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Home Italian Recipes

Malfatti (Italian spinach ricotta dumplings)

By:Nagi
Published:21 Jun '21Updated:22 Aug '23
153 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Malfatti means “badly formed” in Italian. These rustic spinach ricotta gnocchi-like dumplings may look a bit wonky, but they taste incredible – the very definition of the perfectly imperfect!

Pan of freshly cooked Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings ready to be served

Malfatti – rustically delicious!

I love being proven wrong when it comes to food.

As I dubiously fished the totally unimpressive-looking, slippery dumplings from the poaching liquid and plonked them in tomato sauce to pop into the oven, I was mentally preparing for what I could do to save the dish if it came out as bland as I was expecting. Bury in cheese and stick it back in the oven, I thought to myself. Cheese’ll save anything!

How very wrong I was about Malfatti! This is one of the most delicious things I’ve made all year. (Yes, yes, I know I’ve said that a few other recipes I’ve shared this year, but this time*, I really mean it!!) Those plump little gnocchi-like balls are delightedly savoury, ultra-soft and incredibly juicy on the inside. They’re often paired with a tomato-based Napoli Sauce like here, and finished with a shower of parmesan.

Like all addictively tasty things that come in bite-size packages, they’re dangerously difficult to stop popping them in your mouth once you start. One, two, three, five, ten …

* I really meant it the other times I declared this as well. There is room in my life for more than one “most delicious thing I’ve made all year”. I have a big appetite!!

Bowl of Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings, ready to be eaten

What exactly are Malfatti, anyway?

Malfatti are traditional Italian dumplings made out of spinach and ricotta. They’re bound together with a little flour and egg, and flavoured with parmesan and basil.

Meaning “badly formed”, the name malfatti is an affectionate jibe at their rough and rustic looks. They’re also known as gnudi in other parts of Italy, which means “naked” – a reference to their appearance like pasta-less ravioli.

They are often served with a tomato-based Napoli sauce, though you also see it with other sauces such as brown butter and sage.

Here’s an up close and personal look at the inside of Malfatti. Looks good, eh? 🙂

Close up showing inside of Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings

Boiled like gnocchi, baked in the oven

Malfatti are cooked much like gnocchi in boiling water. Like gnocchi, the most common way serve them is also just like that – simply drained, and topped with the sauce.

Sometimes however you see baked versions, where the Malfatti is placed in the sauce and finished in the oven and is my preferred way of making them. Baking them “sets” the surface of the dumplings so they don’t seem soggy (they’re quite wet and slippery straight out of the boiling water). Plus, you get the benefit of a little browning on the edges of the Napoli Sauce which has a change to meld with the dumplings.

I’d be interested in opinions on this (even bold?!) statement from any Italians reading this!

  • Bowl of spinach ricotta mixture to make Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings
  • Pan of cooked spinach for Malfatti
  • Hand holding a Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings, ready to be cooked

Ingredients in Malfatti Dumplings

Here’s what you need to make the dumplings.

Ingredients for Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings
  • Ricotta (dry and crumbly = good!) – The key ingredient here! Whereas ordinarily ricotta-based recipes will call for the freshest, softest and creamiest ricotta you can find, for Malfatti, we are after drier ricotta so the mixture is firm enough to shape into dumplings.

    Rule of thumb – If you can spread the ricotta like butter, it’s too wet and needs to be drained to remove excess water (just set over a colander or wrap in tea towels, see recipe notes). If you can virtually crumble it with your hands, it’s perfect!

    Emergency fix: If you decide to proceed anyway with a ricotta that you suspect is too wet and find the mixture is so loose you can’t form dumplings, just add the minimum amount of flour required to thicken the mixture (I did);

  • Garlic and eschalot (US: Shallots) – For flavour and sweetness. If you don’t have eschalots, use 1/2 a red onion instead. (PS. Eschalots are the little tear-drop shaped alliums sometimes labelled as “French Onions” here in Australia);

  • Parmesan – Much of the seasoning (flavouring and salt) for Malfatti. It also helps to firm up the mixture;

  • Flour – Just 1/2 a cup, far less than most dumplings. Required to bind the mixture;

  • Egg – The universe’s natural food glue, this is what holds the dumplings together! We use one whole egg as well as one egg yolk because one egg alone is not quite enough to make the Malfatti hold together. Bonus: An extra yolk makes them just that little bit richer and delicious!

