8 Types of Gnocchi for Savoring the Ultimate Italian Comfort Food at Home

• Region: Northern Italy
• Made with: potatoes
• Recipes: Giada de Laurentiis’s Gnocchi, Lemon Pesto Burrata and Brown Butter Gnocchi, Spring Vegetable Gnocchi (shown)

Here, the classic preparation that you find in restaurants and grocery stores around the world. These gnocchi are easy to make with nothing more than potatoes, flour, egg and water. The end result is a pillowy potato dumpling that takes well to any kind of sauce. Crisp them up in the oven for a simple sheet pan dinner, simmer them in tomato sauce and top them with mozz—the possibilities are practically endless.

• Region: Piedmont
• Made with: ricotta
• Recipes: Ricotta Gnocchi (shown), Truffle Ricotta Gnocchi, Ricotta Gnocchi with Mushrooms from Piemonte

Use fresh ricotta cheese and parmesan instead of potatoes and you’ll have this lighter, creamier twist on traditional gnocchi. In Piedmont, ricotta gnocchi are typically served with a fresh mushroom sauce, but feel free to mix things up.

• Region: France
• Made with: pâte à choux pastry
• Recipes: Gnocchi Parisienne Recipe by Jacques Pepin, Gnocchi Parisienne by Chef Thomas Keller

This is a Parisian spin on the beloved Italian classic, in which pâte à choux pastry dough is mixed with some savory flavorings (gruyere cheese, parmesan, nutmeg, or even mustard), shaped into balls and then poached in boiling water. Once poached, you can pan sear them with butter and sage or bake them in a decadent Mornay sauce.

• Region: Tuscany
• Made with: ricotta, spinach
• Recipes: Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi, Baked Tuscan Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi with Tomato Sauce, Rosa’s Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi

Gnudi are essentially the same as the ricotta gnocchi described above (i.e., ricotta is used in place of potato for a lighter, creamier result). Spinach gnudi, also called malfatti, are a Tuscan specialty made with (you guessed it) fresh spinach. They go great with tomato sauce and mozzarella or even a simple brown butter sage sauce.

• Region: South Tyrol
• Made with: bread, speck, cheese
• Recipes: Knödel (Italian canederli), Knödel (Tyrolean-style Dumplings)

Also known as canederli, this form of gnocchi hails from the South Tyrol region of Northern Italy and is made with bread. The dumplings are typically larger than traditional gnocchi, and the bread-based dough often features a combination of cheese and dry, cured ham (i.e., speck). This comfort food is an Alpine favorite from Austria to Italy, and a great way to use up stale bread. Serve them in broth or with a rich mushroom cream sauce.

• Region: Trentino-Alto Adige
• Made with: Italian bread, spinach
• Recipes: Strangolapreti, Strangolapreti Fritti, Strangolapreti alla Trentina

Strangolapreti, or strozzapreti, translates to “priest-stranglers,” a name these dumplings earned due to the fact that clergymen ate them so quickly and with so much gusto, that locals would joke they might choke. They are made with a combination of stale bread soaked in milk and fresh spinach. The end result is a rustic dumpling with a firmer texture than traditional potato gnocchi. After being poached in boiling water, they are often sizzled in butter and sage before serving.

• Region: Roma
• Made with: semolina flour
• Recipes: Roman-Style Gnocchi, Semolina Gnocchi Gratin, Gnocchi alla Romana

These gnocchi date back to dumplings served in Ancient Rome and are made with a mixture of cooked semolina flour, parmesan cheese, milk, butter and egg yolks. The dough is then cut into rounds and baked until golden for a finished product that’s rich and melts in your mouth. Serve them in butter with a side of marinara for dipping.