This delicious Keto Gnocchi gives you the pillowy yet chewy texture you’ve been missing from pasta on a low carb diet! It is the perfect low carb vehicle for all of your favorite pasta sauces and flavors! Can you really eat gnocchi on a low carb or keto diet? You better believe it!!!
To get straight to the keto gnocchi recipe you can use the jump to recipe button – but if you decide to make it please take a minute to read the extra tips in the post to ensure the best results!
I’ve been seeing keto fathead dough around for a long time but hadn’t taken the time to play around with it until a few months ago. Most of the keto fathead dough recipes I’ve seen have baked the dough to make pizza, calzones, breads, and even desserts like danish.
I wanted to come at the keto fathead dough from a different angle though, and see if it could be treated like a low carb pasta dough. If it worked, I had lots of cool ideas to turn keto fathead dough into all kinds of chewy pasta goodness – starting with keto gnocchi!
(Side note, if you are allergic to nuts or just don’t want to mess with a “dough” you should try my keto fettuccini alfredo recipe STAT!)
After a few tries, I finally hit on the right consistency for this Keto Gnocchi dough, and after a couple of rough starts I also finally nailed the right way to cook them to get a pleasant texture that truly mimicked a good gnocchi – in my opinion at least.
Too much egg and the keto gnocchi dough was eggy and crumbly, too little and it was overly chewy and prone to falling apart. Cook the gnocchi too long and it fell apart and got waterlogged, skip the boil and go straight to the pan and they were like hard, chewy pucks!
Once I got this keto gnocchi dough right and the cooking method down though – they were SO good! Now for an easy and delicious sauce!
While you can serve these keto gnocchi with pretty much any low carb pasta sauce, I wanted a delicate flavor for these that wouldn’t overpower the subtle flavor and texture of the gnocchi.
In the end I went with a simple butter sauce flavored with lemon and fresh thyme, and it was perfect if I do say so.
Keto Gnocchi Notes:
I know a lot of you skip right to the recipe but I need you to pay attention here!
You MUST follow the instructions to the letter on this one! Winging it will not suffice! The method isn’t complicated at all in this fathead keto gnocchi recipe – but if you don’t follow the steps the right way you’ll end up with mush and will have wasted money on ingredients.
Then I’ll be flooded with comments about how this recipe doesn’t work, I’m a horrible person, etc. etc. and that really ruins my day OK? So please, I beg of you, do it my way at least the first time to ensure good results!!!
Keto Gnocchi – Low Carb
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Keto Gnocchi gives you the pillowy yet chewy texture you’ve been missing from pasta on a low carb diet! Gluten free too!
Ingredients
- 2 cups super fine blanched almond flour
- 2 cups shredded full fat mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
For the Keto Gnocchi:
- Combine the mozzarella cheese and butter in a medium bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.
- Stir, then microwave another minute.
- Stir vigorously with a rubber spatula until fully combined, and then cool for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the egg, egg yolk and almond flour.
- Continue to mix until a rough dough is formed, this could take several minutes.
- Turn out the dough onto a smooth surface (or parchment paper) and knead until a semi-stretchy dough is formed. (if the dough is too wet, add a tablespoon or more of almond flour until workable)
- Form the dough into a long roll about 1 inch in diameter and then cut pieces about 1/2″ wide. You can then form them into almost any bite sized shape you want, but sticking with a simple disk as shown in the photos yielded the best results for me.
- Freeze the gnocchi for 15 minutes to firm them up. before cooking, or freeze them until ready to eat.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a gentle boil – too vigorous and the gnocchi will fall apart.
- Add the gnocchi to the water in small batches and boil for 1 – 2 minutes or until floating.
- Remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate, and cool for 5 minutes before adding to sauce.
For the sauce:
- Melt the butter in a large saute pan.
- Add lemon zest and thyme and cook for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the boiled and cooled keto gnocchi to the pan and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring gently to coat with the sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Notes
You MUST follow the instructions to the letter on this one! Winging it will not suffice! The method isn’t complicated at all in this fathead keto gnocchi recipe – but if you don’t follow the steps the right way you’ll end up with mush and will have wasted money on ingredients.