  • Basil – Just a handful, for its lovely fresh flavour. If you don’t have fresh basil, just leave it out rather than substitute with dried basil (dried basil really has no flavour)


Ingredients in Napoli Sauce for Malfatti

One of the most popular sauces for Malfatti is a classic Italian tomato sauce called a Napoli Sauce (after the city of Naples, capital of the region where tomatoes and basil are staple flavours). Here’s what you need:

Ingredients for Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings
  • Onion and garlic – Classic foundation flavourings;

  • Tomato paste – For a small boost in tomato intensity, and to thicken the sauce slightly (the sauce for Malfatti is typically thick and chunky, rather than loose and runny);

  • Basil – Please pretend the basil sprig pictured here has been picked! 😂 The leaves are used in the dumplings, while we use pop the stem into the sauce to give it a small hint of fresh basil flavour.

  • Crushed or diced tomato – As always, the better the quality, the better the sauce;

  • Sugar – 1/2 a teaspoon, to soften the tartness of the sauce a touch. It’s a shortcut for this sauce, which we only simmer for 20 minutes. If you have the time to simmer on a very, very low heat for 1 hour or so to let the flavours really develop and the sauce to sweeten naturally, feel free to skip it. 😇


How to make Malfatti

The key thing here is to NOT get too hung about about perfectly perfect dumpling shapes. Remember, Malfatti means “badly formed”. Stick to the spirit of the name, a licence for imperfection!

Part 1: Remove water from spinach

Firstly we need to remove the excess water from the spinach otherwise it makes the Malfatti mixture too loose.

How to make Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings
  1. Sweat spinach with salt to remove water – Sprinkle spinach with a little salt and leave for 20 minutes. The salt will draw some moisture out of the spinach, which makes it easier to squeeze out the water;

  2. Wring out water – Put a handful of spinach on a clean tea towel. Gather up the the corners of the tea towel and twist it firmly to squeeze out the water;

  3. Roughly chop – Not too finely. We don’t want minced spinach dumplings!

  4. Sauté lightly – Lastly, we sauté the garlic and eschalots, then add the spinach in and toss it through.

    Finally, cool the spinach before stirring into the ricotta mixture.

Part 2: Make the Malfatti dumplings

How to make Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings
  1. Malfatti mixture – Once the spinach is cool, add it into the bowl with the remaining Malfatti ingredients. Then gently mix until combined;

  2. Form dumplings (wonky or neat!) – Use two dessert spoons to form “football” shaped dumplings. Remember the name and don’t get too hung up about perfect shapes!!

  3. Boil – The Malfatti are cooked in boiling water, just like other dumplings. Bring a pot of water to the boil and carefully lower 4 to 6 dumplings in. Don’t crowd the pot, you don’t want the Malfatti bashing into each other;

  4. Cook until they float (~2 minutes) – You’ll know exactly when the Malfatti are cooked because they float to the surface! Don’t worry about whether they’re fully cooked through because remember we finish them in the oven. 🙂

    Use a slotted spoon to fish them out and place onto paper towels to drain.

Part 3: Making Napoli Sauce and baking the Malfatti

The sauce is as simple as a sauté, a stir and a simmer. As the sauce takes 20 mins, I typically start the sauce while I’m sweating the spinach.

How to make Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings
  1. Make the sauce – Nothing ground breaking here! The usual sauté garlic and onion → add tomato → simmer 🙂 This sauce is only simmered for 20 minutes, but long enough for it to thicken and develop some flavour. If you’ve got the time, add a bit of extra water and simmer it on super low heat for 1 hour. This will make the sauce even more delicious!

  2. Baking time! – Pour the sauce in a pan and top with Malfatti. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for just 15 minutes, long enough to just give the surface of the Malfatti the faintest hint of gold blush. More importantly, it gives the Malfatti a light crust, rather than being slippery and wet straight out of the boiling water;

  3. Baked Malfatti result – In the photo above, you can see how the Malfatti is very lightly browned compared to the photo in Step 2. The other benefit of baking is that you get some tasty sauce caramelisation around the edges of the pan; and

  4. Finish with parmesan – Give the Malfatti a generous dusting of parmesan and sprinkle of fresh basil. Then dish it out!!

Close up photo of Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings, ready to be served
Fork picking up a piece of Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings

How to serve Malfatti

Initially, I was confused about how to serve Malfatti. Over pasta? Over polenta?? Slop it up with bread??

Nope. Think of it like gnocchi. So just like you do with gnocchi, serve yourself a big bowl of Malfatti just like that.

There’s a fair amount of vegetables in this dish in the form of the spinach and tomato. But if you want to add more, add a big leafy salad tossed with Italian Dressing, or a simple Balsamic Dressing.

