What is Gnocchi?

If gluten-free gnocchi is delicious, gluten-free sweet potato gnocchi is divine. “What’s gnocchi” you ask? I think of them as pillowy soft, grown-up tater tots. Technically, gnocchi is a pasta. While made with potato, it also contains flour. I first made this with a blend I received in a Savorfulll box years ago. This time, I’m making it with Cup 4 Cup flour.

I did not create this recipe on my own. I have recently fallen in love with the non-gluten free website, Dessert for Two. Don’t be dissuaded by the title. It contains more than dessert recipes. For example, author Christina Lane has a recipe for Pumpkin Gnocchi. If one can swap potatoes for pumpkin in pie, one can surely do so in gnocchi! Which is exactly what I did.

How Do I Prepare the Sweet Potatoes?

The night before I planned to recreate my gluten free sweet potato gnocchi, I wrapped my sweet potatoes in foil and baked them in the oven. Probably at 350 degrees. Probably for 30 minutes. I’m terrible at remembering some of these things. Sorry.

I’m sure you can do a Google search for how to make sweet potatoes and find a myriad of answers. To keep my sweet potatoes moist, I cooled them and stored them in previously mentioned foil. Why clean more dishes than you need to, am I right?

Secret Ingredient? Ricotta Cheese

Standard gnocchi contains potato, flour and egg. However, Dessert for Two’s Christina Lane also uses Ricotta cheese. In addition to the egg in the recipe, it helps the dough hold together.

It rolled so incredibly well. It required very little extra flour for rolling. Which if we’re honest, is one other reason gnocchi is great. It’s like reliving your childhood days of playing with Play-Doh. Except these are made with wheat-free ingredients and you actually get to eat it when you’re done.

How Do You Shape Fresh Gluten Free Gnocchi?

Roll gluten-free sweet potato gnocchi dough into 3/4 inch snakes, cut them into 3/4 inch pieces, and then roll them down the back side of a fork. That creates the really cool grooves that you find in traditional gnocchi. Thanks Lidia Bostianich for that tip!

How Do You Cook Gluten Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi?

The directions from Lane’s original recipe instruct you to cook / fry these in melted butter. I did. And they were everything I longed for. Soft. Decadent. And totally worth keeping ALL to myself. (I did end up sharing. Because my husband has an adorable smile. He’s lucky.)

Can I Freeze This Gnocchi?

You can also boil these in water. When I originally made these gluten-free sweet potato gnocchi years ago, we then froze them on a cookie sheet. We did this because it wouldn’t be served until the next day at my aunt’s house. When it was time to cook them, I cooked them in straight chicken broth. No prior thawing, and no diluting with water.

I wasn’t very exact on the cooking times. I just cooked them until I thought they were done. (Traditionally you cook them until they rise to the surface.) They tasted fantastic and my uncle even had seconds.

They were a great compliment to the roasted Cornish game hens and wild rice stuffing of our Christmas dinner. These gluten-free sweet potato gnocchi would be great for Thanksgiving too! Click here to get other Thanksgiving menu ideas, from A to Z!

Have you ever made sweet potato gnocchi? What recipe do you follow? What are some of your favorite dishes to make for Christmas? Leave me a note below!

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Gluten Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients

• 4 oz ricotta cheese
• 1/3 c cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 egg
• 1 c Cup 4 Cup gluten-free flour

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350. Roast sweet potatoes, whole, for 30-45 minutes. Store in foil and allow to cool overnight in the fridge. 
• Prepare the gnocchi dough. Combine all ingredients EXCEPT for the flour. Christina Lane says to do this to prevent the formation of gluten. Which won’t theoretically happen due to the use of gluten-free flour, but let’s follow directions for the sake of matter. 
• After the “wet” items have been thoroughly blended together, slowly add the flour. Mix together until just combined. 
• Flour a board (or I use a Silpat) and dump dough onto a floured surface. I find it best to divide the dough in half or thirds. This makes it easier to roll and cut. 
• Roll dough into long strips. (Let’s be honest childhood friends, we’re making edible dough snakes here.) Cut into 3/4 to 1 inch portions. 
• Melt butter in a skillet. Cook gluten-free sweet potato gnocchi in melted butter in batches. Cook 2-3 minutes on one side, then flip and repeat. Allow to drain on a paper towel. 
• Alternate cooking method – Bring water or broth to boil and drop gnocchi in liquid. Cook approximately 3 minutes or until gnocchi floats to top.

**This post is not sponsored by the brands mentioned in this post. However, this post does contain affiliate links. Purchases made through those links help support this blog with no extra expense to you. Thank you for your continued support!**

Originally Published December 2012

The post Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.

What Kind of Sweet Potatoes do you Use to Make “Toast”?