Nutrition info is for gnocchi only in case you want to serve it with a different sauce. With the butter sauce listed here the approximate nutrition info is: 577 calories, 55g fat, 6g net carbs, 22g protein.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Keto dinners
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 497
- Fat: 44g
- Carbohydrates: 6g net
- Protein: 22g
Janette says
This is so wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and I promise I will follow the directions to a T! And I just want to say a HUGE thank you for the beautiful pictures. The water looks so pretty and the dolphin <3 Thank you so much for sharing a little of your world with us!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Janette, I’ll try to share more photos of our life and travels moving forward! We got to swim with the dolphins last time and it was amazing! Hope you like the gnocchi!
Jacque says
Man! Times like this is when I regret not having a microwave. :(
Mellissa Sevigny says
You can melt the cheese and butter together in a pan on the stovetop!
Leila says
I was scrolling down to see if someone had asked this first! I’m trying to lessen my microwave use, so this is perfect. Can’t wait to try it out.
Carole says
Do you buy a ball of full fat mozzarella and shred it yourself? And where do you get super fine balanced almond flour? Can you recommend brands for the mozzarella and the flour? Thanks so much.
Mellissa Sevigny says
It’s best to shred the mozzarella yourself since pre shredded is usually the part skim and has starch on it to prevent sticking in the package. The super fine blanched almond flour I usually purchase through Amazon. I buy in 3 or 5 pound bags and keep it in the freezer – it’s cheaper in larger quantities. You can see a list of brands I recommend on the IBIH Pantry Page!
MJ says
I used almond meal and it turned out fine
Annie says
Photos look great, that one of the dolphin is absolutely amazing! I am going to make the gnocchi tonight for dinner so will report back when I have tasted it. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hope it turns out well Annie, let me know!
Heidi Engquist says
You mentioned microwaving the cheese and butter. Can you melt it together on the stovetop? I don’t own a microwave.
Mellissa Sevigny says
You can melt the cheese and butter together in a pan on the stovetop!
Denise Siri says
Do you have a substitution for almond flour, I;m allergic to almonds!?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry but no – I haven’t tested any others.
Teresa Bippen says
I love gnocchi! It is about the only high carb food that I will not skip if offered on a menu and it is homemade. I used to make the “real” stuff with potatoes and flour several times a year because I love it that much. It is a labor of love.
On another note, do you know what breed of horse is in your photo? Yes, I am a horse owner so I am intrigued! Looking forward to your travel pics.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry Teresa I don’t know – just saw them walking by and snapped the photo with my phone!
Felicia says
I can’t wait to try these! After successfully convincing the Big Man to try Keto…and some 57 lbs lost-later, he doesn’t even ASK for traditional pasta. His 52 bday is around the corner & I can’t wait to surprise him with his fav-of-all-forgotten-favs….gnocchi! We have the fresh basil, the fresh pecorino….the infused olive oil (with a splash of MCT oil)…some sage….mmmm. AND NOW WE HAVE THE PASTA~ Woo hoo! Momma’s racking up the points with this one ;-) TY for another amazing recipe!! (these are gonna be a Michelin 5Star Keto nod for sure)
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hope they are a hit Felicia!
Deborah says
Melissa the photos look fabulous and so does the gnocchi !!!! I spent a lot of time and wasted some hard earned money a couple of years ago trying to do a low carb gnocchi with ricotta and spinach….all for naught. Dismal failures. These look wonderful and will be on my menu soon. THANK YOU ! Really. So glad to have a gnocchi option in my life style again.
Deborah says
PS: making your Vienna Plum Cake tonight, one of my favorite desserts. Want to do it again before the last of the late summer plums disappear. Yum.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hopefully this one won’t disappoint!!!
Deborah says
Melissa, have you tried freezing these (completely….not just to firm up a bit before cooking)? Wondering if best to cook all of them and then freeze half (for those of us who are empty nesters or singles)….or freeze the raw dough fully and cook before serving?
Allison says
I followed the recipe exactly, as was recommended, and the gnocchi were delicious–light, fluffy pillows that were a perfect compliment to my early girl tomato sauce. Seriously, they were as good–or better–than any potato gnocchi I’ve ever had. I did have to leave them in the freezer a bit longer than was recommended, but this did not affect the outcome. Yum!!!
Anita says
Are you able to do this without a microwave? Just using a saucepan?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yes!