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Creamy, decadent buffalo gnocchi is one of the best comfort food dinners! Make this easy recipe for two in just 10 minutes.
We love buffalo chicken so much, we just had to make a buffalo chicken dip inspired gnocchi recipe for this month’s unique pasta! Made with a creamy cheddar cheese sauce and trusty ol’ Frank’s Red Hot, this gnocchi is like buffalo chicken dip in pasta form.
The luscious sauce and pillowy gnocchi just melt in your mouth. It’s seriously such a fun and delicious comfort food dinner, and the perfect meal for two.
What This Recipe Entails
Our buffalo gnocchi recipe consists of a simple 4-ingredient cheese sauce and boiled gnocchi. If you’re shredding cheese from a block (which we always recommend!), you’ll need a few minutes of prep time.
- Prep time: 2 minutes
- Cook time: 8 minutes
Otherwise, simply boil the gnocchi and cook the sauce at the same time and this dinner comes together in 10 minutes or less!
Buffalo Gnocchi Ingredients
You only need 6 ingredients to make this decadent buffalo gnocchi:
- Gnocchi
- Half and half
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Frank’s Red Hot
- Light ranch dressing
- Chives
Loosely based on our buffalo chicken dip recipe, the sauce for this gnocchi is made with cheddar cheese, hot sauce, and ranch dressing for extra creaminess. Our buffalo gnocchi doesn’t have any chicken in it, so it’s vegetarian as well.
We recommend buying a block of cheddar and shredding it fresh for this recipe, as it will melt better and yield a creamy texture for the sauce. The shredded cheese you can buy at the store is coated in a powder to keep the shreds from sticking together, which can create a grainy texture in cheese sauces.
Frank’s Red Hot is our go-to for anything buffalo flavored! Make sure to buy the original cayenne hot sauce, and not the buffalo sauce. You’ll want just the pure hot sauce for this recipe.
How To Make Buffalo Gnocchi
Gnocchi is one of the quickest dinners you can make at home – one of the many reasons why we love it so much! This buffalo gnocchi comes together in about 10 minutes.
Here’s how to cook buffalo gnocchi:
- First, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi once boiling and cook, uncovered, until the gnocchi float to the top of the pot and are soft, about 1 to 3 minutes.
- A few minutes before the gnocchi go into the pot, you can start making the sauce. Heat the half and half in a large frying pan over medium-low to low heat, just until it begins steaming. This will only take a minute or so on a gas stove.
- Then, stir in the cheese in batches until fully melted.
- Next, stir in the Frank’s Red Hot and light ranch dressing until fully incorporated. You should now have a creamy buffalo sauce!
- When the gnocchi are ready, use a large spider strainer or slotted spoon to drain them and transfer them to the sauce. Stir gently to combine, then serve hot, garnished with chives.
You’ll want to make sure the half and half isn’t too hot, otherwise you risk breaking the cheese sauce (which means the cheese won’t melt properly). If you’re not sure of the best temperature to set your stove at, start low and increase if needed.
To time this recipe, get your pot of water boiling first. Then begin to make the sauce, and wait to boil the gnocchi until you’re pretty much done melting the cheese. They’ll only take a few minutes to cook, so by the time your cheese sauce is done they’ll be ready, too! That way, you can transfer the gnocchi straight to the sauce, so neither has to sit and wait for the other.
Serving Suggestions
What goes well with gnocchi? Bread, of course!
This buffalo gnocchi is drenched in a creamy, decadent cheese sauce. So you’re definitely going to want to serve this pasta with some fresh bread for sopping it all up.
Alex has been making us homemade artisan bread lately for pasta nights, and it’s such a treat. Using recipes and tips from the Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast cookbook, it’s surprisingly easy! We can highly recommend this book if you’re interested in learning to make bread from scratch.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
We can bet you won’t have any buffalo gnocchi left over 😉 But in case you do, you can store leftover gnocchi in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply keep it in an airtight container, and then reheat in the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes per serving (stir halfway through) when you’re ready to enjoy it!
Try our buffalo gnocchi recipe and let us know what you think of this Pasta of the Month by rating, commenting, and sharing below.
Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Tomato and Goat Cheese Gnocchi
- Creamy Pesto Parmesan Gnocchi
- Creamy Gochujang Pasta
To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.
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Buffalo Gnocchi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound gnocchi
- ½ cup half and half
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons Frank's Red Hot
- 1 tablespoon light ranch dressing
- Chives chopped, optional garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the gnocchi once boiling and cook, uncovered, until the gnocchi float to the top of the pot and are soft, about 1 to 3 minutes.
- In the meantime, heat the half and half in a large frying pan over medium-low to low heat, just until it begins steaming, about 1 minute or so.
- Stir in the cheese in batches until it's fully melted, about 5 minutes or so. Make sure to stir constantly to ensure even melting.Then, stir in the Frank's Red Hot and light ranch dressing until fully incorporated. The sauce should be creamy and have a smooth consistency at this point.
- Finally, use a large spider strainer or slotted spoon to drain and transfer the boiled gnocchi to the sauce. Lower the heat if needed and stir gently to combine, until the gnocchi is well-coated in the sauce.
- Serve hot, optionally garnished with fresh chives.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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