Homemade Ricotta Keto Gnocchi with Pesto Sauce

Making your own homemade ricotta keto gnocchi is a great way to enjoy a classic (and comforting) pasta dish, but without the carbs. This gnocchi recipe is incredibly low carb and it goes phenomenally well with pesto sauce. Here’s how I make it.

How to Make Keto Gnocchi

• Process the first few ingredients. Add the almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, grated Parmesan cheese, and salt to a food processor and pulse a few times.
• Add the remaining ingredients. Add the egg and ricotta cheese and process until mixture comes together to form a dough ball.
• Knead the dough. Wrap it in cling wrap and knead for 1-2 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic once you’re done.
• Refrigerate the dough for at least one hour.
• Sprinkle a cutting board with coconut flour.
• Prepare the dough. Shape small portions of the dough into long ‘snakes’ before cutting into 1 inch pieces. Press each piece with a fork. Take your time doing this so that the pieces will be uniform.
• Refrigerate. Refrigerate the gnocchi dough pieces for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• Cook. Heat either olive oil or butter over low heat in a nonstick pan. Add the gnocchi and cook for 1-2 minutes per side or until golden.
• Toss. Remove the gnocchi from the heat, add the pesto sauce, and toss to combine.
• Serve. Sprinkle with extra grated Parmesan and serve.

How to Make Homemade Pesto Sauce

While you can use either store-bought or homemade pesto when making this gnocchi recipe, I like to make my own from scratch whenever possible. With that in mind, here’s my go-to homemade pesto sauce recipe:

• Prepare the pine nuts. Add pine nuts to a dry skillet and toast over medium heat until golden.
• Process the ingredients. Add the toasted pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, garlic cloves, extra virgin olive oil, and grated Parmesan to a food processor and process until the mixture forms a paste.
• Season. Season with salt to taste.
• Refrigerate. Refrigerate until ready to use.

What Exactly is Gnocchi Anyway?

Gnocchi is a type of pasta dish that consists of small dough dumplings that are usually made with a mix of regular wheat flour, semolina, cheese, egg, potato, breadcrumbs, or other similar ingredients.

It’s usually seasoned in some way. The most common additions include herbs, veggies, cocoa, or even prunes.

Out of all the more traditional varieties of gnocchi out there, perhaps the most common is a classic potato gnocchi, made with wheat flour, eggs, and cooked mashed potatoes.

(You may also like: Keto Pasta Carbonara)

Can I Freeze Gnocchi?

If you have any leftover gnocchi, you can either keep it in the fridge or store it in your freezer.

Leftover gnocchi can be stored in an airtight container and kept in the fridge for 2-3 days, or you can simply keep it in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

However, if you’re planning on freezing the gnocchi, it’s recommended that you freeze the dough instead of cooked gnocchi, especially if you’ve already added any toppings like pesto. The reason for this is that you’ll maintain far more texture and consistency when you thaw out the dough as opposed to cooked gnocchi.

(Learn more: Is Pesto Keto?)

Are Gnocchi Low Carb?

Regular pasta-based dishes of gnocchi are definitely not one of the better low carb meal options out there.

Thankfully for low carb pasta lovers, this gnocchi recipe is indeed a fantastic low carb option. By using non wheat-based flours like almond flour and coconut flour, this recipe manages to keep the net carb count to the bare minimum.

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