Last night I made one of my favorite dinner-in-a-flash recipes: Ricotta dumplings. This is a lightning-quick recipe, easy to mix up, and easy to make for a crowd, too. I tossed these pillowy, chewy little dumpling squares with a bit of butter, soft goat cheese, and herbs fresh from the garden. They were ready in 15 minutes!
This recipe is based on my earlier recipe for ricotta spaetzle. I love these so much; they are ready almost instantly. The only problem with spaetzle is that it is a very thin dough — a batter, really — and you need to stand over the simmering water and drop each dumpling into the water individually, pushing the batter off the tip of a spoon.
What if I added a little more flour, I wondered. What would that do? Could I pat these out, cut them, and make them even that much quicker?
The answer is yes, you can. I added more flour to this recipe, and a bit of extra salt, and the result is a small, chewy dumpling — not quite as light as the original ricotta spaetzle, but even faster and easier. I tossed them with goat cheese and herbs, and served them alongside hurriedly-seared smoked sausage.
These dumplings are the perfect foil for cheese, herbs, and other light, fresh spring ingredients. I'd love to make these again soon and toss them with buttered peas and a flurry of mint.

serves 2 generously as a main dish, or 4 as a side dish
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of water, as needed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Handful fresh herbs (rosemary, flat-leaf parsley, sorrel, mint, thyme, or combination thereof)
2 ounces fresh chèvre
Place a 3-quart (or larger) saucepan of water over high heat. Salt generously and bring to a boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, whisk together the ricotta and eggs. Add the flour, salt, and a sprinkle of fresh black pepper. Mix together quickly and lightly with a spoon. If the dough is too thick and floury, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.
Turn the dough out onto a floured countertop and quickly pat it out. (Don't add too much flour; these will be just slightly sticky.) Pat the dough out until it is about 1/2-inch thick, and cut into 1-inch squares.
Drop these little squares into the boiling water and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, or until they float to the top and are fully cooked inside. Remove them from the water with a slotted spoon.
Pour the water out of the pan and place back over medium heat. Melt the butter in the pan. While the butter is melting, chop the herbs roughly. When the butter has melted, add the herbs and cook for just a few seconds, stirring them until fragrant. Turn off the heat and add the cooked dumplings back to the pan. Toss with the herbed butter. Add the goat cheese in small dollops and toss.
Serve immediately.

Related: Recipe: Ricotta Spaetzle
(Images: Faith Durand)
Kart Serving Tray b...

Comments (19)
Can you double this recipe pretty easily (without adjustments)?
@BetsyGinDC yes absolutely. I've quadrupled it at times...
This looks awesome. I may have to make it for dinner tonight.
We make the Kitchn ricotta spaetzle ALL the time! They're awesome, and this firmer dumpling version looks great too. (Not sure I'm convinced, though, that they're quicker/easier. To me, the extra step of preparing a clean floured surface--and then having to clean it!--plus individually cutting up the dumplings sounds more trouble then just plopping the spaetzle batter blobs individually into the pot of water...)
Oh, and to the person who asked if you can double the batter: you can also easily halve it! Makes a great lunch for one. :)
@Brooklynnina, I think it's all a question of quantity. When I make these for a crowd, the plop/spoon method can take awhile, and the dumplings get cold. This way I can cook a whole batch at once. But yes, for one or two people, the original method doesn't take long at all.
Also, I happen to like really chewy dumplings -- these are halfway between spaetzle and fresh pasta.
Love it! I was about to make some ricotta...and now I'm totally convinced that I need ricotta dumplings!
this looks really good! and doable - i'll have to try
what happens if you have leftover dough?
I made a cream sauce with some truffle butter - simple and delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper.
This sounds amazing! Can't wait to try it!
Oh man, I didn't think there could be anything better that your ricotta spaetzel (it's on the menu this week!) so I can't wait to try this.
I made the dumplings with a gluten-free baking mix tonight and they worked really well!
I just made these, and tossed them with sauteed garlic, asparagus and chanterelles along with the chevre and herbs. Delicious!
Made these for a small party this weekend, got rave reviews! Recipe doubled easily.
Will it work with full fat ricotta, or will it have texture issues?
I actually doubled the recipe and froze the dough (just to see how it would work).
The recipe was so good that the we ate the other half that was frozen the next day (and it came out great!).
I will be making this over. and over. and over. and over. EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO MAKE THIS RIGHT NOW.
I saw a tip on "Lydia's Italy" for making spaetzle - put the dough in a colander if you don't have a fancy spaetzle maker, and press it thru the holes with a spatula. i haven't tried it but she made it look easy :)
Just made this because I shockingly had everything on hand to make it. I used sage as my herb, and simple goat cheese. I also did pan fried oysters with this, and was so amazing. Wow. And I was shocked that I actually had the dough ready by the time the water was boiling (I was dubious about that), and was so easy! Thank you so much for this very easy go-to recipe!