

Potato Gnocchi

Soft potato dumplings with an unusually wide range of possibilities.

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A quiet fresh-cheese still life with ricotta in a small bowl, cottage cheese in another bowl, a piece of paneer, and a small amount of pale gnocchi dough on a wooden work surface.

Cheese and Yogurt Gnocchi

Fresh cheeses and yogurt bring a different character to the dough.

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A rustic kitchen arrangement of cut orange squash, dark green spinach leaves, a cut beet and three separate small mounds of orange, green and pink gnocchi dough.

Vegetable Gnocchi

Green, golden and purple doughs with flavors of their own.

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Small separate ceramic bowls of cooked lentils, green peas, chickpeas and white beans surrounding a small cluster of pale gnocchi dough pieces on a wooden kitchen worktop.

Bean, Lentil and Tofu Gnocchi

Bean purees, legume flours and tofu open up another family of doughs.

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Separate small bowls of golden cornmeal and brown buckwheat groats with a torn rustic bread heel and a few dough pieces on a kitchen board.

Flour, Grain and Bread Gnocchi

Corn, buckwheat, bread and flour-based doughs.

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Traditional styles

Overlapping baked semolina rounds in an oval dish, with semolina and aged cheese nearby.

Gnocchi alla Romana

Buttery semolina rounds with a golden cheese crust.

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A small terracotta baking dish of potato gnocchi with tomato, melted mozzarella and basil beside ripe tomato and fresh mozzarella on a sunlit pale stone kitchen counter.

Gnocchi alla Sorrentina

A tomato-and-mozzarella bake with roots in Sorrento.

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Smooth Parisian choux gnocchi in a ceramic gratin dish beside a resting piping bag.

Parisian Gnocchi

Savory choux dumplings with buttery flavor and tender centers.

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Gnudi

Tuscan ricotta dumplings without a pasta wrapper.

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Cooking and serving

Pan-Fried Gnocchi

Golden surfaces and soft centers change the whole plate.

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Baked Gnocchi

Casseroles, gratins and roasted gnocchi with golden edges.

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A small cream enameled soup pot holding vegetable broth with a few visible gnocchi and leafy greens, a ladle resting in a spoon rest next to it, crusty bread in background.

Gnocchi Soup

Soft dumplings in brothy, creamy and tomato-based soups.

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Gnocchi Salad

Gnocchi salads give the dumplings a different setting, with fresh leaves and bright dressings instead of a bowl of sauce.

The contrast is the point

A crisp dumpling has something in common with a crouton, but a softer center and more substance. Juicy tomatoes, citrus, peaches or apples bring freshness, while cheese adds salt and richness. The salad can be the main dish rather than something beside it.