Rainbow Vegan Gnocchi Recipes

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These 3 vegan gnocchi recipes are perfect for the holidays, the gnocchi main ingredients are potatoes, however, you can mix it with other vegetables to change flavor and colors. So festive on the plate, no artificial colors, and no eggs, so they are also a healthy option for a vegan dinner.

Jump to:

• Many types of vegan gnocchi
• The ingredients I used:
• Vegan Sweet potato gnocchi
• Vegan Chestnut gnocchi
• Vegan Purple potato gnocchi
• Preparing the chestnuts
• Boiling the potatoes
• Mashing the potatoes with a hand ricer
• Easier way to mash potatoes
• Preparing the gnocchi dough
• Shaping the gnocchi
• Cooking the gnocchi
• How to serve these vegan gnocchi
• Other sauces you can use
• Choosing a vegetable to add to the gnocchi dough
• 📋 Rainbow Vegan Gnocchi Recipes

Many types of vegan gnocchi

Gnocchi (a plural Italian name) are mashed potato dough shaped in balls and boiled in water.

However, by changing the combination and/or the ingredients in the dough, gnocchi can have a completely different taste and consistency.

The classic Italian gnocchi are made with mashed potatoes mixed with flour, some add eggs, some like me don’t.

My eggless gnocchi can be light and fluffy, simply made with potatoes and all-purpose flour, or firm and chunky by adding some semolina flour.

Although, gnocchi can also change taste and color by mixing other ingredients with the mashed potatoes: all-natural, no artificial coloring.

The ingredients I used:

This article is a collection of 3 different recipes, you can either do all three and serve them together or do only one type:

• Sweet potato gnocchi: 1lb – 500 g of sweet potatoes and 1 lb – 500 g of regular potatoes
• Chestnut gnocchi: 1lb – 500 g of chestnuts and 1 lb – 500 g of regular potatoes
• Purple potato gnocchi: 2 lb – 1 kg of purple potatoes

The measurements of the ingredients for each version are enough for 6 people, so if you are making all 3 of them, you can use half or even a quarter of the ingredients listed in the recipe card.

As the base of the gnocchi mix, I always suggest using old potatoes. You can find more information on how to make Italian gnocchi in the article: How to make Italian gnocchi.

Vegan Sweet potato gnocchi

These vegan sweet potato gnocchi are definitely a must-have for the holidays, the color, the flavor, everything fits with the holiday season.

However, the sweet potatoes do not have enough starch to hold the gnocchi dough, so they have to be mixed with regular potatoes.

As sweet potatoes tend to have higher humidity, I add more flour to this gnocchi mix to achieve the right dough consistency.

Vegan Chestnut gnocchi

Vegan Chestnut gnocchi are perfect this time of the year when chestnuts are in season and fresh.

Peeling and cleaning the chestnuts is a long and laborious task. If you are not up to it, you can buy the chestnuts already peeled and boiled.

However, if you make them fresh the final taste is definitively better.

Vegan Purple potato gnocchi

If you have never eaten purple potatoes, you need to find them now!

Their color is so beautiful, the taste slightly nuttier than regular potatoes.

They are purple on the outside as well as the inside, like in the picture below.

I checked on Amazon and they sell them mixed with other potatoes and this is the link: Potato Medley Pack, 16 oz.

I saw other purple but sweet potatoes, and they are not the ones I am using in this recipe. You can use those, but the quantity of flour needed maybe different.

Preparing the chestnuts

1. Remove the hard chestnut shells
2. Place them in a pan and cover them with water
3. Boil them until the skin comes off easily, about 20 to 30 minutes
4. Drain them
5. Remove the skin while they are still warm
6. Remove any bad chestnuts

Boiling the potatoes

1. In a large pan boil for 20 to 25 minutes all the regular potatoes for both chestnut gnocchi and sweet potato gnocchi (2 lb – 1 kg total)
2. Pierce one of the potatoes with a knife to check if they are done. The knife should pierce the potato smoothly all the way into the center.
3. Drain them
4. Boil the 2 sweet potatoes for 20 minutes
5. Drain them
6. Boil the purple potatoes for 20 minutes
7. Drain them

Mashing the potatoes with a hand ricer

Mashing the potatoes can be a long and hard process:

1. They need to be peeled when they are still warm.
2. Then you can mash them one by one using a hand ricer

Easier way to mash potatoes

I am so glad I have my KitchenAid and its vegetable strainer, I can just put the potatoes in without peeling them and the skin is automatically removed by the machine. I also use it to make tomato sauce and jams.

