Whenever a recipe is complicated, I promise the juice is worth the squeeze – these Feta Dumplings with Pine Nut Fresno Sauce prove it. And to be honest – they are THAT complicated, they just take a bit of time, a little planning, and some gentle boiling. It’s a very fun, but very gentle, recipe process, but it leaves you with the most wonderful restaurant-style result. And I can directly vouch for that since I watched my fiancé absolutely devour these last night and say “These are the best dumplings you’ve made yet.” (I think these butternut squash ones might disagree, but I digress).
ANYWAY, these feta dumplings are really something special. They are tender and delicate but still hold up to the nutty, savory Fresno pepper sauce. They melt in your mouth (in a good way) and remind me of a feta version of the most pillowy gnocchi you’ve ever had. I always used to fight with gnocchi, never *quite* getting it how I wanted it, but these feta dumplings have helped me scratch that itch.
Table of contents
Ingredients you’ll need for the feta dumplings
We’re going to start with the dumplings first because they need a bit of time and love. The ingredients are similar to gnocchi but with mostly cheese and no potatoes. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 (8-ounce) block of feta stored in brine, drained
- 1 shallow cup whole milk ricotta, 200 grams
- 1/3 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese, 40 grams, plus more for garnish
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 30 grams
- 2/3 cup semolina flour, 100 grams, plus much more for dusting
How to prepare the feta dumplings
These dumplings are easy to prepare, you just need a bit of a gentle hand. I’ve found the shaping and cutting of the dumplings to be my favorite part of the process.
To start the dumplings, get out a food processor, add the garlic, crumble in the feta, add the ricotta, pecorino, egg and egg yolk, nutmeg and a teaspoon of salt. Pulse until the mixture is combined but not completely smooth. Think cottage cheese texture, with flecks of feta throughout.
Add this to a bowl and mix in the flours by hand. It should become a very tender, sticky dough.
Pull out a sheet pan and dust the bottom liberally with semolina flour. Scoop the dough onto the sheet pan and press it down until it forms a rectangle, approximately 7 x 9 inches.
The dough will be just over half an inch thick. Dust your hands with semolina flour as you go to prevent sticking. Liberally dust the top of the dough with semolina flour and place it in the fridge to chill.
Chill this in the fridge for two hours, but the longer the better. I like to let mine chill overnight.
If it helps, this is how the dough should look before chilling. You can see there is a liberal dusting of semolina all over, and that the dough is in a rectangle shape. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but the sharper the edges you can get, the better!
The below photo is the feta dumplings after they have been sliced. After the chilling period, they are a lot less delicate, so the slicing can be done with a bench scraper or a large knife. Just make sure to dust them with semolina flour afterward as well, since that will help them keep their shape!
How to cook the feta dumplings
This process is longer than most, but it’s so worth it!
Salt a large pot of water and bring it to a simmer, then reduce the heat until the water is barely bubbling at all. This is very important, you don’t want the water too hot, once you’ve hit a simmer you’ve gone too far. We want the water just hot enough to set the dumplings.
Drop the dumplings into the water one at a time. Let them cook for 15-16 minutes, they will float before then, but they need all that time to completely set. When the time is up, scoop them from the pot onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet. They will feel delicate, but they’ll firm up after they are out of the water, don’t worry!
They’ll look a little fluffy (see photo below) but those craggily edges will help them hold onto more sauce. A win-win!
How to prepare the Fresno sauce
The sauce is the easy part, it takes minutes, and I like to do it while the dumplings are simmering.
Just set a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. Let this heat up, then add the pine nuts and finely chopped Fresno pepper. They should begin sizzling immediately. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the pine nuts are golden and fragrant.
Add the garlic, stir and cook another 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is no longer raw. Season with a large pinch of salt.
Reduce the heat to low and let this sit while the dumplings finish cooking. When they are done, add in the dill and vinegar to the pan, swirl to combine. Taste and season as needed.
Looking for similar recipes?
Here are a few other great hands-on dinners to try from the blog!
