The Easiest Homemade Gnocchi

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The last time I attempted to make homemade gnocchi, I never got there. I baked the potatoes for mashing and then I ended up just eating them (this was months ago, but all with good intentions!) However, yesterday I hit an epiphany: if instant mashed potatoes mirror the flavor and texture of potatoes so well, who’s to say that they can’t be used as a substitute? This is absolutely not a slap to mashed potatoes that have remained a potato this entire time, but boxed potatoes are simply just dehydrated potatoes! I am here to tell you that this is absolutely true and possibly the greatest hack I have ever come up with.

You’ll need:

  • A package of garlic instant mashed potatoes

  • Any seasonings you want for the gnocchi (I added 1 tablespoon garlic powder/a sprinkle of italian seasoning)

  • 1 and a 1/2 cups of flour

  • 1/2 cup of milk

  • tomato sauce

  • pecorino romano

First, boil 1 and a 1/2 cups of water and pour this over your package of potato flakes (this should also be around 1 and a 1/2 cups). Add the milk (do not boil this!) and mix thoroughly. Allow to stand for a few minutes for thickening before adding the flour and seasonings until entirely incorporated.

Now that you have the dough, sprinkle some flour on a surface where you can roll it out and create tubes that have the thickness of a gnocchi. Take a floured knife and cut pillows out and use a floured fork to create little nooks to hold more sauce. I laid out all these gnocchis on parchment paper covered baking sheets.

Now that you have all the lil baby gnocchis prepped, boil a pot of water and cook them for about 30 seconds. This is an optional step, but I pan fried them for a few minutes on a skillet before tossing them in sauce and topping with pecorino. A bonus point for using the garlic instant mashed potatoes is that it incorporates an excellent garlic flavor to an otherwise plain pasta. To really allow this to stand out, a simple sage butter sauce would work! I am positive that this is the fastest way that you can get pillowy soft gnocchis that will wow all of your friends!

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