Gnudi (pronounced nood-ee) is an easy vegetarian dish to make for pasta night – except, it isn’t exactly pasta, it’s more like naked ravioli. Snicker-snicker, the name makes me giggle.
Just imagine that cheesy, spinach filling in ravioli, minus the doughy wrapper – and that’s gnudi. Also kinda like a cross between gnocchi and a southern dumpling.
Fast and easy to make, comforting to eat, and absolutely delicious in warmed pasta sauce of your choice. I always keep this pasta sauce in my pantry because it’s yummy, tastes homemade, and has no added sugars like many other jarred varieties do.
Traditional gnudi recipes use ricotta cheese, a smooth and mild cheese used frequently in sweet and savory Italian recipes. I prefer to use 2% milkfat cottage cheese because, cup for cup, it has less than half the calories (428 cal vs 203 cal) and a little more protein!
A great vegetarian meal solution if you’re looking to get enough. A serving of five gnudies (w/o sauce) has 295 cal, 25g protein, 31g carb, and 6g fat. I used all-purpose flour in my recipe, but you can substitute a gluten-free baking blend flour if needed.
Cottage Cheese Tips as a Substitute for Ricotta
General: Cottage cheese (in any milk fat percent) can be substituted for ricotta. The are both cheese made from cow’s milk and have a similar taste, although cottage cheese is saltier with larger curds.
Draining: In recipes where you don’t want excess moisture, like this spinach gnudi recipe, the cottage cheese will need to be drained. Simple measure your desired amount into a mesh strainer and set over a bowl for 10 minutes to allow the excess liquids to drain out (actually this is the whey protein, so in other recipes I do use the cottage cheese as is – curds and whey.)
Blending: In other recipes where I use cottage cheese (like this cottage cheese waffle recipe), I blend the cottage cheese, including the whey liquids) to make in smoother and have more of the ricotta texture.
Salt Considerations: Because cottage cheese is saltier that ricotta (which seems very lightly sweet to me), you may want to omit any added salt in the recipe. You can always add more salt later if, by tasting, it seems to need it, but you really can’t take oversalting out of a recipe.
Freshness and Freezing: Sometimes I have extra cottage cheese left in my tub. It stays fresh, covered tight, in the fridge for 7 to 10 days. If you turn the carton upside-down so that it rests on the lid, you can create a vacuum seal that will help extend freshness. When it’s time left in the fridge is drawing near, I will stick in the freezer (either blended or still curds) to save and defrost later for a recipe. An opened tub of cottage cheese will stay fresh in freezer for about 3 months.
- 1 cup cottage cheese 2%
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 1 tbsp. water
- 3/4 cup flour divided
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese extra for garnish
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups bottled pasta sauce of choice warmed
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Drain cottage cheese in strainer for 5-10 minutes, discard liquids.
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Meanwhile, add spinach and water to microwave steamer or vented bowl and microwave on high for about 90 seconds.
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Let spinach cool to touch, about 5 minutes. Chop and then squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
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Start boiling a pot of water.
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In a bowl, mix together 1/2 cup of the flour, Parm cheese, Italian seasoning and pepper. Next stir in drained cottage cheese, an egg, and the squeezed spinach. Dont throw the whole spinach clump in, it will never stir up. Instead, use fingers to break in up into the chopped bits.
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Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup flour on plate. Use hand to form 15 small balls of the spinach mixture, about 2 tbsp. each or so.
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Roll each ball around in the flour to coat. Drop into boiling water for about 4 to 5 minutes or until gnudies ride to the top.
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Use slotted spoon to remove gnudies and, for each serving, place 5 gnudies in a bowl with about 2/3 cup warmed pasta sauce. If desired, sprinkle with more Parm cheese