Gnocchi Potato Salad

Growing up, potato salad always found its way onto our dinner table in the summer. My dad’s recipe continues to be my favorite, with its classic combination of mustard, mayo, chopped hard-boiled eggs and pickles all tossed together with freshly boiled and cubed red-skinned potatoes. The only downside of this potato salad recipe is that it takes a bit of time, from prepping and boiling the potatoes to waiting for the salad to chill in the refrigerator—but the internet turned me on to an ingenious hack: using prepared gnocchi in place of the potatoes.

This gnocchi potato salad has all the flavors I love from my dad’s recipe but takes a fraction of the time to prepare. Even better, you can serve it warm, although it’s just as tasty served chilled from the fridge. This delicious potato salad would be a fabulous side to serve with burgers or a perfect pick for a summertime picnic.

Ingredients for Gnocchi Potato Salad

• Gnocchi: Gnocchi are Italian dumplings made from potatoes. They are cut in a pillow shape and have ridges on their sides to capture the sauce (or, in this case, the potato salad dressing). For this recipe, use shelf-stable gnocchi. You should be able to find it in the pasta aisle alongside dry pasta noodles.
• Mayonnaise: Mayonnaise adds a creamy flavor to this potato salad. Use your favorite brand, or if you don’t have one, try one of our Test Kitchen’s picks for the best mayonnaise.
• Dijon mustard: Dijon mustard adds a tangy and slightly spicy flavor to the potato salad. If you don’t have Dijon on hand, you could easily substitute yellow mustard.
• Hard-boiled eggs: Hard-boiled eggs add protein, a soft texture and a bright yellow color to the salad.
• Sweet pickles: The sweet and tangy flavor of sweet pickles adds a nice contrast to the savory flavors of this gnocchi potato salad.
• Fresh thyme: Fresh thyme adds a pop of green and fresh herbal flavor to the potato salad.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the gnocchi

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the gnocchi and cook until golden brown, about five minutes per side. Remove from the heat.

Editor’s Tip: Boiling shelf-stable gnocchi can result in a gummy and mushy texture, so we skip that step and saute them in butter instead.

Step 2: Make the dressing

In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, minced fresh thyme and smoked paprika.

Step 3: Combine the ingredients

Add the gnocchi to the bowl and stir to combine. Gently fold in the chopped eggs and pickles. Serve warm, or cover and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Gnocchi Potato Salad Variations

• Add more veggies: Amp up the colors and flavors of this potato salad by adding chopped bell or sweet peppers. Chopped olives, diced red onions or chopped cherry tomatoes would add more flavor, and chopped celery or cucumber would add some nice crunch.
• Heap on the herbs: Chopped fresh dill, basil or parsley would pair well with this gnocchi potato salad.
• Bring on the bacon: Fry up a couple of strips of bacon, roughly chop them and fold the bacon into the gnocchi potato salad to add a salty and savory flavor.
• Pop on some pine nuts: Toast nuts for the topping. A tablespoon of toasted pine nuts would add a rich nutty flavor and crunchy texture to the potato salad.

How to Store Gnocchi Potato Salad

Leftover gnocchi potato salad should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Gnocchi tend to soak up more dressing than regular potatoes, so you may need to whip up a small batch of the dressing to re-dress the salad as needed.

If the salad has been left out at room temperature for more than two hours, any leftovers should be discarded.

How long does gnocchi potato salad last?

For the best flavor and texture, gnocchi potato salad is best consumed within two days of preparation.

Gnocchi Potato Salad Tips

Can you use homemade gnocchi for potato salad?

The firmer texture of shelf-stable gnocchi lends itself well to this potato salad recipe. It also makes the salad much easier and quicker to put together. However, you can use homemade gnocchi if you prefer. After boiling the fresh gnocchi, saute the gnocchi in butter to crisp up the texture a bit, as called for in this recipe.

What else can you serve with gnocchi potato salad?

Gnocchi potato salad is a tasty side to serve with summer barbecue favorites such as baby back ribs, steak and shrimp kabobs, grilled pork chops or barbecue chicken.