Gnudi (meaning “naked” in Italian) are the delicate, pasta-free version of ravioli. This authentic Tuscan dish highlights the beauty of simplicity—just ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, and a touch of nutmeg, coming together to create melt-in-your-mouth dumplings.
What’s special about gnudi is their light, fluffy texture and rich flavour, which makes them satisfying even with the simplest sauce. The most traditional pairing is butter and sage, a classic that lets the dumplings shine.
They’re surprisingly easy to make: just mix, roll, coat in flour, and boil until they float. Whether you’re exploring Tuscan cuisine or need a low-carb dish that feels indulgent, gnudi is a winner.
Perfect for an elegant starter or a comforting main course, this recipe is bound to impress.
What Are ‘Gnudi’?
Gnudi (pronounced nyoo-dee) are soft, delicate dumplings made primarily from ricotta cheese and a small amount of flour—like the filling of ravioli, but without the pasta shell. The word gnudi means “naked” in Italian, because they’re essentially naked ravioli. Gnudi originate from Tuscany, where they’ve been a traditional comfort food for centuries. They’re often served simply with sage butter, olive oil, or a light tomato sauce.
Tips
- Drain your ricotta well: watery ricotta will make your gnudi too soft to hold their shape.
- They’re ready when they float to the surface—usually 2–3 minutes.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan, cook in batches if needed, so they don’t stick together or break apart.
- Gnudi are so flavoursome so you don’t need any complicated sauce to go with it, the most typical sauce it is in fact a simple sage butter sauce.
Storage
Fridge: place shaped gnudi on a floured tray in a single layer, cover loosely, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. This also helps them firm up before cooking.
Fridge: store cooked gnudi in an airtight container for up to 2–3 days. Reheat gently in a pan with a bit of butter, olive oil, or sauce to prevent them from drying out.
Freezer: freeze uncooked gnudi on a tray until solid (1–2 hours), then transfer to a sealed container or freezer bag. Cook straight from frozen in gently simmering water—just allow an extra minute or two.
More Ricotta Recipes
- 5-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
- Butter Beans, Roasted Pepper & Lemony Ricotta
- 5 Minutes Lemon & Ricotta Pasta Sauce
Gnudi – Tuscan Ricotta & Spinach Dumplings
Ingredients
- 300 g spinach
- 250 ricotta
- 1 egg
- 70 g Parmesan cheese
- 40 g flour
- salt pepper, nutmeg
Instructions
- In a on cook the spinach with a bit of garlic and oil. When they go soft they are ready.
- Remove the excess water from the spinach: you can leave the spinach to drain into a colander, with a bowl underneath to catch the dripping water or, much faster, like I did, just squeeze with your hands.
- Put the spinach on a chopping board and chop finely.
- In a large bowl add all the ingredients and mix well with a fork, until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Now it’s time to roll into balls: to make this process easy, add a drizzle of oil in your hands so the dough won’t stick to your hands. Prepare a small bowl with extra flour and keep it next to the large mixing bowl.
- Grab a tablespoon of the mix and roll into balls with you hands (~2.5cm in size), roll the ball into the small bowl with the extra flour so we can lightly coated it.
- Leave the Gnudi on a chopping board or another clean surface while you make the rest.
- Once the Gnudi are ready, cook them in boiling water like you would do with gnocchi: the Gnudi are are when they float on the surface.