This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
There are no potatoes in this homemade Zucchini Gnocchi. It’s mostly zucchini with a little flour and cheese, pan-fried with marinara sauce. Delish!
Zucchini Gnocchi
You may be familiar with my cauliflower gnocchi, which inspired this new version. Since zucchini is in season, I played around with this recipe and loved how it turned out. I prefer to cook it in a skillet rather than boiling it, like potato gnocchi, for the best results. For more zucchini recipes, try this amazing Zucchini Lasagna, Zucchini Rollatini or these delicious Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats.
Zucchini Gnocchi Ingredients
- Zucchini: Grate three pounds of zucchini with the large holes of a box grater.
- Flour: You can use all-purpose or gluten-free flour.
- Cheese: I used Pecorino Romano, but parmesan would also work. Mix some cheese into the gnocchi dough and save some to sprinkle on top if you’d like.
- Salt to season
- Gnocchi Sauce: Serve the zucchini gnocchi with marinara sauce. Buy your favorite brand or make homemade marinara. You could also top them with vodka sauce or pesto if you prefer.
- Herbs: Garnish with fresh basil if desired.
How to Make Zucchini Gnocchi
- Cook the Zucchini: Put the zucchini in a large, deep skillet or pot, cover, and cook until tender and soft for about eight to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Squeeze the zucchini of excess liquid by placing it in a dish towel and squeezing it until there’s no more water. Place the zucchini in a bowl.
- Make the Gnocchi Dough: Add the flour, cheese, and salt to the bowl with the zucchini, and mix with a fork at first. Then use your hands to fold and squeeze everything together into a dough.
- Create Ropes: Dust a work surface with flour and separate the dough into eight pieces weighing 2 ¾ ounces. One at a time, roll each ball into a half- inch rope that’s 10 inches long. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
- Cut Gnocchi: Cut each rope into 13 equal-sized pieces, slightly nudging the pieces apart so they’re not touching. You should end up with about 108 pieces. If the dough becomes too sticky, put some flour on your hands.
- How to Cook the Gnocchi: Liberally spray a large skillet with oil and warm over medium heat. Place half of the gnocchi in the pan, making sure not to overcrowd it. After two minutes, gently flip them over with a spoon or tongs. Sprinkle salt over the tops and cook for a few more minutes. Remove them from the pan and cook the second batch.
- Serving: Put the first batch of gnocchi back in the skillet and pour in the marinara. Top with grated cheese.
What to Serve with Zucchini Gnocchi
Since these healthy gnocchi are packed with veggies and topped with marinara, you could serve them by themselves. If you want to add a protein, try it with Air Fryer Rotisserie Chicken, Filet Mignon, and Roasted Leg of Lamb.
How to Store Zucchini Gnocchi
- Leftover zucchini gnocchi will last up to four days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a skillet or microwave.
- How to Freeze Raw Gnocchi: Flash freeze the gnocchi in a single layer on a sheet pan. Once frozen, transfer to a zip-locked bag, and freeze for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before cooking.
- How to Freeze Cooked Gnocchi: Freeze the gnocchi and sauce in single-serving containers for up to three months. When you need an easy meal, thaw a container overnight and then microwave or warm it on the stove.
More Zucchini Recipes You’ll Love
- Zucchini Tots
- Zucchini Pancakes
- Sauteed Zucchini with Plum Tomatoes
- Zucchini Casserole
- Baked Zucchini Sticks
Zucchini Gnocchi
There are no potatoes in this homemade Zucchini Gnocchi. It’s mostly zucchini with a little flour and cheese, pan-fried with marinara sauce. Delish!
Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size: 1 /4 of recipe, about 27 pieces
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds zucchini, grated with the large holes of a box grater
- 3/4 cup all-purpose or gluten-free flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- olive oil spray
- 2 cups marinara sauce, jarred or homemade
- basil, optional for serving
Instructions
- Add zucchini to a large deep skillet or pot and cook, covered until tender and soft, about 8 to 12 minutes stirring. Set aside to cool.
- Place the zucchini in a dish towel and squeeze out as much excess water as possible then place in a large bowl.
- Add the flour, cheese and salt into the bowl with the zucchini and mix with a fork at first, then using your hands to fold and squeeze everything together into a dough.
- Dust a work surface with flour, then separate the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 2 3/4 ounces each. One at a time, roll each ball into a ½-inch-thick rope 10 inches long and set aside. Continue until all the dough is used up.
- Next, cut each rope into 13 equal sized (gnocchi-like) pieces, slightly nudging the pieces apart so they’re not touching. You should get about 108 pieces total. If at any point the dough becomes too sticky to work with, add flour to your hands.
- In two batches, liberally spray a large a skillet with oil and warm over medium heat. Place half of the gnocchi on the hot skillet (if the pieces stick together just slice them apart in the skillet using the spatula). Do not overcrowd the pan; you’ll need to cook the gnocchi in two batches.
- Let the gnocchi sit in the hot pan undisturbed for 2 minutes, then gently flip using a spoon or tongs, being careful not to squish them. Sprinkle salt over the tops and continue to cook for another 2 to 4 minutes or until desired doneness.
