Crispy Ricotta Gnudi
with Pesto, Zucchini, Tomatoes & Parmesan
- Milk
- Wheat
Love the delicate, pillowy ricotta filling inside ravioli? Make that filling into little dumplings (like gnocchi) and brown them in a hot pan of butter, and that's gnudi! You'll set them atop seared zucchini, onion, and juicy blistered tomatoes for an impressive, satisfying homestyle meal. That’s the beauty of gnudi!
Ingredients
8 tablespoon
Pesto
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Onion
1 unit
Zucchini
4 tablespoon
Crème Fraîche
(Contains: Milk)
8 ounce
Ricotta Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
6 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
4 ounce
Grape Tomatoes
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
¼ ounce
Parsley
1.5 tablespoon
Flour
(Contains: Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
1 teaspoon (tsp)
Olive Oil
3 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce.
Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Using the back of a spoon, spread ricotta into a ¼-inch-thick layer on prepared sheet. Set aside to drain for at least 10 minutes. TIP: If you have time, let ricotta drain for up to 30 minutes!
Meanwhile, finely chop one packet of Parmesan (two packets for 4 servings). Trim and quarter zucchini lengthwise; cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick quarter-moons. Halve, peel, and thinly slice onion. Roughly chop parsley.
Once ricotta has drained, lift ends of paper towels and transfer ricotta to a large bowl. (TIP: To easily release ricotta, fold paper towels in half so ricotta sticks to itself, then gently peel off paper towels.) Discard paper towels (reserve baking sheet for use in Step 4).
To bowl with ricotta, add chopped Parmesan and crème fraîche. Season with ¾ tsp salt (1½ tsp for 4 servings) and a pinch of pepper; stir to combine.
Stir in panko and ½ cup flour (1 cup for 4) until combined and slightly sticky (the dough will firm up in the next step).
Sprinkle a clean work surface with 1 TBSP flour (2 TBSP for 4 servings).
Place dough on floured work surface. Fold the dough over itself, then, working with both hands, firmly press down and away. Repeat folding, then kneading, until dough is firm and can be rolled into a ball, about 1 minute.
Cut dough into four even pieces (eight pieces for 4). Roll each piece into a 6-inch log.
Cut each log crosswise into six gnudi (you should have 24 gnudi total; 48 gnudi for 4).
Lightly oil baking sheet used for ricotta and set aside.
Once water is boiling, carefully add gnudi a few pieces at a time. (For 4 servings, you may need to work in batches.) Return to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. Cook, gently stirring occasionally, until gnudi are tender and have nearly doubled in size, 5-6 minutes. TIP: The gnudi will start floating to the top before they are done, so be sure to keep an eye on the size!
Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer gnudi to prepared sheet. Lightly drizzle with olive oil.
Turn off heat; pour out water. Wipe out pot.
Heat a drizzle of oil in same pot over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes; season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes begin to blister and soften, 3-4 minutes. TIP: Use the back of your cooking spoon to gently burst the tomatoes.
Add zucchini and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until zucchini and onion begin to soften, 3-4 minutes.
Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender, 4-6 minutes more.
Meanwhile, melt 2 TBSP butter (4 TBSP for 4 servings) in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat.
Add gnudi and cook until lightly browned and crispy, 2-3 minutes per side. (For 4, you may need to work in batches.)
Add pesto to pot with veggies. Remove from heat; stir to combine.
Divide pesto veggies between bowls. Top with gnudi. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining Parmesan. Serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the gnudi's taste, though some found it bland; the pesto-veggie mix received mixed reviews.
- Ease of prep: Customers found this recipe time-consuming and challenging, but many enjoyed the learning experience 🍲.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more vegetables, especially tomatoes; some preferred less pesto or a different sauce.
- Portions: Several mentioned wanting more vegetables to balance the gnudi; a few found the overall portion small.
- Texture: Some found the gnudi perfectly pillowy, while others thought it was too dense or gummy.
Reviews from our home cooks
Ratio of veggies and pesto need some work, they get watery when cooked down and the pesto doesn't get to shine. Might be better as a ratatouille base with an arugula pesto. Not enough tomatoes for the 2-person meal compared to the zucchini and onion. Prep time needs lengthened, takes longer to prep than it says. Ricotta Gnudi was good, and definitely cut pieces smaller and could have went even smaller.
Love this recipe from the test kitchen. Definitely not easy for beginners that want easy recipes but for foodies that love to try to make new things it was such a fun recipe and came out delicious. Cooked gnudi for an extra minute to get a good sear.
It was so fun to make something different and to try something different. It was more work, but there's nothing wrong with that on occasion. Beyond the gnudi, I really liked the pesto vegetables part of the meal too. It was a nice experience all around.
This was such a nice light fresh recipe for the mid to end of winter. We air fried the gnudi after boiling instead of frying and it was great.
This was a lot of work to prepare but it was BEYOND worth it! It was so flavorful and delicious. The gnudi was yummy and the basil flavor was amazing. Would definitely get again!
OMGGGGG, soOooOoOoo awesome!!!! So much flavor! I added extra fresh parmesan to the dough and this was such a great tasting dish! Never did I think ricotta could be used in a dough and fried in butter YUM! 15/10!
It's always thrilling to learn how to make something new. I have never heard of gnudi before. When I tasted the dish for the first time... fireworks! Everything including the gnudi tasted delicious!
Please keep this in the mix! This was the most fun making a HF meal I've had. The Gnudi were easier to make than I anticipated. Everything came out so delicious!
Great recipe! This took a little more time than average but was well worth it. I do think the recipe needed more of the pesto sauce, there wasn't quite enough. Very tasty!
I will be making gnudi again!!! I didn't care for the pesto, though-just not really a pesto fan. I also wasn't thrilled with just onions and zucchini as the only vegetables with the addition of a small number of tomatoes. I'd love it with a fresh tomato sauce when the garden tomatoes are in. Will def be putting that on it instead with a few more garden veggies.
