How to Make Fluffy Gnocchi, According to a Chef

There’s no need to be intimidated by gnocchi. Turning to the store-bought packages of these Italian potato dumplings is easy — and admittedly weeknight friendly — but it’s also incredibly simple to make them from scratch, resulting in pillowy morsels that impress everyone at the table.

This is just one of the takeaways that chef, Next Level Chef judge, and restaurateur Nyesha Arrington wants to impart during her gnocchi-centric seminar at the 2025 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen. Beyond inspiring attendees to gather the courage to make this Italian staple at home, Arrington is also revealing her secrets to perfecting homemade gnocchi.

When it comes to these dumplings, the hallmark of a great one lies in its texture. A dense, gummy gnocco is tragic, but a light, pillowy one leaves a memorable bite. Here’s how to achieve it in your own kitchen.

Bake your potatoes, don’t boil them

When you’re making a classic potato gnocchi, Arrington notes that how you cook the potatoes before mixing them with anything else can affect the final texture of the dish.

The chef explains that, “I just prick or pierce [the potatoes] with a fork, and I actually bake them on salt so that some of the moisture gets drawn out, because I find sometimes when you boil the potatoes, it retains water. So, I actually try to dry the potatoes out as much as possible by dry-roasting them on a salt bed… It pulls out a lot of the moisture and the gnocchi become a lot fluffier.” 

Don’t overwork the dough

When making breads like sourdough, it’s important to develop the gluten structure in the flour — this is key to the product’s slightly chewy final texture — but kneading the dough too much can risk overworking it, resulting in tough bread. Overworking doughs for delicate pastries is even easier, since you don’t want their gluten to develop too much, and this risk also applies to gnocchi.

As Arrington details, “In this case, we do not want to develop the gluten. We really want to allow that [gnocchi] to be a nice pillowy texture. So you want to work the dough as little as possible.” To achieve this, she says, “I’ll take my riced potato — nice and hot, fluffy — I sprinkle in my flour, and just with my fingertips, I delicately allow the flour to wrap itself around the potato. Once I have a crumbly texture, then I start to add in my liquid ingredients…

“And I just kind of lightly start to bind that together. And I’m not so worried about it not being a homogenous mixture. It’s okay if it’s a little bit rustic looking, because as you create that structure and shape in the gnocchi, you’re actually kind of micro-kneading it in a way.” In short, even if your dough looks a little crumbly or “rustic,” Arrington emphasizes that it will come together as you roll and shape your gnocchi, inherently giving it a bit of kneading without putting too much stress on the gluten.

Don’t let fresh gnocchi sit out

Once your gnocchi dough has been gently mixed, rolled out, and cut into dumplings, Arrington emphasizes that you don’t want to leave these morsels unattended. According to the chef, “When you’re actually making the gnocchi dough, it’s really important to have your blanching water ready to go. You’re either blanching it and searing it right away and serving it, or you’re blanching it and cooling it if you’re planning on eating it later. But the gnocchi dough, it tends to get sort of gummy or starchy if the dough is not cooked right away.”

However, this doesn’t mean you have to serve it immediately. Instead, Arrington suggests that, “If you’re not cooking it right away, you put it in an ice bath [after blanching] and that shocks it and prevents it from becoming gummy.”

If you’ve already blanched your gnocchi, just make sure not to overcook them when reheating the dumplings and tossing them with sauce later. After that, sit back and relax while your dinner guests compliment the impressively fluffy morsels that required minimal effort.