Cauliflower Gnocchi Recipe (Trader Joe’s Copycat)
This cauliflower gnocchi is a delicious comforting dish made with minimal ingredients! It’s gluten-free, paleo, vegan, and autoimmune protocol compliant.
Do you remember when frozen cauliflower rice first came out at Trader Joe’s? People were going nuts, and stores were selling out. I was literally buying 7 bags at a time! Frozen cauliflower rice is a bit less of a commodity these days, but now their cauliflower gnocchi is all the rage! I was so excited about trying it but was disappointed to see it had potato starch which I have an intolerance to. So if you’re like me and have a nightshade intolerance, or you just don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, you’ve probably felt left out like me.
Luckily, this cauliflower gnocchi is fairly simple to make with minimal ingredients! This recipe is gluten and grain-free, paleo, AIP, and vegan.
What to serve with cauliflower gnocchi
Think of gnocchi like pasta! It’s great to eat with a sauce, some vegetables, and a protein.
Sauce options to eat with the gnocchi…
- Nightshade free nomato sauce (or tomato sauce)
- Nut free pesto
- Garlic cream sauce
Protein options
- Cooked chicken
- Bacon or prosciutto
- Lemon baked shrimp
The Ingredients You’ll Need for Cauliflower Gnocchi
Cauliflower
You’ll need four cups of cauliflower, which is about one big head of cauliflower. From there, you’ll rice it in a food processor and boil it.
Cassava flour
Cassava flour is a grain-free flour that’s similar to all-purpose flour. It helps give structure to the gnocchi and make it nice and pillowy!
Arrowroot starch
The Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi uses potato starch, but arrowroot starch is a great alternative.
Olive oil
This helps prevent the gnocchi from sticking and give it a nice flavor.
Lemon & parsley
This is technically optional if you choose to use a different sauce, but if you want a super simple side dish, just adding some lemon and herbs ties the gnocchi together!
How to Make Cauliflower Gnocchi
- First, chop the cauliflower using a food processor…
- Next, cook the cauliflower and strain it using a nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or clean kitchen cloth to remove all excess liquid.
- Mix with the flour to form a dough. Take a small handful of dough at a time and roll into a rope. Slice into small gnocchi pieces and set aside.
- Boil the gnocchi in batches and remove when they begin to float. Coat with olive oil to prevent from sticking, and bake in the preheated oven to crisp the gnocchi.
- Serve the gnocchi as desired as a main dish with a hearty sauce and a protein, or simply with some olive oil, lemon and chopped herbs like parsley or basil.
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PrintCauliflower Gnocchi (Paleo, AIP, Vegan, Trader Joe’s Copycat)
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 servings 1x
Description
Ingredients
- 4 cups cauliflower, minced using a food processor
- 1/2 cup cassava flour
- 1/4 cup arrowroot starch
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
Optional
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the minced cauliflower to a large pot and fill about two-thirds of the way with water. Bring to a low simmer on medium-low heat and simmer for 7 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool before pouring the cauliflower through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth. Squeeze to remove all of the excess water and pour the cauliflower into a bowl.
- Mix the cassava flour and arrowroot starch with the cauliflower and fold until a dough forms.
- Take a handful of dough at a time and roll into a long rope onto a clean surface. Slice into gnocchi pieces that are about 3/4″ long. Set aside.
- Fill a large pot halfway with water and add salt. Bring to a low boil and boil the gnocchi in two batches. Use a slotted spoon to remove once the gnocchi begins to float. Place in a bowl and coat with about 2 tbsp of olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Add the gnocchi to the baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, flipping the gnocchi halfway through. Remove from the oven.
- Top with optional olive oil, lemon, and chopped parsley, or other sauce if desired.
Notes
All nutrition facts are estimations and will vary. Nutrition facts do not include optional ingredients.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: Sides
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 161
Keywords: cauliflower gnocchi
AIP
Low Carb
Paleo
Whole30
Could this be made ahead and frozen? At what point would you freeze it?
I haven’t tried to freeze it, but you can try and freeze it after it’s fully cooked 🙂
I love the idea of using a nut milk bag! No waste! Can’t wait to try this.
Could I use frozen cauliflower rice and steam it instead of doing the first steps or is it important for the texture to do it the way you described above? I”m so excited to try this! Thank you for sharing!
I haven’t tried that, but I think it would work. Let me know if you do 🙂
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This is just delicious!! Thank you so much for creating this wonderful dish. I’m eating it with smoked trout and a green salad – divine xx
How long do you boil them for before putting them on the baking sheet to bake?
Not very long… just a few minutes until they float 🙂
I was wondering if there was another flour besides Cassava that could be used. Like an all-purpose gluten free flour blend or oat, rice, or another flour.
Thanks!
I’ve only done it with cassava, but an all purpose GF flour may work too 🙂
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I made this recipe using Trader Joe’s organic frozen riced cauliflower.
It’s wonderful, because I could see this as a comfort food due to its versatility.
I did a couple other things different though: I steamed the cauliflower, and used 1 unopened bag + 1 cup of another opened bag. The c’flower steamed about 6 minutes, which left the top a little uncooked, but then, because I don’t have a nut bag, I used, drum roll… my SALAD SPINNER !!!! to wick the water off, which was awesome!!! And then I added the c’flower to the dry ingredients and proceeded to a deliciously cooked gnocchi!! YUMMY- Thank you so much for your recipes!! BTW if your salad spinner is plastic like mine, I would suggest a brief cooling period before dumping the c’flower and spinning. Then take that leftover water and water your plants 🙂
★★★★★
After squeezing all the liquid from the cauliflower and adding to the flours it was so dry I added water and a bit of olive oil. Did anyone have this problem? What am I doing wrong?
I had the same issue re: it being too dry. I added olive oil as well.
I ended up using my hands and it worked perfectly. Just mixing with a spoon it was all separate and not a dough, but I mushed it together with my hands without any extra liquid and it worked perfectly!
I made this with green giant frozen cauliflower from Walmart, cause there isn’t a trader joe’s for 90 miles. I got the huge bag & didn’t realize you couldn’t microwave it in the bag, so I did the stove top pan directions. There wasn’t any extra water that I had to get rid of. I was worried that it was too dry so I added a couple TBLsps of olive oil, but then when I tried to roll it out it was falling apart. So I added more flour & starch, little by little. I didn’t know that this wouldn’t look like dough when you mix it together, it looked all separated in the bowl, so I’d say to try to roll it out first before adding any extra liquid. Turned out Great after that.
★★★★★
This looks so great I can’t wait to try it! Does it freeze well and if so how do you cook from frozen? TIA!!
Thank you!! I haven’t tried but I would probably let it defrost first 🙂 Let me know if you try!!
Can you freeze the gnocchi before boiling? Can you freeze it after boiling?
I haven’t tried freezing it, but I would probably do it before boiling.
On my first try I couldn’t get the consistency right, not sure if I didn’t rice it good enough but my gnocchi didn’t stay formed when it went into the oven the taste was yummy tho! I put it with rosemary and thyme infused olive oil and lemon
★★★★
Yum! I am digging this recipe. Adding it to my make in the future folder.
Great, let me know how it goes when you make it!
Could I use frozen riced cauliflower?
My dough didnt turn out :/ is the 4 cups of cauliflower before or after mincing?
This recipes uses four cups of cauliflower, which is about one big head of cauliflower. Then you’ll rice it in a food processor and boil it.