Tortellini and gnocchi are both staple ingredients in Italian cuisine where they are used in different dishes.

These ingredients are often paired with a wide variety of sauces, but can also be found in salads and soups.

In some recipes, tortellini and gnocchi can be substituted for each other, however, there are a couple of differences between these ingredients including their shapes as well as how they are made.

Tortellini is technically a type of pasta, but it shaped like a dumpling and often prepared like one.

Gnocchi is a dumpling, but is sometimes considered a type of pasta.

In this post, we discuss the differences between gnocchi and tortellini

Difference between tortellini and gnocchi

Tortellini is a variety of pasta that is stuffed with cheese and meat, and then folded into a ring shape while gnocchi is an Italian dumpling that is made mainly from mashed potatoes that are rolled into small cylindrical shapes with ridges on their surface.

What is tortellini?

The word ‘Tortellini means’ means “stuffed cake” in English

Tortellini is a pasta variety from the region of Emilia in Italy, and like other varieties of pasta, it is made with wheat flour and water

However, tortellini is a variety of pasta that has a filling, and it is folded into a ring shape.

This pasta is stuffed with a mix of well flavored meat and grated cheese. In some recipes, tortellini could also be stuffed with vegetables.

Traditionally, the pasta is cooked in a broth as a dish known as ‘pasta in brodo.’ Tortellini pasta could be dressed in a sauce, it can also be used in salads and soups

Different types of meats are used for making tortellini, they include pork loin and prosciutto, the stuffing can also be made with seafood.

The cheese used to make tortellini could be parmigiano romano cheese or parmesan cheese

Tortellini pasta can be bought frozen from the store or homemade.

To make tortellini, the pasta dough is first made from flour, wheat, and eggs

The fresh pasta dough is then is rolled flat into a thin sheet after which it is cut into small circular or square shaped sheets.

The fillings for the tortellini pasta is prepared and put into the circular sheet of pasta following which the edges of the small sheets are folded until it is made into a ring shape

The fresh pasta is paired with a variety of thick sauces, used in a salads or cooked in a broth.

What is gnocchi?

Gnocchi is a dumpling that originates from Italy.

It is made mainly from mashed potatoes. Different varieties of potatoes could be used to make gnocchi including russet potatoes and yukon gold potatoes.

Gnocchi could also be made using flour, eggs, spinach and cauliflower.

This dumpling may be used in dishes when they are fresh or dried

It is sometimes considered to be a type of pasta especially when it dried or made with semolina

Gnocchi can be prepared in a variety of ways; it may be cooked in boiling water, it may also be fried or baked

The cooked gnocchi is served with a sauce, butter, or cheese. Gnocchi could be a main dish, it may also be served as a side dish.

Gnocchi is chewy and has a starchy taste. It may also be gluten free depending on the ingredients used to make it.

To make gnocchi, the potatoes are boiled until they are tender, and then they are mashed into a dough.

The dough is then rolled into a tube and cut into smaller sections. Ridges could also be made on the surface of gnocchi by rolling these small cylinders on the back of a fork

In summary

Tortellini is a type of pasta while gnocchi is an Italian dumpling

Gnocchi is made from potatoes, flour and eggs while tortellini is made from wheat flour and egg.

Tortellini is a stuffed variety of pasta that is filled with meats and cheese while gnocchi is solid.

Tortellini also has a ring shape and gnocchi is shaped into a small cylinder with ridges on its surfaces

They can both be paired with a variety of sauces and substituted for each other in some recipes