Gnocchi is delicious. Sometimes it can be a little mushy though. The sure fire way to get it hot and crispy, yet soft on the inside and melt-in-your mouth is with an air fryer. Whether we're eating it as a snack or making it for a skillet meal, this recipe is quick and simple and our new go-to way to make gnocchi.
This was inspired by our homemade Parmesan Gnocchi, and is delicious with our kale pesto on top and pairs well with our Caprese Pasta Salad. Try our other air fryer sides like Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks or Air Fryer Zucchini Fritters.
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Ingredients
- potato gnocchi
- olive oil- any oil is fine here other than coconut oil and melted butter, they have too low of a smoke point.
- salt- table or your favorite freshly ground. We like Pink Himalayan
Optional: Seasoned- Perfect for snacking on or dipping in Marinara
- salt- table salt or freshly ground Himalayan Pink Salt
- garlic powder
- parsley
- paprika
- basil
- red chili pepper flakes
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
For unseasoned for use in recipes:
1. Preheat air fryer to 400*F. Put potato gnocchi in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil over top then mix until well coated.
2. Sprinkle salt over the top. Mix until well combined and well coated. Note: Some gnocchi comes with salt. If yours comes salted, skip the salt.
3. Place in air fryer basket. Stir or shake every 3 minutes. Cook for 9-11 minutes, or until desired crispiness is achieved. Cook time may take longer if they don't fit in a single layer in your basket.
4. We found that air frying them until they were a deep golden brown was too much and made them a little tough and chewy inside (this happened at 13 minutes in our air fryer).
For seasoned for snacking or dipping:
1. Follow directions above: Place gnocchi in a bowl. Drizzle olive oil over top, then stir until well coated. Add spices and stir until well combined and well coated.
2. Place in air fryer basket and cook 9-11 minutes until hot and crispy. Note: If they don't fit in one layer in your basket, cook time may take an additional couple minutes.
Hint: Be careful not to overcook the gnocchi! Test it when it's a light golden for doneness. We found that waiting until it was a deep golden made them tough and chewy. You really want to find that balance of hot and crispy on the outside and still soft and tender and melt-in-your-mouth on the inside.
Substitutions
- Olive Oil - feel free to use another oil like avocado or vegetable oil.
- Cauliflower Gnocchi in the air fryer - use frozen cauliflower gnocchi like this one from Trader Joe's instead of potato. Cook for 14-16 minutes. Instead of shaking every 3 minutes, don't shake until after the first 8 minutes, then shake/ stir every 3 minutes after that.
- Kale Gnocchi - Cook for 8-10 minutes, shaking every 3 mintutes after the first 4 minutes.
- Refrigerated- Cook an additional 1-2 minutes, using the same method as above.
- Freezer- Cook an additional 2-4 minutes, waiting until 6 minutes in to shake for the first time.
Variations
- Spicy - add an extra ¼ teaspoon chili pepper flakes.
- Cajun - Add 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning after the olive oil. Mix well.
- Curry- Add 1 teaspoon curry seasoning after the olive oil. Mix well.
- Kid friendly -my kids love dipping the plain ones in chik-fil-a sauce or ketchup instead of marinara sauce.
Equipment
- air fryer- any will do but we used this Ninja Foodi
- mixing bowl
- spatula
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, place in the air fryer for 3-4 minutes until hot.
It isn't recommended to freeze these after they've been cooked.
Top tip
If serving inside a sauce, serve immediately for maximum crispness. The sauce will soften up the gnocchi as it sits in it for awhile.
No, you do not need to boil it before air frying.
Yes, you can. Preheat to 400*F then cook for 3-4 minutes until hot.
Yes. Preheat to 400*F for 8-11 minutes for room temperature, visit site for other ways.
Recipe
Air Fryer Gnocchi- Plain and Seasoned
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Hot and crispy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, making Air Fryer Gnocchi will be your new go-to way of cooking it!
Ingredients
Plain:
- 1 pound potato gnocchi
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt (is using unsalted gnocchi. If your gnocchi contains salt, omit the salt)
Seasoned:
- ingredients above PLUS
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt (½ teaspoon salt total)
- ⅛ teaspoon chili pepper flakes
Instructions
For shelf stable:
- Preheat air fryer to 400*F.
- Place shelf stable gnocchi in a bowl and drizzle olive oil over top. Mix until well coated.
- Add salt if doing plain, and all spices if doing seasoned. Mix until well combined.
- Place in air fryer basket and cook for 8-11 minutes, shaking or stirring every 3 minutes.
- When they start to turn light golden start checking for doneness. We found that cooking until deep golden, they were tough and chewy on the inside. You really want that perfect balance of hot and crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.
For refrigerated:
- Increase cook time by 1-2 minutes, following the directions above.
For frozen:
- Increase the cook time by 2-4 minutes total. Make as directed above, except wait until minute 6 to start shaking/ stirring every 3 minutes.
Note on cooking time: If your gnocchi does not fit in a single layer in your air fryer basket, cook times may take a little bit longer.
Notes
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It will dry out a bit, even in an airtight container.
- Reheat in the air fryer at 400*F for 3-4 minutes until hot.
- We do not recommend freezing gnocchi after it has been cooked.
- Prep Time: 2
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: dinner
- Method: air fryer
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: air fryer gnocchi, air fryer cauliflower gnocchi, frozen gnocchi in the air fryer, can you make gnocchi in the air fryer, simply scrumptious,
Food safety
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Suja md
I love how versatile this air fryer gnocchi recipe is! It's a perfect fit for my family! So delicious, we loved the seasoned ones for snacking!
★★★★★
Nicole
OH these are GOOD!! I needed some gnocchi for a skillet dish I was making, and decided to make some plain and some seasoned. HOly COW these are delicious. Great seasoning and cooked to a crispy perfection!! Great recipe- Thank you!
★★★★★
Mariana
What a delicious recipe I loved to share with my family. Thank you for sharing, we love gnocchi but don't always love how mushy it is, so this was perfect!
★★★★★
April
What a neat way to cook gnocchi! I've always been a bit intimidated by gnocchi, not sure why, but this is so good and so easy!
★★★★★
Silvia @ Garden in the Kitchen
This is a really fun recipe! We loved all the flavor of the ones with the spices on them. Making gnocchi in the air fryer is going to be my new go to from now on.
★★★★★
JC
Oh my gosh, I can't believe how good these are. I keep making them for a snack because they're so yummy and fast and easy. We make the seasoned ones and they're so crispy and so flavorful. yum! Thanks for a recipe
★★★★★