A knaidel (plural knaidelach) is an Ashkenazi Jewish dumpling added to soups or stews. The most common form of knaidel, known as the matzo ball, is made from unleavened matzo meal and served in chicken soup for Passover. Matzo meal contains wheat, making it unsuitable for those on a gluten free diet. I developed this potato knaidel recipe as a delicious and gluten free alternative to matzo balls. It creates a firm yet fluffy dumpling that goes quite nicely in a bowl of piping hot Chicken Soup for Knaidelach (click for recipe).
I came up with this recipe after a LOT of experimentation. I used a German potato dumpling recipe as a starting point, then modified from there to make it flavorful and completely free of gluten. Follow the recipe instructions carefully; making modifications, substitutions, or skipping steps will lead to a pot full of mush, rather than nicely textured knaidelach. It’s worth the effort; these potato dumplings are truly delightful. In fact, some members of my family actually prefer them to matzo balls!
Recommended Products:
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Gluten Free Matzo Balls - Potato Knaidelach
Ingredients
- 2 pounds large red potatoes
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup potato starch
- 1 1/2-2 cups blanched almond meal
- Salt and white pepper
NOTES
Instructions
- Place a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil. Scrub the unpeeled potatoes till clean. Boil the unpeeled potatoes until tender—it will take about 45 minutes.
- Drain. Allow potatoes to cool to room temperature. Peel the skin from the potatoes and discard. Chop the peeled potatoes into large chunks.Place in the refrigerator and chill until they are cold all the way through (at least 2 hours). You can refrigerate them overnight, if you need to.Place a fresh pot of salted water on the stove to boil. From this point on, work quickly, or refrigerate the ingredients between steps. The potato mixture works best when it’s cold.
- Remove potatoes from refrigerator and pat them dry if any moisture has accumulated. Place potatoes in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher or run them through a ricer. Mash again with a fork to get out as many lumps as possible.Mix in the egg, potato starch, 1 1/2 cups of almond meal, 1 ¼ tsp salt and a pinch of white pepper to form a dough. If the dough seems sticky, or if you prefer a denser and heavier dumpling, you can add more almond meal.
- By now your water should be boiling. Turn the stove heat down until the water is nearly boiling—the water should be “shivering” slightly, just on the verge of a boil.Form potato dough into balls using ¼ cup of dough for each.
- Gently place the knaidelach into the hot water.
- The dumplings will sink to the bottom of the pot and slowly rise as they cook.Cook knaidelach in batches of 4-5 at a time; do not cook more than that or they will stick together and fall apart in the pot. The dumplings will lose a little bit of their potato coating as they cook, but should retain their shape.
- Let the knaidelach cook for 10-15 minutes, then remove them with a slotted spoon and transfer to a dish.Keep the dumplings covered with a clean, damp towel until ready to serve.
- Serve 1 or 2 knaidelach per bowl of soup. They go great in chicken soup as an alternative to matzo balls (if you need a recipe, check out my Chicken Soup for Knaidelach). They can also be added to vegetarian soup or cholent.
Annette says
They taste delicious but my test kneidl disintegrated. I had already added extra almond meal so not sure what to do now. Should I add an extra egg, maybe some more potato starch? I cooked it for 15 minutes – as there was only one kneidl, could that have been too long?
Tori Avey says
Hi Annette, try making slightly smaller balls and cooking for a shorter period of time. They will disintegrate a bit– some of the outer edge is naturally lost during cooking– but you should still be left with a nice sized knaidel after the cooking process. Also make sure you keep that simmer low– a rolling boil will encourage them to fall apart faster.
Susan H says
I had the exact same result. I tried extra almond meal, smaller balls, less time, and the water wasn’t at a rolling boil. Double checked to see if I had followed the recipe exactly, and I had. The matzo ball disintegrated so much that I was left with very tiny balls. I have no idea how the author made these work, but they were a total failure for me.
Shula says
Extra almond meal would make them fall apart faster. Almond meal is not a binder. Add extra potato starch if you are having trouble making them stick together.
Larry says
Hi Tori – Luv the site – Orthodox so I adapt a lot of the recipies – but because the base recipe is sooooooo goooood my tinkering let it come through. Quick question. can these be frozen ?
A make ahead category would be a nice addition to your site.
PS – Luv the makeover !!!!
Tori Avey says
Hi Larry, I have never frozen these before, I’m not really sure if they’ll hold up when reheated. Glad you like the new design!
beverly kalson says
so happy to hear that you have a recipe for gluten free matzah balls, made soup tody]ay will try thematzah dumplings tomorrow. Is there really gluten free matzah??
Lisa says
Hi, My daughter has wheat, peanut, tree nut, soy and chickpea allergies. Can I substitute a regular GF flour blend? Any help would be appreciated as this is our first Passover accommodating these allergies!
Tori Avey says
Oh Lisa, I’m not sure what to tell you there. That’s a tough one. You might try subbing a GF breadcrumb for the almond meal (doubt you could find one with Passover certification, but perhaps that’s not a concern?). I haven’t tested that idea, so no promises. Good luck!
