Our Greatest Gnocchi Recipes Are Just What You Need for Dinner Tonight

The diminutive Italian dumplings known as gnocchi are usually made from potato, flour, and eggs, but can also be prepared using just flour and water. At their best, gnocchi are pillowy, pleasantly chewy mouthfuls of comforting carbs cloaked in a good sauce. At their notorious worst, they are heavy pellets that take an effort to swallow. We're focusing on the former here, which you can achieve at home by following our best recipes for gnocchi—they're guaranteed to make you hungry and just the thing to make for weeknight meals.

Homemade gnocchi do require time to prepare, but they're reassuringly simple to make. (Our one hot tip for potato-based gnocchi? A potato ricer or food mill is essential for fluffiness). For everyday eats, look for store-bought fresh or frozen gnocchi and make them a pantry or freezer staple. Read the label to be sure you don't end up with heavy dumplings: Potato-based gnocchi with egg will tend to be lighter, while flour-only gnocchi are more dense.

Gnocchi are adaptable to appetite and season: If you're craving a warming meal, denser gnocchi, made with flour and water, are appealing. Offering more resistance, they invite us to savor them longer and pair well with hearty meaty sauces or canned-tomato-based ragus. As the weather warms (or your mood lifts), try more yielding potato-based dumplings, lightly dressed with a cloud of cheese, a soft egg, or summer's best farmers' market produce.

Baked, pan-tossed, broiled, or draped with sauce, gnocchi-meals are limited only by your hunger and imagination. Read on to whet your appetite.

Gnocchi with Sausage, Zucchini, and Tomato

A fragrant skillet supper in under 30 minutes? Here's how to make it: Toss store-bought gnocchi into a panful of aromatic sausage, fresh tomatoes, and summer zucchini. Finish with a flourish of fresh basil to catch the essence of summer.

Chicken and Gnocchi Bake with Broccolini

This mouthwatering, double-cheese chicken and gnocchi bake is low-fuss and warming, cleverly incorporating broccolini so that each bowlful delivers a complete meal.

Gnocchi with Mushrooms and Gorgonzola

Potato-and-flour gnocchi, rich with Gorgonzola and the woodsy umami of slow-cooked mushrooms, come together to form a quick and deccadent autumnal supper.

Gnocchi with Quick Meat Sauce

The aroma of a rich meat sauce, underpinned by essential canned tomatoes, is hard to resist. Our quick take on a traditional Bolognese sauce yields enough to freeze for extra meals.

Baked Gnocchi with Ricotta and Marinara Sauce

It doesn't get any simpler: Potato gnocchi topped with store-bought marinara sauce, luscious fresh ricotta, and pungently salty parmesan. Slide everything under the broiler and you have melty, full-flavored casserole in minutes.

Green Gnocchi with Cockles

Pair store-bought spinach gnocchi with petite cockles for a quick and beautiful meal. The clam's flavorful juices, with good white wine and the heat of chile, make for an elegantly restrained bowlful of goodness.

Gnocchi with Summer Vegetables

Summer is the time to enjoy mild zucchini and juicy tomatoes. Pair them with store-bought gnocchi and fresh basil leaves for a quick, fresh sauce. When finished with assertive Pecorino-Romano, you'll have a memorable and easy vegetarian meal.

Baked Gnocchi with Cheese

In this luxuriously creamy mac and cheese makeover we deploy unctuous Italian Taleggio and a whisper of nutmeg to transform a dish of fluffy potato gnocchi.

Tomato and Eggplant Gnocchi

A one-skillet wonder that calls on eggplant and ripe, fresh tomatoes spiked with chile flakes to create a ratatouille-like foundation for plumply satisfying gnocchi.

Gnocchi with Peas and Eggs

We can't think of a prettier plateful if you like to photograph your dinner. The orange yolks of soft eggs against the vivid greens of peas and arugula are picture-ready. Slicked with cream and dusted with parmesan, this quick gnocchi meal tastes pretty darn good, too.

Gnocchi with Bacon and Tomato

Bacon makes everything better, and it turns a simple, fresh tomato sauce into some bold and exciting. Top with parsley for herbal brightness, shaved parmesan for texture, and salt before serving.

Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

Here's a recipe for homemade gnocchi. Start by making extra mashed potatoes one night so that you can enjoy these ultra-delicate gnocchi the next. After the small trouble of creating your own dumplings, you want a simple sauce: The agelessly good combination of of brown butter and sage is nutty, aromatic, and impossible to improve upon.

Gnocchi with Kale

The secret to this quick, wilted kale topping for potato gnocchi is the addition of bright, microplaned lemon zest. And please feel free to add your favorite cheese!