Homemade Sweet Potato Gnocchi Recipe - Grain Free + Paleo Option! (2024)

FAQs

Are sweet potatoes allowed on the paleo diet? ›

Yes — sweet potatoes are generally considered a paleo-approved food, however, some paleo dieters prefer to limit their consumption to avoid consuming too many carbohydrates that spike their blood sugar levels.

Chickpea flour: Also called garbanzo bean flour. This flour is protein-dense and packed with vitamins and minerals. Tapioca flour: Also called tapioca starch. Alternatively, use arrowroot flour or cornstarch, though I've had the best results with tapioca.

If you prefer a lighter meal, serve the gnocchi alongside a fall-inspired salad like Beet Salad Recipe or Apple Walnut Salad. Chicken. Add some protein to your dinner with Baked Chicken Breast or Air Fryer Chicken Thighs.

At Faro, Adey says, “We run very few potato gnocchi.” Instead they stick to the less common side of the root vegetable family: “Parsnip, gilfeather turnip, and salsify work great.” Broccoli and cauliflower, which are sturdy and dry, also hold up well to the test.

Fruits and Vegetables

Pasta can be replaced with veggie noodles, traditional rice can be swapped out for cauliflower rice and any starchy vegetable like the sweet potato is an excellent source of complex carbohydrates.

Sweet Potatoes are fiber-rich superfoods which help support healthy digestion. They are a tasty option that's naturally gluten-free.

Italian flour

Plus, it has too much protein: High-protein wheat results in chewy gnocchi. If you want to be true to Italian gnocchi, look for imported Italian flour marked "00 tenero," which is milled from soft wheat with a low protein content.

Tipo 00 Flour is a soft, fine milled flour from Italy. It's a must-have for light and tender gnocchi and homemade pasta. Small(er) Batch Recipe ensures a higher success rate with just enough practice.

Your gnocchi may be mushy because of any or all of the following reasons: boiled the potatoes instead of baked them. used waxy new potatoes with too much moisture in them. not used eggs to help texture.

Best Sweet Potato Gnocchi: Cappello's Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Both Trader Joe's and Capello's sweet potato gnocchi were delicious in flavor and texture, but we like that Cappello's product offers the ability to pair with any sauce or topping. (Trader Joe's version comes with an already mixed-in butter and sage sauce.)

Why is my sweet potato gnocchi dough sticky? ›

If dough is too sticky, add more flour and knead it in. I like to knead my gnocchi dough until it is fairly stiff — this part is up to you. I prefer a somewhat toothsome gnocchi, but if you want yours to be lighter in texture, knead just until your dough resembles pizza dough.

Egg yolk added to your gnocchi dough helps improve texture, and keep it together while cooking. Gnocchi is traditionally made with eggs in Veneto and no eggs in Piedmont, the two Northern Italian regions famous for gnocchi. We vote for egg yolks at the rate of 1 per (500g) 1 lb of uncooked potatoes used.

Nutritional Value

Believe it or not, regular pasta is actually more carb-heavy than gnocchi, coming in at around 2 times the amount of carbs per serving. Gnocchi is also notorious for having a lot more sodium, with over 200 grams of it per serving. Regular pasta doesn't have nearly as high of a sodium content.

“Sweet potatoes are the only potato that is considered paleo,” explains Evans. “Sweet potatoes have a much lower glycemic index so while they have a similar amount of carbohydrates, their impact on blood sugar and insulin is much lower, which is a goal of eating paleo.”

Generally, unprocessed potatoes of all types can be part of a paleo diet. Similarly to grains, which are off-limits on paleo, potatoes are starchy and rich in carbohydrates. However, potatoes are actually a type of starchy vegetable that grows underground, known as a tuber ( 2 , 3 ).

However, others say these potato varieties are paleo. That's because, like white potatoes, red and purple potatoes are unprocessed whole foods—which, by definition, makes them paleo. These potatoes are also nutritious.

These are beans, lentils, and peas. Legumes are not paleo because they were only introduced into the human diet about 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. Legumes are difficult to digest and can contain unhealthy fats.