Cauliflower Gnocchi Recipe (2024)

To save time, Trader Joe’s sells a fantastic frozen cauliflower gnocchi. It’s plain, no sauce on it, and browns and crisps well in a pan as it defrosts, saving having make it from scratch and having to boil before browning.

First time I made gnocchi and it was great fun! I didn't have tin foil, so I chopped up the potatoes and cauliflower into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces and roasted them at 450 for 20 minutes. I also didn't have a ricer, so I threw them in the food processor and pulsed until they looked...riced. Followed the directions much more closely after that, only exception being I used only half the butter (was plenty to coat and cook gnocchi), and cooked all gnocchi at the same time. Really tasty!

I had the same issue of too much moisture. Added easily twice as much flour and just knew the outcome would be bad. When I normally make gnocchi I don't wrap the potato in foil and after baking/ricing I let it sit in the oven where the residual heat dries it out some. I did the drying step here but the cauliflower remained far too wet...I think I will roast it uncovered on a baking sheet next time.

This is a strange suggestion on a cooking website. People who consult these recipes are generally looking to make the food themselves, as opposed to 'saving time'.

Disappointing. 1 hour was too long in the oven. Not sure if that's why I ended up with cauliflower and potato mush, but it was far too wet for the amount of flour. I think adding additional flour and overworking to incorporate led to dense dumplings. I'll be interested to see tips from others. I generally don't mind lengthy or messy cooking, but this wasn't worth the outcome.

Food processor. Cut the cauliflower into small chunks. Not large chunks. Large chunks of cauliflower in a food processor will not rice properly. Pulse the small chunks of cauliflower in food processor until you see them turn into rice size pieces. should not take anymore than a few seconds .

Thank you for creating this recipe. It looks delicious and I for one would LOVE a made-from-scratch alternative to Trader Joe's anytime. I look forward to making this soon.

Check sodium content on this TJ product if you are restricting sodium.

Worried about our chances with gluten-free flour, we made the sauce with store-bought coeliac gnocchi. It was divine! I would encourage you to play around with the sauce ratio as suits your wont: for me that’s a bit less butter, and a bit more capers/lemon.

I love cauliflower gnocchi I add at least a quarter cup of grated Parmesan it adds a nice kick

How does one “rice” roasted cauliflower? I tried using a ricer and got a bunch of cauliflower juice and pressed florets.

Cook Cauliflower in microwave for 5-8min. Let cool then wrap cauliflower in a towel and wring out moisture. I made this tonight using 5 cups cauliflower a pinch of salt some Cassava flour, a little Teff, a small amount of Hemp seeds, and some unsweetened coconut. It worked really well and was very yummy.

I made this using thawed (previously frozen) riced cauliflower. I used a 12oz pkg and squeezed the water out in a nut-milk bag (which is very useful for also squeezing the water out of zucchini, cucumber, etc), resulting in approx 5 oz cauliflower. I also added 1/4c grated pecorino romano. Followed the rest of the instructions as written.

Amazing recipe! Thanks for sharing that the cauliflower was too wet - I ‘wrung out’ the cali before mixing with potatoes. Making again tomorrow night to freeze. So good!

This is a great base recipe to improvise with. I roasted 2 lbs cauliflower floret and 1 large potato on separate sheets until soft. I removed half the cauliflower and returned the rest to the oven to brown. I processed the cauliflower, potato, salt and flour (it took more like 1.5 cups), to make the dough. I boiled them, then sautéed them in olive oil. I made basil pesto and tossed it all with the browned cauliflower. Topped with cherry tomatoes from my garden. Amazing.

Ricing the potatoes went easily. The cauliflower, on the other hand, was a problem. I added lots of extra chopping to the cauliflower before ricing it, but it was still a battle. Too many stems? The gnocchi wore good, although chunky, but I'm not sure I'd attempt this recipe again.

I agree with the other comments about the dough being too wet. It took a looot of extra flour to get the right consistency. This recipe took quite a lot of time and made a mess... overall, wouldn't make it again.

This is a great base recipe to improvise with. I roasted 2 lbs cauliflower floret and 1 large potato on separate sheets until soft. I removed half the cauliflower and returned the rest to the oven to brown. I processed the cauliflower, potato, salt and flour (it took more like 1.5 cups), to make the dough. I boiled them, then sautéed them in olive oil. I made basil pesto and tossed it all with the browned cauliflower. Topped with cherry tomatoes from my garden. Amazing.

Family loved the gnocchi with a simple vodka sauce

Amazing recipe! Thanks for sharing that the cauliflower was too wet - I ‘wrung out’ the cali before mixing with potatoes. Making again tomorrow night to freeze. So good!

I skipped the egg and used a food processor instead of a ricer, so arguably I just made the NYT carrot gnocchi recipe, substituting roasted cauliflower. I had no trouble with the dough, so I wonder if the egg is what's causing other people's problems.I loved how the browned bits of the cauliflower added complexity. I didn't make caper-radish salad--used my own toppings. This was fantastic. I also froze some of the dough, which worked out great for the next day's dinner.

Nice recipe, no ricer so I tried hand grating but too large pieces, will try food processor. Also had trouble when I tried rolling it to cut it, it keep falling apart, I wet my hands a little, and it helped. Otherwise deliciously different. I fried it with garlic, onion and mushrooms.

These turned out amazing! Few notes for next time- cauliflower should only stay in the oven 35-45 mins- use more flower in the dough - no need for the olive oil step- could do with a little less butter

I make at least three NYT Cooking recipes a month usually with great success but this one was a disaster. Cauliflower way undercooked even after more than an hour in the oven, could not go through ricer, excessive moisture, husband tried to fix by adding more flour and we ended up with pasty dumpling. Wish TJ's was close by......

I should have read all the comments, my dough was also far too wet and I ended up needing to add at least twice the amount of flour. Still tasty, though!

What are some alternatives if you don't own a ricer?

Is there an alternative to wrapping in aluminium foil? That stuff can leech into your veggies

I made this using thawed (previously frozen) riced cauliflower. I used a 12oz pkg and squeezed the water out in a nut-milk bag (which is very useful for also squeezing the water out of zucchini, cucumber, etc), resulting in approx 5 oz cauliflower. I also added 1/4c grated pecorino romano. Followed the rest of the instructions as written.

Cauliflower has a lot of water and you really need to remove the water. I put it through the ricer a couple of times to get the water out. It was better. The gnocchi was good but there nothing like real gnocchi like my Italian mother made.

I made this recipe last night and it was scrumptious. A shortcut to keep in mind: many stores sell cauliflower already riced, fresh or frozen. I used a bag of frozen riced cauliflower. Other variations:I browned a lot of pressed garlic in olive oil, then added the thawed, riced cauliflower & cooked the moisture out. I also diced, steamed, and mashed the potatoes which saved time. I made a double recipe and froze half of it. I froze it in a single layer then transferred to a ziplock bag.