Preparing the gnocchi dough

Here is the easy way to prepare the gnocchi dough using the Kitchen Aid. You can find more about the tools I use in the recipe card below.

Preparing the sweet potato gnocchi dough

1. Strain the sweet potatoes and 1/2 of the regular potatoes while still warm
2. Wait until the mashed potatoes have cooled down
3. Once they are cold, mix them with 1 cup – 170 g of semolina flour, 1 cup – 120 g of the regular All-purpose flour, and 1/2 tbsp of salt

4. Place the sweet potato gnocchi dough on a well-floured surface and cover with flour

Prepare the chestnut gnocchi dough

1. Strain the chestnuts with the other half of the regular potatoes while they are still warm
2. Wait until the mash has cooled down
3. Once it is cold, mix it with 1 cup – 170 g of semolina flour, 1/2 cup – 60 g of regular All-purpose flour, and 1/2 tbsp of salt

4. Place the chestnut gnocchi dough on a well-floured surface and cover with flour

Preparing the purple potato gnocchi dough

1. Strain the purple potatoes while still hot
2. Wait until the mash has cooled down
3. Once it is cold, mix it with 1 cup – 170 g of semolina flour, 1/2 cup – 60 g of regular All-purpose flour, and 1/2 tbsp of salt

4. Place the purple potato gnocchi dough on a well-floured surface and cover with flour

Shaping the gnocchi

1. To shape the gnocchi, take a piece of dough, the size that fits in your fist.
2. Roll it into long strips
3. Cut the logs into small pieces, the size of a grape
4. Roll each piece of dough over the back of a fork to indent them

Shaping sweet potato gnocchi

Shaping chestnut gnocchi

Shaping purple potato gnocchi

Cooking the gnocchi

1. In a large pasta pan, bring to boil salted water
2. Pour in the gnocchi in the boiling water, a batch of 10 or 20 at a time, depending on how big is the pan
3. When the gnocchi float they are ready
4. Remove them with a colander strainer spoon
5. Place them in a pan with the sauce, here I used sage and butter. You can substitute butter with extra virgin olive oil

6. Keep them warm until all the gnocchi are cooked
7. Place them on a serving dish and serve

How to serve these vegan gnocchi

To serve this mix of gnocchi I used a simple sauce of butter and sage so the taste of the chestnuts, sweet potatoes, and purple potatoes remain the primary flavor.

You can serve some freshly grated Parmesan to sprinkle on top.

You can either serve those gnocchi together or separate, they can be used as a primo piatto for an Italian meal, as a side dish, or as a vegan main.

If you want to serve it at a vegan dinner, you can replace the butter with extra virgin olive oil.

Gnocchi are nicer when served freshly made, but you can prepare them in advance and warm them up in the oven before serving them.

Just add some butter and cheese on top to form a nice crunchy top.

Gnocchi can be frozen, although I have never done it myself.

You have to freeze them spread on a tray and seal them in a container once they are frozen so they keep separate.

Other sauces you can use

The most common sauce for gnocchi is a simple sage and butter, but you can use almost any pasta sauce in the gnocchi as well.

Just make sure that the sauce you use is not overpowering the vegetable mix you are using in the gnocchi dough.

You can serve them with a classic Bolognese, a lamb ragu, a simple tomato sauce or a classic pesto. You can check my Pasta category for more inspiration.

Another good source of ideas is the combination of vegetables and cheese I use for my vegetarian pizza topping. You can use the same ingredients as a sauce for gnocchi.

However, if you really want to make a special sauce for gnocchi, I would highly recommend serving them with a truffle sauce and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan.

Choosing a vegetable to add to the gnocchi dough

Depending on the color or taste you want to achieve, you can make many vegan gnocchi recipes with any ingredient you like just by adding a different vegetable to the potato mash.

• Do you want red? Add beetroot
• Do you want pink? Add less beetroot
• Do you want green? Add peas

Why peas and not spinach? Because peas are less watery and are a better fit for a mash.

However you can add spinach to make gnocchi, but you will need to add more flour. Take the gnudi, for example, a mix of ricotta and spinach. However, gnudi do need eggs to keep a firm shape.

When you want to add a new ingredient to gnocchi, it is really important to consider the amount of humidity you are adding to the dough.

So if the vegetables you are adding are very watery, add more flour. That is what I did for the sweet potato gnocchi.

How much flour? You will have to get the feeling by practicing. Don’t attempt a new mix when you have guests for dinner.

Do some testing during the weekend, and serve it once you have it right.

If you are making these vegan gnocchi recipes, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram or sign up to my newsletter.