And that’s everything for these Feta Dumplings!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Feta Dumplings in Pine Nut Fresno Sauce
Equipment
- 1 small food processor
- 1 large pot or dutch oven
- 1 large sauté pan
Ingredients
For the feta dumplings
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 (8-ounce) block of feta stored in brine, drained
- 1 shallow cup whole milk ricotta 200 grams
- 1/3 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese 40 grams, plus more for garnish
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 30 grams
- 2/3 cup semolina flour 100 grams, plus much more for dusting
For the pine nut Fresno sauce
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts finely chopped
- 2 medium Fresno peppers seeds removed and finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves grated
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup fresh dill finely chopped
- 1/2 cup champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
Instructions
- First, prepare the dumplings. In a food processor, add the garlic, crumble in the feta, add the ricotta, pecorino, egg and egg yolk, nutmeg and a teaspoon of salt. Pulse until the mixture is combined but not completely smooth. Think cottage cheese texture, with flecks of feta throughout.
- Add this to a bowl and mix in the flours by hand. It should become a very tender, sticky dough.
- Pull out a sheet pan and dust the bottom liberally with semolina flour. Scoop the dough onto the sheet pan and press it down until it forms a rectangle, approximately 7 x 9 inches. The dough will be just over half an inch thick. Dust your hands with semolina flour as you go to prevent sticking.
- Liberally dust the top of the dough with semolina flour and place it in the fridge to chill.
- Chill this in the fridge for two hours, but the longer the better. I like to let mine chill overnight.
- When the dough has chilled, remove it from the fridge. Cutting lengthwise, slice the dough into 8 strips. Cut each strip crosswise into four square pieces, then halve those pieces into triangles. See the blog post photos for reference. Dust them with more semolina flour so that all edges are coated.
- Salt a large pot of water and bring it to a simmer, then reduce the heat until the water is barely bubbling at all. This is very important, you don't want the water too hot, once you've hit a simmer you've gone too far. We want the water just hot enough to set the dumplings.
- Drop the dumplings into the water one at a time. Let them cook for 15-16 minutes, they will float before then, but they need all that time to completely set. When the time is up, scoop them from the pot onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet. They will feel delicate, but they'll firm up after they are out of the water, don't worry!
- While the dumplings are cooking, prepare the sauce.
- Set a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. Let this heat up, then add the pine nuts and finely chopped Fresno pepper. They should begin sizzling immediately. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the pine nuts are golden and fragrant.
- Add the garlic, stir and cook another 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is no longer raw. Season with a large pinch of salt.
- Reduce the heat to low and let this sit while the dumplings finish cooking. When they are done, add in the dill and vinegar to the pan, swirl to combine. Taste and season as needed.
- Add the dumplings directly into the sauce and mix to coat. Add a splash of dumpling water if the sauce needs to loosen up a bit.
- Portion onto plates and top with more pecorino as you prefer!
Made this ahead of Valentines Day to test it out. Yummy! I couldn’t quite get them to set but I think it’s because I had too many in the pot. Sauce is delish! When I make again I’m going to cut down on the vinegar to let the chile and pine nut stand out more.
So glad you liked it! And yes, I tend to get them to set by doing them in three rounds in the pot. I’ll note that in the recipe!
Hi there,
I’m from Germany and not really familiar with Fresno peppers. While doing some research, I found two different kinds – one more like a normal vegetable and the other one more like a spicy chili. Which one is the one that you’re using in your recipe, respectively, what could I use as a substitute for Fresno peppers?
Love your content here and on YouTube/IG! Your recipes really got me back into cooking and baking!
Hi Anne! I’d go with the hotter chili, it’s supposed to be a flavor addition similar to red pepper flakes 🙂
Loved the dumplings and I found that they set really well after chilling overnight! Do you chill them covered or uncovered in the fridge?
The sauce would have been excellent but we found it to be quite heavy on the vinegar so will cut back on it if we make it again!
I chill them covered, but they’ll be fine either way! And yes, it’s a pretty acidic sauce, but I’ve found adding enough salt helps cut down on that as the vinegar reduces!
Wow! Just a fantastic recipe. Gotta admit I was a bit skeptical about the sauce, especially after all the comments. But guys, if you use champagne vinegar the sauce is not sour, it gets sweet. Amazing! Justine, you are a genius! Thanks!
So SO thrilled you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a kind review 💚
these are so addictive!! the chili sauce is so amazing, but i also tried them in a chicken and dumplings style recipe with lentils and zaatar roasted carrots and chicken thighs and it was unreal. your recipes bring me so much inspiration!!!
Ahhh comments like this make my DAY! I’m so glad they bring inspiration to your kitchen, and I’m honored you enjoy them!