Tori Avey says
Lisa, just thought of another idea– perhaps take gluten free matzo and pulse it into crumbs, then use that in place of the almond meal. That would probably be a better solution.
Christi says
This recipe says to boil the balls in water, but if I am making your chicken soup, can I boil the balls in the soup broth before adding back the carrots, celery, and chicken?
Tori Avey says
Hi Christi– I do not recommend making these particular balls in the broth, because unlike regular matzo balls the outer layer of these GF balls will disintegrate a bit as they cook, leaving the broth quite cloudy. I promise they’ll taste great when cooked in the salted water. Or, if you don’t mind spending a little extra, you can purchase boxed broth at the store and cook the balls in that, then discard the cloudy broth when you’re done.
Karen Tal says
Can you freeze these matzo balls for later use?
Tori Avey says
Great question Karen. I have frozen regular matzo balls in the past with no issue, but I’ve never frozen these. If you try will you let us know your results?
Pam says
I can’t wait to make these gluten free matzo balls. I have had a lot of failed attempts with GF matzo balls. Hubby and I are going to make chicken soup next week. We will do GF and regular matzo balls. Thank you!! Thank you!! Gut Shabbes
Tori Avey says
Hope these work out for you Pam!
Rebecca says
Hi Tori, thank you so much for this recipe, I’ve just made this with your soup recipe and it’s delicious and everything turned out perfectly. I’m wondering though if these dumplings freeze? How to store them? i.e. in the soup? or?
Thanks again,
Tori Avey says
Hi Rebecca, in the past I have refrigerated them in a sealed Tupperware container (no broth, just the dumplings). I’ve never frozen them and I’m not sure how they will freeze, it’s such a unique thing. I do not recommend storing them in the soup broth, as they will likely get overly soft and start to dissolve.
Timothy Thomas says
Hello. Thank you very much for this gluten free recipe. My step-mom is not Jewish, but she does have celiac disease, so she cannot eat any gluten. This will make it so she can eat dumplings again, so thank you very much for this recipe. Have a blessed day and happy holidays. I wish you the best.
Tori Avey says
Thank you Timothy, happy holidays to you and yours!
marcia dunsker says
this recipe is great! i add sodium free bouillon (dry) to the batter. do you think i can use this recipe for gnocchi? might be good with a little pesto.
Tori Avey says
Perhaps, though the cooking time would likely be reduced for smaller pieces. Happy you enjoyed the recipe!
r lybolt says
Hi, my mom used to make knaidelach with gribben in them. they came out like baseballs the way my dad liked them. I never did get her recipe. I make my matzoh balls from the mix and never had any problems.
Judi says
This is my 1st wheat-free Passover as well. Am trying to make “matzo balls” using ground nuts instead of matzo meal – don’t care for white potatoes. Have added 2 tbl. cake meal & 1 tbl. potato starch to the traditional recipe – but it needs something else to hold the “knaidlach” together. Any suggestions?
I do have Passover potato pancake mix – could that work in lieu of your boiled potatoes? Am in the midst now – will try it & let you know how it works out.
Thanks for all you do for the “Jewish” shiksas & us born Jews!
Meredith says
I’m excited to try these, my mom makes the best matzah balls but sadly I can’t have them this year 🙁 Can you recommend a substitute for the almond flour as I can’t have almonds?
Thanks!
Tori Avey says
Hi Meredith, if you’re not concerned about kitniyot during Passover you might try chickpea flour. I’ve never tried it myself, but I’m guessing it might be a workable substitute. If it’s just almonds you can’t eat, and not all nuts, you can also try substituting a different nut flour like cashew flour.
Rene says
Sounds good but I also need a nut free version. Any ideas for replacing the almond meal?
Melisa says
These were amazing! Thank you so much. This was my first gluten free Passover and I was already sad about matzoh, imagining a naked bowl of chicken broth made it worse. Still haven’t solved the matzoh problem (I made my own out of gf oats and the results were pretty much inedible) but these potato knaidlach made my day. They passed the ultimate test–can I pan fry them in butter the morning after the seder? They held up beautifully!
Alan Shore says
Wow, you cook so well, I should have married you!!!
Joy Mane says
Thank you so much for this! I have a wedding coming up and some of my friends suffer from Celiac’s disease and need a gluten free diner at my reception.
Amy says
These sound fabulous, and the gf matzo balls I tried last year left me less than happy. But, we are also nut free. Do you have a suggestion on a substitute for the almond meal?
Barbara says
Try coconut meal or flour. I use it because it’s cheaper than nut meals and flours. I haven’t tried it yet but I am going to.
Coco Galvez says
it would be vegan but not gluten free.
Coco Galvez says
Tori thank you for this one, if you do it with vegetable broth and replace the egg with matzo meal it would be vegan. I love this soup!
Tish says
I have good success using the homemade vegan egg substitute (and it’s nutritious) which is :
1 tablespoon whole flax seed blended with 3 tablespoons of water for each egg.
It can be made with ground flax seeds, but works better when freshly ground together.
Can’t wait to try this.