It’s January 2019, so #newyearnewyou…right?? Yeah. Same. But in all seriousness I do fully appreciate the effort that everyone puts in this time of year to be healthier, fitter, and better versions of themselves. I know I’m trying to meal prep more and eat out less, drink less alcohol, cut back on coffee and drink more green tea, food blog more often, look for a new full time job, work out 5-6 times a week, have a more positive mindset…the list goes on.
But, while we’re all striving towards better versions of ourselves, let’s start with this Sweet Potato Chickpea Gnocchi.
First of all, gnocchi is one of THE best pasta and if you disagree, you might be crazy. Soft, pillowy potato pasta?!?! I mean come on, it’s delish.
Second, this gnocchi recipe calls for only three ingredients. That’s right. THREE INGREDIENTS ONLY. You got the sweet potato, chickpea flour, and an egg. Boom. There you have delicious, grain-free, healthy gnocchi.
Most gnocchis have white refined flour in the recipe. This one calls for a substitute of chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour), making it grain free, lower in carbohydrates, higher in protein. If you’ve tried other chickpea pasta, this is basically the gnocchi version of those.
Don’t know where in hell you’d get chickpea flour?! Whole Foods sells some from Bob’s Red Mill or you can get it here from Amazon.
Start by pouring the chickpea/garbanzo bean flour in a large mixing bowl. Add in the sweet potato puree and the egg. Then using a spoon or spatula (this stuff is too sticky for your hands), mix the dough until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and mixed throughout.
*Then wait at least 30 minutes for the dough to absorb* Chickpea flour is very absorbent, but it just takes a bit of time to absorb.
If after 30 minutes, it is still pretty wet, start by adding 1/4 cup of flour at a time and waiting a few more minutes for it to absorb.
You should eventually have something that looks like this below.
You can cut your dough in sections and freeze the rest or save for later. It’s easier to work with that way. Each section should be rolled out into a log on a floured surface (I used extra chickpea flour) and then using a dough scraper or a knife, cut 1-inch squares of gnocchi to create heavenly pillows of carby-potato-goodness like the ones below.
Drop these gnocchis into a pot of boiling water, make a light herb garlic olive oil sauce and voila! A delicious, grain-free, HEALTHY gnocchi dinner.
Sweet Potato Chickpea Gnocchi
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Chickpea Gnocchi
- 2 cups Mashed Sweet Potato (about 2 medium sweet potatoes)
- 2 1/4 cups Chickpea/Garbanzo Bean Flour adding more if mixture is too wet or to dust
- 1 large Egg
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Garlic Herb Sauce
- 6 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons Thyme chopped
- 2 teaspoons Rosemary chopped
- 2 teaspoons Sage chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Parmesan Cheese to top
Instructions
Sweet Potato Chickpea Gnocchi
- If needed, prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 50-60 minutes until the insides are fully cooked and tender
- Once potatoes have cooled, scoop out the insides and puree in a food processor until smooth
- Pour the chickpea/garbanzo bean flour into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the pureed sweet potato and egg and stir with a large spoon or spatula until the ingredients are incorporated and mixed evenly throughout.
- Let the dough mixture sit for at least 30 minutes for the chickpea flour to absorb.
- After the 30 minutes, add more chickpea flour as needed (starting with 1/4 cup at a time) to keep the dough from sticking or if the mixture is too wet. It should be dry enough to be rolled into a log without sticking to hands or surface.
- Once you have finished mixing the dough, use a dough scraper or knife to cut dough into four sections
- Take one section and roll out into a long thin log, about one-inch thick
- Using the dough scraper or knife, cut the log into one-inch pieces forming the gnocchi
- Repeat with the rest of the dough or save in the freezer for later
- Bring a large pot of water to boil
- Once boiling, add a generous amount of salt and all of your gnocchi
- Cook gnocchi for 6-7 minutes or until the gnocchi are cooked and tender
- Strain the gnocchis and toss into the garlic herb sauce and enjoy!
Garlic Herb Sauce
- Heat a skillet over medium heat
- Add the olive oil and garlic and stir until garlic is fragrant
- Add the chopped herbs and stir for one to two minutes
- Finally, add the cooked sweet potato chickpea gnocchi to the pan and mix until all of the gnocchis are coated with the sauce
- Top with salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese
- Serve and enjoy!
Della Bautista
Do you start off with 1-1/2 cups garbanzo flour first? From 1-1/2 to 2-1/4 cups is such a wide range. Is it possible to overmix?
leangreennutritionfiend
Hi Della, thanks for your comment. I originally had that range in there when I wrote the recipe as “two medium sweet potatoes” and they can vary in size. However, with two cups of mashed sweet potatoes, you will need 2-1/4 cups of garbanzo bean flour and more for dusting. Thank you for pointing this out! I will moderate the recipe now 🙂 Hope you enjoy the gnocchis!
Jeanne Szymanski
Can you use pumpkin puree instead of sweet potatoes?
leangreennutritionfiend
Hi Jeanne, I have not tried it with pumpkin but that’s a really good idea. It really just depends on how wet the puree is and how much flour you will have to add to form a dough, which may vary a little when using pumpkin puree. If you try it, please let me know how it goes 🙂
Norma Jiron
Have you tried the garbanzo flour when making ricotta gnocchi? I’m trying to make them lower carb.
leangreennutritionfiend
I have not tried it using the ricotta gnocchi. I think you could try substituting garbanzo bean for normal flour but you may have to use less because garbanzo bean flour is more absorbent than normal flour. Please let me know if you try it and how it comes out!
Anna
Made this tonight and it was very good!! I ended up having to add quite a lot of extra flour because my dough was sticky. I also roasted 3 smallish sweet potatoes and it only equaled to 1.5 cups. Thank you for the recipe!
Emily
Will the dough be OK if I make the gnocchi ahead of time and just leave it out for a few hours until dinner time?
leangreennutritionfiend
Hi Emily, my apologies for the delay. I was on vacation and just getting settled back in. I have not made the dough ahead of time so I cannot speak from experience. The only problem with chickpea/garbanzo flour is that it is very absorbent…so if you leave it out ahead of time it might become too dense and need to add more liquid to loosen it up. But unfortunately, I have not tried it myself so I am not sure of the outcome. Please let me know if you end up trying it and let me know how it works out!
Alex
Somehow my gnoccis turned out super hard on the inside. What could i have done wrong?
leangreennutritionfiend
Hi Alex, so sorry they didn’t turn out well. Not sure why they were hard but a couple of thoughts- if your potato was drier and you added the recommended amount of flour, they could come out harder. Instead, you can try adding part of the flour and letting it rest 15-20 minutes to absorb, which will keep from adding too much flour. Also, if they are cooked for longer (8ish minutes) they can become denser since the flour is pretty absorbent to water. Hope that helps!
Tracie Berson
This recipe looks amazing! Would I be able to make the little gnocchis ahead and refrigerate them until the next day?
Thanks so much!!
🌸