Cottage Cheese Gnocchi (No Potatoes, 30 Minutes, 28g Protein)

Cottage cheese gnocchi is the high protein dinner that surprised me most this year — cottage cheese blended smooth, mixed with egg yolk, parmesan and just enough flour to hold it, rolled into little pillows, boiled for two minutes and seared golden in butter with pesto and peas. No potatoes, no ricer, no waiting for anything to cool, and 28 grams of protein a bowl.

They are lighter and more tender than potato gnocchi, closer to ricotta gnudi, and they take about half the time. I made six batches getting the flour right: too little and they dissolve in the water, too much and they turn into chewy dumplings. The amount below is the balance, and the dough is just as forgiving as my cottage cheese flatbread.

Save recipes like this straight from TikTok and plan your week in minutes with RecipeLoop, the free AI meal planner.

Why cottage cheese gnocchi works better than you would think.

• Blended cottage cheese acts like ricotta, with more protein. Once it is smooth, cottage cheese has the same creamy, tangy richness as ricotta and nearly twice the protein. The curds disappear, and nobody can tell what the gnocchi are made from. It is the same blend-it-first trick behind my cottage cheese alfredo pasta.
• Egg yolk and parmesan hold them together. The yolk binds without making them rubbery the way a whole egg can, and parmesan adds salt, flavor and a little extra structure, so you need less flour. Less flour means softer, lighter gnocchi.
• Twenty-eight grams of protein in a bowl of pasta. That is roughly double what a bowl of potato gnocchi gives you, which makes this a comfort-food dinner that still fits a high protein or GLP-1 day. Check it against your goals in the protein calculator.

Here's what you'll need.

Full-fat cottage cheese, egg yolks, finely grated parmesan, all-purpose flour, salt, nutmeg (optional, but lovely), butter for searing, frozen peas, basil pesto, lemon, and more parmesan to finish. You also need a food processor or blender.

Here's how it all comes together.

STEP 1 — BLEND THE COTTAGE CHEESE SMOOTH

Put the cottage cheese in a food processor or blender and blend for 30 to 60 seconds, scraping down the sides once, until completely smooth with no curds left. Smooth cottage cheese makes smooth gnocchi; any curds left behind hold water and make the dough sticky.

STEP 2 — BRING THE DOUGH TOGETHER

Scrape the cottage cheese into a bowl and stir in the egg yolks, parmesan, salt and nutmeg. Add 1 cup of the flour and stir with a spatula, then add the remaining flour a tablespoon at a time just until a soft, slightly tacky dough forms that you can handle with floured hands. Stop there — extra flour makes dense gnocchi.

STEP 3 — ROLL INTO ROPES

Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and divide it into 4 pieces. With lightly floured hands, roll each piece into a rope about ¾ inch thick. Use a light touch and keep the board and your hands floured; the dough is soft and will stick if you press hard.

STEP 4 — CUT INTO PILLOWS

Cut each rope into ¾-inch pieces with a bench scraper or knife. Toss them in a little flour and spread them out on a floured sheet pan so they do not stick together. You can roll them over a fork for ridges, but the plain pillows sear better. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

STEP 5 — BOIL UNTIL THEY FLOAT

Drop the gnocchi into the boiling water in two batches. They sink, then float to the top within 1 to 2 minutes; let them bob for 30 seconds more, then lift them out with a slotted spoon. Toss the frozen peas into the water for the last minute of the second batch and scoop them out too.

STEP 6 — SEAR IN BUTTER WITH PESTO AND PEAS

Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add the gnocchi in a single layer and leave them alone for 2 minutes until golden underneath, then toss and cook 1 minute more. Turn off the heat, add the peas, pesto, a squeeze of lemon and a splash of pasta water, and toss to coat. Serve with extra parmesan.

If you want more high protein comfort food like this — pasta, dumplings and dinners that feel indulgent and still fit your goals — every recipe in this book is built the same way, the Ultimate GLP-1 High Protein High Fiber Cookbook.

Things I learned while testing this recipe.

• Use full-fat cottage cheese and blend it all the way. Low-fat cottage cheese has more water, which means more flour and heavier gnocchi. Full-fat (4%) blends silky smooth and gives the most tender result. A blender or food processor is essential; a fork will not get the curds out.
• Add the last of the flour slowly. Cottage cheese brands vary in moisture. Start with 1 cup of flour and add more a tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft but holds its shape. It should feel slightly tacky, like play dough that has been left out for a minute.
• Test one gnocchi first. Before you cut the whole batch, boil a single piece. If it falls apart, knead in another tablespoon or two of flour. If it holds together and is tender, you are ready. This takes one minute and saves the whole batch.
• Freeze them before boiling. Spread the cut gnocchi on a floured tray, freeze until solid, then bag them. Boil straight from frozen, adding about a minute, and then sear. It is the best high protein freezer dinner I have.

Why this is my favorite high protein pasta night.

• Homemade gnocchi in 30 minutes, no potatoes to boil. Traditional gnocchi means baking or boiling potatoes, ricing them and waiting for them to cool. This dough comes together in five minutes in a food processor, and the gnocchi cook in two.
• Twenty-eight grams of protein in a bowl of real comfort food. Cottage cheese, parmesan and peas do the heavy lifting, so a serving is filling and satisfying at a portion size that works for a GLP-1 appetite.
• They go with almost any sauce. Pesto and peas is my favorite, but brown butter and sage, marinara, a creamy tomato sauce or simply butter and parmesan all work. Add chicken or meatballs and dinner is done.

Here's what I'd serve with this.

• Air fryer turkey meatballs — toss the gnocchi in marinara and pile the meatballs on top.
• Garlic butter chicken bites — for an even higher protein dinner in the same skillet.
• Air fryer salmon — flaked salmon over pesto gnocchi is a restaurant-level bowl.
• Air fryer Brussels sprouts — crispy greens on the side to balance the richness.
• Mediterranean chickpea salad — a bright, crunchy salad next to soft gnocchi.

Just in case you have leftovers.

Storing: Refrigerate leftover cooked gnocchi in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Uncooked gnocchi freeze best: freeze on a floured tray until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Do not refrigerate uncooked gnocchi for more than a few hours; they get soggy.

Reheating: Sear leftover gnocchi in a little butter or olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until warm and crisp again. The microwave works in a pinch (covered, 1 to 2 minutes), but the gnocchi lose their golden edges.

More easy high protein recipes...

Cottage cheese alfredo pasta Cottage cheese pizza bowls Cottage cheese flatbread Cottage cheese egg bites

If you are on a cottage cheese kick, finish dinner with my chocolate cottage cheese mousse. And one of today's other new recipes is my air fryer turkey meatballs — 34g protein, 25 minutes, and made to share a bowl with these gnocchi.

High protein comfort food, sized for a GLP-1 appetite.

The Ultimate GLP-1 High Protein High Fiber Cookbook is full of dinners like this one — pasta, bowls and comfort food rebuilt with more protein and fiber, in portions that fill you up without weighing you down.

Get the cookbook on Amazon

Meal-plan the whole week around recipes like this with RecipeLoop — save recipes from anywhere, get a grocery list automatically.