- Set aside and repeat with remaining gnocchi, then add everything back to the skillet and pour the marinara over everything, give a stir and serve topped with optional grated cheese.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Nutrition
Serving: 1 /4 of recipe, about 27 pieces, Calories: 216 kcal, Carbohydrates: 38 g, Protein: 7.5 g, Fat: 4 g, Saturated Fat: 1.5 g, Cholesterol: 5 mg, Sodium: 679.5 mg, Fiber: 4 g, Sugar: 13 g
Hey Gina,
If I’m going to freeze them without cooking any, would you recommend that I shape and cut, then freeze? Or should I be cooking them first, then putting them on a sheet pan to flash freeze?
Thanks!
Andrew
As in the narrative-
How to Freeze Raw Gnocchi: Flash freeze the gnocchi in a single layer on a sheet pan. Once frozen, transfer to a zip-locked bag, and freeze for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before cooking.
How to Freeze Cooked Gnocchi: Freeze the gnocchi and sauce in single-serving containers for up to three months. When you need an easy meal, thaw a container overnight and then microwave or warm it on the stove.
There’s no way to cook from frozen?
SOOO GOOD!! Excellent way to ENJOY the plentiful bounty of garden Zukes!
So easy to make a so delicious!!
Can I use whole wheat flour?
great way to use in season zucchini!
This was so easy and delicious. The second time I made it I used my food processor to grate the zucchini and it saved a bunch of time. I tossed the gnocchi with pesto instead or marinara which allowed me to better taste the gnocchi. YUM!
Crazy amazing delicious!!! Make this easy healthy delicious recipe!
Absolutely delicious! This was the perfect recipe for Meatless Monday, and my toddler and husband loved it.
Once quick question. I ended up with about half the amount that the instructions said I would have. I weighed 3 lbs of shredded zucchini (about 4 large zucchini) before cooking it. I also really, really drained the water out, which shrunk it by a considerable amount. Should I have used more zucchini?
Have you tried making a large batch and freezing them?
There are instructions for freezing in the narrative 🙂
Really great. Even my picky 8 year old liked it. Easy and affordable healthy dinner.
This was amazing! Even my 4 year old, initially hesitant, loved it! A bit of time needed to make it, but completely worth it!
Forgot to put the star rating.
OK, this may seem like a stupid question, but do you cover the grated zucchini with water to cook or just cook the grated zucchini? Thanks!
No water needed.
Another great recipe, no changes made, in the recipe book it goes for next time :))
Even my kids are it!!
This was amazing. The texture of these were better than the potato gnocchi that I make. Great recipe, definitely will make again!
I added a heaping 1/4c of parm, and sauteed in butter not oil, but otherwise left this recipe untouched. It was so, so good. Really opened the door for other veggie gnocchi as well.
One word review “ Amazing “
Thanks Lori, glad you enjoyed it!
All I can say is delicious. Can you make ahead and freeze it?
My entire family (including 3 pre-school kids) loved this recipe. We had a plethora of zucchini from our garden so I made a large batch of these for family dinner. They were a huge hit!
I will say they were a bit more labor intensive than I anticipated however, they were worth every second. I never thought to cook the zucchini before draining it and I feel like it definitely lost a lot more water this way.
Definitely recommend this one and will add it to our summer rotation. Thanks for such an awesome recipe!
They were delicious. A bit soft but I think I didn’t get enough water out after they cooked down. I also added red onion garlic red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to the zucchini
Does the size of the hole for the box grater make a huge difference? I didn’t see until after the fact that I should have used to large hole, and had used the small. I ended up with about half the amount of dough I should of had.
It should not matter.
Creative use of zucchini! I was inspired to try this recipe. I didn’t find it too tedious to make. And it was tasty! 9 cups of zucchini really cook down! 😄
These were great! I did have to use a bit more flour to really get them to hold, but it turned out! I completed the recipe over 2 days, which helped with the length.
Really an excellent dish. Used more flour than I had hoped but still turned out a bit crunchy and didn’t fall apart at all. Next time, I am going to try in the air fryer instead of the stove top.
Really really excellent- light but with a great gnocchi-texture and mouth feel. Not doughy or heavy like some gnocchi can be. My only complaint is the time from start to dinner plate took almost 3 hours … I will make again but do the zucchini cooking-cooling-wringing ahead of time (or even the day before!) Love them!
These are def best to make ahead. So happy you enjoyed them!!
Just made this and it was delicious! Came together perfectly! Will make this again,
Thank you
We loved this recipe. Texture was similar to potato gnocchi but crispy. I didn’t realize you flattened them with a fork. Next time I would cook them on my pancake griddle.
In the middle of cooking this recipe now and wondering your thoughts on cooking the gnocchi in the air fryer instead of the skillet. I’ve done that with frozen cauliflower gnocchi before and was wondering if you’ve tried (or would recommend trying) that option with these zucchini gnocchi. Thanks again! Excited to try these (and have my kids try them too!)
So easy. So delicious! My kids even loved it!
So easy. So delicious. My kids even loved it!!!
Question: How did you get the “fork marks” on the gnocchi … they are beautiful (and traditional) … and at what stage in the preparation do we make the fork marks? Thanks!
After you cut the gnocchi into bite size pieces.
Made this last night and it was quite good. I had to add quite a bit more flour than the recipe called for in order for the gnocchi to stay together. It could be that we didn’t get enough water out of the cooked zucchini using the OXO ricer to press out the water.