Move over pasta – this recipe for fluffy ricotta dumplings and your favorite tomato sauce is the perfect quick and easy comfort food supper!
Jump to:
Why we love this recipe
Can we talk about the wonder that is dumplings for a sec? I love them in soup. I love them with chicken. I love them any time of day, and one day I will figure out how to have them for dessert.
These particular dumplings are a mixture of creamy ricotta, eggs, flour and Parmesan cheese, cooked up in salty water until they are done. Almost as magical is that the entire process takes about fifteen minutes.
So I think it is high time that dumplings moved on up from being a supporting player to being the main event! As in this recipe for creamy, cheesy, light and lovely ricotta dumplings, where they get to be the star of the dinnertime show.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient additions and substitutions
Sauce: You can use any kind of sauce you like, from jarred marinara sauce to a homemade meat sauce. Pick your favorite!
Ricotta: We splurge on regular ricotta cheese (which you can find in your supermarket’s dairy section), but you can use low-fat if you prefer.
Basil: Totally optional. I love it, but the other members of my household pick it off. I keep trying though!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add a few tablespoons of salt.
Step 2: Mix up some ricotta cheese, a couple of eggs, some Parmesan cheese and a dash of salt and pepper.
Step 3: Now stir in some flour until you have a nice soft dough. The dough will be sticky – don’t worry about that, it’s supposed to be.
Step 4: Scoop out generous tablespoons of the dough and drop them in the boiling water (a cookie scoop is perfect for this) for 5 minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them on a plate.
Step 5: While the dumplings are cooking, heat up some tomato sauce. I’ve used everything from sauce in a jar to my favorite slow cooker pasta meat sauce…you pick YOUR favorite and heat it up.
Once the dumplings are ready, spoon them into a puddle of sauce, scattered some fresh basil leaves on top if you’ve got ’em, scatter some Parmesan cheese on top, and give the whole thing a nice grinding of black pepper.
If there is any basil hanging around I scatter that on top (although some people in my house just pick it off. Sigh).
Pro Tip: You are going to want to use a soup spoon for this one to get every last morsel of dumpling and drop of sauce – it’s that dang good.
Recipe FAQs
Full fat ricotta is (of course, sigh) going to give these dumplings the richest taste, but low-fat ricotta will work too. Just don’t use the non-fat kind – it doesn’t have the texture or taste that we need.
I gotta be honest, I personally think tomato sauce works best, and you can use any kind, from a light marinara to a hearty meat sauce. But if you want to throw caution to the wind, I’m guessing an Alfredo sauce would be pretty decadently delectable!
I would love to say yes, but as with all dumplings these babies are best enjoyed right out of the pot. Which will probably not be problem as I promise they are going to go like hotcakes!
Pop your question in the Comments section below and I will answer pronto!
Other dumpling recipes we love
Want to round out your meal?
We do love this delectable ricotta cheese recipe with our very favorite homemade tomato sauce, and when we are extra hungry we go for this hearty slow cooker meat pasta sauce.
And for dessert? I vote cannoli cream!
Looking for more dinner inspiration? Here is our complete collection of dinner recipes!
Could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Ricotta Dumplings
Move over pasta – this recipe for fluffy ricotta dumplings and your favorite tomato sauce is the perfect quick and easy comfort food supper!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Salt and fresh ground pepper
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup flour
- 3–4 cups of your favorite tomato sauce
- Basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Stir together ricotta, eggs and parmesan. Season with a 1/2 teaspoon or so of fresh ground pepper and a teaspoon of salt. Gently stir in the flour until you have a soft dough – it will be sticky, so don’t worry about that!
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously. Gently drop tablespoons of the dough into the water (a cookie scoop is perfect for this!). Boil for five minutes and scoop out with a slotted spoon.
- Serve in soup bowls with your favorite tomato sauce, garnished with fresh basil leaves and extra parmesan and pepper.
Notes
Sauce: You can use any kind of sauce you like, from jarred marinara sauce to a homemade meat sauce. Pick your favorite!
Ricotta: We splurge on regular ricotta cheese (which you can find in your supermarket’s dairy section), but you can use low-fat if you prefer.
Basil: Totally optional. I love it, but the other members of my household pick it off. I keep trying though!
Arline Newton says
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I used it in my version of the viral lasagna soup that everyone keeps talking about. It made Sunday dinner homie and delicious on a very rare cold Florida day.
Hi Arline and you are so welcome – I love that you incorporated it into that recipe! It’s cold her in North Carolina too – hopefully our Southern weather starts to behave soon!
zahra says
SO delicious. I didnt follow the recipe completely as I didn’t have 2 cups of ricotta. But I still used 2 eggs and a generous amount of parmesan and enough flour to bind the dough. They were really good. After they cooked (boiled until they rose to the surface) I drizzled truffle oil, black truffles and parmesan over them. I served them with a bastardized version of Ratatouille/ Ciambotta. The dumplings were so easy, so tasty and so quick. Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi Zahra, and thank YOU for such a lovely and detailed comment. I love the truffle oil addition, and that was the perfect side dish – yum!
Colleen says
This recipe was so easy and absolutely delicious. I used a jar of Trader Joe’s marinara sauce and made the dumplings exactly as directed. I had fresh basil which topped it off perfectly. I have never heard of the ricotta dumplings and it was truly amazing.
Oh how I love that Trader Joe’s sauce – and I love that you loved this recipe! Thanks Colleen! :)
Stella says
These are fabulous! Such a creative recipe – I never would have thought of it!
I do love dumplings of any kind – glad you like this version too!
Nikki says
I made these delightful dumplings tonight and used meat sauce and homemade ricotta leftover from Saturday’s lasagna. Over the top good. The sauce had sweet Italian sausage and ground turkey, chunky tomatoes, all of which added a nice bite against the softness of the dumplings. I’ll definitely make them again.
Next time, I’ll add herbs to the ricotta before I put it in the fridge, and add a little more finishing salt and a pinch more pepper to pump the flavors up a bit.
These are going into a regular dinner rotation for sure!
Nikki! What a great way to use up leftovers – sounds like two amazing dinners in a row! :)
Nikki says
I made these delightful dumplings tonight and used meat sauce and homemade ricotta leftover from Saturday’s lasagna. Over the top good. The sauce had sweet Italian sausage and ground turkey, chunky tomatoes, all of which added a nice bite against the softness of the dumplings. I’ll definitely make them again.
Next time, I’ll add herbs to the ricotta before I put it in the fridge, abs add a little more finishing salt and a pinch more pepper to pump the flavors up a bit.
These are going into a regular dinner rotation for sure!
Bipasha says
Great dumplings recipe that I combined with sauce I already had! Question: do they really need to cook for a full five minutes? I’ve been scooping them out as soon as they float to the surface, which takes a few minutes. They turned out great but not fluffy soft as they maybe should be? Would love your feedback.
If you like the consistency before they have cooked for 5 minutes, you can definitely take them out early. Leaving them in after they float up might actually make them less fluffy, so I would do what you are doing! :)
Pam says
Kate! These are divine! Light and soft but with integrity. These will be our new favourite. Thanks so much for introducing a new element to elevate a dish xx
Pam! Thank you so much for this sweet note – I’m so glad you love these little dumplings as much as we do! :)
Bernie says
Five stars Kate. Made it for dinner along with the sauce….excellent! I loved the sauce and my husband loved, loved , loved the dumplings and the sauce. Garnished with fresh Basil and it was perfection and so easy. Thanks for this great recipe!
Hurray!! This makes me so happy (and isn’t fresh basil season the best?) Happy summer! xoxo