I also would not turn down a side of garlic bread, normal or cheesy. But hey, that’s just me! 😂 – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Pan of freshly cooked Malfatti - Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings ready to be served

Malfatti (Italian Spinach Ricotta Dumplings in Napoli Sauce)

Author: Nagi
Prep: 25 minutes mins
Cook: 45 minutes mins
Total: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Mains
Italian
4.89 from 52 votes
Servings4 – 5 people
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Malfatti means “badly formed” in Italian. These irregular spinach ricotta gnocchi-like dumplings may look a bit wonky, but they taste incredible!
Like gnudi except with the addition of spinach, this traditional Italian dish can be served straight after boiling them. But it's really worth a quick 15 minute bake to get a light golden crust on the Malfatti as well as caramelisation on the edges of the Napoli sauce. It really takes it in a deliciously different direction!
Servings: This will serve 4 very hungry people, or 5 standard servings.

Ingredients

Napoli Sauce:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
  • 1/2 onion , very finely diced
  • 800g / 24 oz crushed tomato (or diced)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 basil stem (leaves kept for the Malfatti)
  • 1/2 tsp white sugar
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Spinach for Malfatti:

  • 300g / 10oz baby spinach (~6 tightly packed cups, Note 4)
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Malfatti:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
  • 1 eschallot (large), finely chopped (or 1/2 red onion)
  • 500g / 1 lb ricotta (must be dry type, not wet and spreadable, Note 1)
  • 1/4 cup (lightly packed) basil leaves, finely sliced (use stem for sauce)
  • 1 egg (Note 2)
  • 1 egg yolk (Note 2)
  • 1 cup parmesan , finely grated
  • 1/2 cup flour , plain / all-purpose
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Serving:

  • 1/4 cup parmesan , finely grated
  • Basil leaves , small (optional)

Instructions

Napoli Sauce:

  • Saute garlic and onion: Heat oil in a small pot or large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 3 minutes until onion is softened.
  • Simmer sauce: Add remaining ingredients plus the stem of basil. Bring to a simmer, then reduce stove to low and cook, stirring every now and then, for 20 minutes. It should be fairly thick rather than a loose runny sauce.

Malfatti:

  • Drain ricotta, if needed: The ricotta should be the dry and fairly crumbly type rather than wet, soft and almost spreadable. If it's wet, see Note 1 for removing excess water (wet ricotta makes Malfatti hard to shape and cook!)
  • Sweat spinach: Toss spinach with 1/2 tsp salt in large colander. Leave for 20 minutes. Roll up in tea towel and squeeze tightly to remove excess liquid. Roughly chop.
  • Sauté garlic, eschalot and spinach: Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and eschalot, cook for 1 minute until translucent. Add spinach and cook until just wilted. Transfer to large bowl, allow to cool.
  • Malfatti mixture: Add ricotta and all remaining Malfatti ingredients into the bowl. Mix well to combine. It should be too wet to roll with hands without sticking, but still firm enough to shape into dumplings.
  • Form dumplings: Using 2 dessert spoons, scoop up about 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture then shape into a football (quenelle) using the two spoons. Place on a paper-lined tray. You should get about 24-30.
  • Boil dumplings: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then carefully put 6 dumplings in. Cook for 2 minutes, they should float to the surface. Remove with slotted spoon on to paper towel lined tray. Repeat for remaining Malfatti.

Baking:

  • Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F.
  • Assemble: Pour Napoli Sauce into a baking dish, then top with Malfatti. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
  • Bake 15 minutes or until the Malfatti has a faint blush of gold on the surface (Note 3).
  • Serve! Sprinkle baked Malfatti with parmesan and basil leaves (tear large leaves). Spoon into bowls and served as-is. No starchy side is required, think of these as like gnocchi. Just add a leafy green salad with Italian Dressing or Balsamic Dressing!

Recipe Notes:

1. Ricotta – The type that comes in vacuum-sealed 1kg baskets is best eg. Casa del Formaggio, Paesanella or from the deli counter at Coles and Woolworths (Australia), or good delis. Do not use Perfect Italiano or brands in small sealed tubs, these are not good enough quality for our purpose. Do not use or any “spreadable” or “smooth” ricotta, they are too loose and wet.
We need the drier type of ricotta here, the type you can virtually crumble with your hands. If the ricotta is wet and spreadable, it will be too wet and the dumplings will be too hard to shape. In this case, reach excess water. Either bundle in tea towels and set in colander overnight to drain (best for very wet ricotta), or roll up and squeeze lightly (do this a few times).
2. Egg yolk – We need a bit of extra egg to hold the dumplings together, I found that 1 whole egg was not quite enough, but 2 whole eggs made the mixture too loose. Add the leftover egg white in your scrambled eggs tomorrow morning!
3. Baking is to get a light crust on the otherwise slippery surface of dumpling. Be careful not to overcook as they will dry out.
4. Spinach – Sub with about 200g/7oz frozen spinach, thawed then squeeze out extra water very well.
5. Make ahead / storage – Malfatti bake can be assembled to the point prior to baking, ie. dumplings sitting in the tomato sauce. It can then refrigerated and baked when ready to serve. Cooked Malfatti (ie. after baking) will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Best reheated in the microwave.
6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 503cal (25%)Carbohydrates: 32g (11%)Protein: 29g (58%)Fat: 31g (48%)Saturated Fat: 16g (100%)Trans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 151mg (50%)Sodium: 1601mg (70%)Potassium: 1050mg (30%)Fiber: 5g (21%)Sugar: 10g (11%)Vitamin A: 6852IU (137%)Vitamin C: 34mg (41%)Calcium: 623mg (62%)Iron: 5mg (28%)
Keywords: Italian dumplings, malfatti, spinach ricotta dumplings
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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153 Comments

  1. Megan says

    November 21, 2023 at 5:08 pm

    5 stars
    An unassuming yet superb tasting recipe. Great veg option albeit a little time consuming with the steps. Have loved it each time I’ve cooked it. Thanks as always Nagi.

    Reply
  2. Lou says

    May 14, 2023 at 12:56 pm

    My mixture was a bit wet so I changed it a bit. I made my sauce a bit thinner with some chilli then skipped the boiling part. Put the dumplings in the sauce, covered & cooked for 1/2 hr at 200 degrees. Uncovered, shaved some extra Parmy over & baked another 10 minutes. Really really delicious. Thank you😋

    Reply
  3. Lisa Sorrentino says

    March 4, 2023 at 9:48 am

    5 stars
    I made this today and it is devine!! Not sure if that’s a word used to describe food but this recipe deserves it! Light, pillowy and packed with flavor. I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen, lots of steps but so very worth it! I had to use ricotta in a tub, I got a high quality brand, I put cheesecloth bottom of colander atop a bowl and let it drain for 24 hours in fridge as noted. It released a lot of water and I had no issues. Thanks Nagi for the great recipe!

    Reply
  4. Dave Foster says

    January 13, 2023 at 8:34 pm

    5 stars
    Yet another winner from Nagi. I’ve never made dumplings of any sort before but the video and instructions were a huge help in producing a crowd pleaser

    Reply
  5. Sara says

    August 10, 2022 at 7:45 pm

    5 stars
    I love this recipe. It went down a treat. Delicious. Unfortunately I couldn’t get basil so I had to make it without. I’m sure it’d be 6 stars with basil. It tasted great anyway. It’s been added to the rotation.

    Reply
  6. Shana Baert says

    July 11, 2022 at 11:38 am

    5 stars
    I’m making my way through your recipes! This was truly outstanding. I added a little more water & simmered the sauce for an hour. I don’t think I’ll buy jarred sauce again. Another winner of a recipe!

    Reply
  7. Oscar says

    June 19, 2022 at 9:29 am

    5 stars
    Another hit! Kids loved it. I had to substitute the spinach with silverbeet as the supermarket shelves are currently void of spinach. Takes a little longer to wilt and had to zap it in the mini blender but end result was still good. Next time I’ll try this with a pre-made Napoli to cut down on prep time though.

    Reply
  8. Karla says

    June 14, 2022 at 11:24 am

    5 stars
    So tasty. Just recently found gnudi, and this was great as a lower carb pasta substitute.

    Reply
  9. Katy says

    May 14, 2022 at 6:49 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing! I’ll use this recipe again.

    My only question was the basil stalk.. I don’t know if it’s silly but was it meant to be chopped or placed in the sauce whole & taken out before serving? I just placed it in whole..

    Reply
  10. Suzie Lee says

    April 26, 2022 at 8:03 pm

    I spiced up the tomato sauce with a pinch of chilli flakes and a chorizo!! It was yum!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 27, 2022 at 3:08 pm

      Woo hoo!! I’m glad you liked it Suzie!! N x

      Reply
  11. Suzie Lee says

    April 26, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    5 stars
    Super happy with my second attempt at this recipe. The first time, my mixture was a bit too sloppy and I ended up some extremely badly formed spinach ricotta sludge (still super tasty). This time, I made an extra special effort to squeeze out my spinach and I used a super well drained ricotta, and my mixture was almost a little too dry. I only used about 1/3 of the flour in the recipe. I skipped the boiling dumplings stage, instead I poached the dumplings lightly in the tomato sauce on the stove top and gave them an extra 15 minutes in the oven! Thank you Nagi!!