You’re going to need to find some “uber tubers” to make these. For example, one of my sweet potatoes measured 7 inches in length, and 11 inches in circumference. The 3 lb bag of small sweet potatoes at Aldi are not ideal for making sweet potato toast. I buy my sweet potatoes at Horrock’s in Lansing.

How Do You Make Sweet Potato Toast?

While some people recommend making sweet potato toast in the toaster from raw potatoes, I don’t recommend that. I find cutting the sweet potato into rounds, and then baking them, creates a better “toast.” These would be great to prep for the week, chill in the refrigerator, and then rewarm then in the toaster.

How Thick Should I Cut Sweet Potato Toast Slices?

On my first attempt, I cut my sweet potato in 1/4 in thick slices. However, I felt that that was too thin to hold as an actual piece of “toast.” Therefore, for my second batch I cut them 1/2 inch thick, and baked them for a total of 15 minutes. (Other recipes recommended as long as 30 minutes, and I feel that made the rounds WAY too soft.)

What Do You Put on Sweet Potato Toast?

Really, you can put anything you want on sweet potato toast. However, the combination of the sweetness of the potato, with the savory of Lifeway Farmer Cheese is delicious. From there I topped it with homemade blueberry jam. It’s the same recipe from my hand pies, but I reduced the sugar down to 3/4 cup. I added a sprinkle of chopped walnuts, and a drizzle of honey. The jam is sweet enough, so the honey is optional.

What is Farmer Cheese?

That’s a great question. It’s a soft cheese, and a variant of cottage cheese. However, Farmer Cheese is more solid, as the whey and liquid have been pressed off. The curd is also smaller than cottage cheese. It’s similar in texture to ricotta, and can be used as a substitution in recipes that call for it. The taste reminds me of a mild cream cheese.

What Nutritional Benefits Does Lifeway Farmer Cheese Offer?

This Farmer Cheese is a more nutritious option for your morning bagel. It contains half the calories of Neufchatel, and 75% less fat. While lowfat cream cheese has 120 mg of sodium, this Farmer’s Cheese contains only 10 mg of sodium. Plus farmer’s cheese contains Vitamin D, Calcium, Potassium and Vitamin A. Cream cheese contains none of these nutrients. Also, Lifeway Farmer Cheese contains gut healthy probiotics.

Where Can I Buy Lifeway Farmer Cheese?

If you’d like to add Lifeway Farmer Cheese to your meals, you’ll find it at Whole Foods, Better Health Stores and Fresh Thyme Markets in Michigan. Plum Markets and Busch’s Markets reportedly stock it as well. You can also use the store locator on their website to find it in independent stores near you.

What Other Ways Can I Use Farmers Cheese?

Want more ideas on how to use Lifeway Farmer Cheese? Lifeway has a plethora of recipes on their website. I really want to try their Peach and Farmer Cheese pizza. Kate Scarlata, an expert on the FODMAP diet, also has a delicious Spinach, Kale & Farmer’s Cheese Quiche recipe on her website. Or use like Old World Gluten Free does, to make gluten free pierogi!

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Sweet Potato Toast with Farmer Cheese

Equipment

• Fisher Chef’s Naturals Walnut Halves & Pieces 1 lb, 100% California Unsalted Walnuts for Baking & Cooking, Snack Topping, Great with Yogurt & Cereal, Vegan Protein, Keto Snack, Gluten Free
• ZWILLING Twin Signature 3-pc German Knife Set, Razor-Sharp, Made in Company-Owned German Factory with Special Formula Steel perfected for almost 300 Years, Dishwasher Safe
• Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Half Sheet, 2-Pack, Silver

Ingredients

• Large Sweet Potato
• Cooking Spray
• Salt

Toppings

• Farmer Cheese
• Preferred Jam
• Chopped Walnuts

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Scrub one large sweet potato until clean. Do not peel. 
• Slice sweet potato into 1/2 inch rounds. 
• Spray both sides of sweet potatoes LIGHTLY with cooking spray. If you add too much oil, your sweet potato toast rounds will be soggy. 
• Bake in oven for 15 minutes. I recommend flipping them over at the 10 minute mark. 
• Once finished, take out of oven and allow to cool completely. Store sweet potato toast rounds in a container, in the fridge, until ready to use. 
• Sweet potato toast can be warmed in the toaster, and topped wih Farmer Cheese, jam and chopped walnuts. 

This post is sponsored by Lifeway. They supplied free product for this recipe, as well as paid me monetarily for my time and energy. Regardless, I’ve been a fan of Lifeway products for many years, and am grateful to be working with them. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Originally published August 2021

The post Sweet Potato Toast with Farmer Cheese appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.