    Reply
  12. Jacqui says

    April 4, 2022 at 3:04 pm

    This dish is a brilliant work lunch. It was packed with flavour and travels beautifully. this will definitely be on repeat.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 4, 2022 at 8:24 pm

      Woo hoo I am glad you liked it Jacqui!! N x

      Reply
  13. Lynda says

    April 1, 2022 at 12:02 pm

    5 stars
    Hi, I have this dish server also times and love it. I want to thank Cate for her freezer tip and I have frozen mine also. I found it easier to make a big batch freeze some and it makes dinner easier and a quick meal. I have shared this with friends and give it the thumbs up also . Thank you

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 1, 2022 at 1:13 pm

      That’s great – thank you Lynda (and Cate!) for the feedback on freezing!! N x

      Reply
  14. Claire says

    April 1, 2022 at 2:02 am

    Love this recipe but Spinach and Kale type products disagree with me, any ideas for a substitute ?

    Reply
    • Suzie Lee says

      May 25, 2022 at 7:53 pm

      Do you think you could use a mix of button mushrooms and dried porcini?

      Reply
  15. Mary Hen says

    March 19, 2022 at 11:54 am

    5 stars
    I made the Malfatti recipe for the first time today. I can’t tolerate cow’s milk products, so I made a vegan tofu ricotta and also used Pecorino Romano (in lieu of Parmesan). It turned out great, and I will make this again! Thanks, Nagi!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 20, 2022 at 11:44 pm

      Thanks for those tips – so good to know for people who can’t take milk! N x

      Reply
  16. Tasha says

    March 15, 2022 at 6:32 am

    I am not familiar with sweating spinach. Can you elaborate? When I google it, the result is always wilting the spinach with heat. Is that what you mean? Thanks!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 15, 2022 at 1:16 pm

      Yes Tasha – that’s what it means sometimes but in this recipe it means to scrunch up the spinach with the salt and to leave it to give up some moisture (sweat) then to squeeze that out with a tea towel! N x

      Reply
  17. Kathy says

    March 1, 2022 at 1:53 pm

    Nagi! HELP! My mixture is so dry and I don’t have any more eggs! What should I do?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 1, 2022 at 7:33 pm

      Hi Kathy – was your ricotta very dry? I suggest maybe add ing a tiny bit of milk or cream to correct the consistency and see if that helps – they should hold together like in the video. N x

      Reply
      • Kathy says

        March 2, 2022 at 9:11 am

        Hi Nagi, thanks for reply. I ended up adding some water. Wasn’t sure if that was going to make them fall apart when boiling, but they turned out amazing! We are having the left overs again tonight. Can’t wait!! xx

        Reply
  18. Cate says

    February 16, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe. I used prewashed baby spinach in a bag and didn’t salt it, as last time it didn’t seem to make any difference – there really wasn’t any water after the process, so hopefully it will work out. Looking good so far – the quenelles are made. Also, I froze them after boiling them in take away containers (no sauce) and just thawed them and made your sauce the day I defrosted them and cooked them in that. Makes for an easy dinner another time, as it makes more than our little family can eat in one meal. We love this recipe!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 17, 2022 at 1:03 pm

      That’s a great tip, Cate, as this is a recipe that takes a bit of time! N x

      Reply
  19. Karen says

    January 30, 2022 at 9:25 pm

    I made this for the first time tonight. I’m coeliac, so replaced the flour with gluten free flour. It was delicious! Thank you! This is another one of your recipes that I’ve tried that has been very successful 😊

    Reply
    • Alana says

      June 6, 2022 at 10:20 pm

      I was trawling the comments specifically to see if anyone had tried to make these GF – I’m so happy to see it worked!! Can I ask, did you use any specific GF flour? 😊

      Reply
      • Karen says

        June 7, 2022 at 7:17 pm

        I used a standard GF flour from my supermarket.

        Reply
      • Karen says

        June 7, 2022 at 7:13 pm

        Hi Alana
        I just used a standard gluten-free flour from my local supermarket. Hope this helps 😊

        Reply
  20. Kathy says

    January 28, 2022 at 11:15 am

    5 stars
    I just made this tonight and it was delicious! I couldn’t find the dry ricotta so I had to squeeze mine which added an arduous extra step that made my kitchen an even BIGGER mess! They were not as solid as I would’ve liked, but lovely flavor… thanks for the detailed instructions and helpful tips.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 28, 2022 at 3:27 pm

      I am glad you enjoyed it Kathy! The ricotta does affect this dish as it’s so variable. Another good option is draining it through a tea towel set inside a sieve – much less mess!!! N x

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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