Homemade Cauliflower Gnocchi - 5 Ingredient Recipe! (2024)

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posted by Jessica Hylton on Dec 13, 2023 6 comments »

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This homemade cauliflower gnocchi is tender and pillowy, perfect for pairing with your favourite sauce. Make them for dinner tonight or freeze them for another day!

If you don’t live near a Trader Joe’s, you’re out of luck if you want to try their famous cauliflower gnocchi. But this recipe lets you make cauliflower gnocchi at home with only 5 ingredients!

Just like the Trader Joe’s version, you can stash them in the freezer for quick weeknight dinners or just fry ‘em and eat ‘em right away. Add your favourite sauce and some veggies on the side and you’ve got a delicious vegan dinner ready in minutes.

Why You’ll Love This Cauliflower Gnocchi Recipe

• Naturally vegan. Traditional gnocchi is made with eggs, but cauliflower gnocchi doesn’t require eggs or dairy, so it’s naturally vegan—no egg substitutes needed!
• Gluten-free option. Want to make your cauliflower gnocchi gluten-free? It’s easy! Just substitute the all-purpose flour with cassava flour or almond flour.
• Versatile. Pair your gnocchi with any sauce, protein, or veggies. Just like pasta, the flavour of gnocchi is kind of like a blank slate, so it works with almost any ingredients!
• Freezer-friendly. Cauliflower gnocchi freezes beautifully so you can keep it on hand for easy weeknight meals.

Notes on Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.

• Cauliflower – Make sure your cauliflower is the weight specified in the recipe, or your cauliflower gnocchi won’t turn out.
• Olive oil
• All-purpose flour – This helps bind the gnocchi.
• Potato starch – If you can’t find potato starch, you can use potato flakes instead, but you will need to measure them by weight (45 grams) rather than volume.
• Salt

For Frying:

• Olive oil – Or another oil you like to use for cooking. Vegan butter would also work.
• Dried rosemary – You can use fresh rosemary if you’d like.

How to Make Cauliflower Gnocchi

• Prepare the cauliflower. Break the cauliflower into florets and steam it until it’s tender.
• Drain. Transfer the cauliflower to a colander lined with a clean kitchen towel. Wrap the towel around the cauliflower and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.

• Process. Place the cauliflower in your food processor and blend until it’s smooth and paste-like.
• Add the remaining ingredients. Add the flour, starch and salt to the cauliflower and pulse to combine.

• Shape the gnocchi. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Divide the dough into 3 logs, about ¾-inch thick, then cut each into ½-inch gnocchi with a knife or dough cutter. Make dents in each gnocchi with a fork, if desired.
• Boil. Bring 2 quarts of salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the gnocchi to the water, stirring to keep them from sticking. After the gnocchi floats up to the surface, cook them for 30 seconds more. Drain them in a colander and let them cool.

• Fry. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick pan set over medium heat. Add the rosemary and boiled gnocchi and cook until both sides are lightly browned and crisp.
• Finish. Serve with your desired sauce.

Tips for Success

• Adjust the moisture level as needed. Touch the dough with your fingers. If the mixture feels dry and doesn’t stick together, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of water. The dough should not be sticky, but it should hold together and be easy to shape.
• Drain the gnocchi well. If they’re still very wet, the oil will spatter when you add them to the skillet. This makes a mess and it can be painful if the oil hits your hands and arms!
• Measure by weight, if possible. This is a recipe where too much of one ingredient or too little of another can throw everything off. Weighing your ingredients will give you more precision and guarantee perfect results.

Serving Suggestions

I like to serve cauliflower gnocchi with my homemade marinara sauce (pictured here) or basil pesto. Parsley pesto and kale pesto would also be excellent, as would arrabbiata sauce. To round out your meal, add balsamic roasted vegetables or almond-crusted baked eggplant.

How to Store Leftovers

Store leftover cauliflower gnocchi in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. You can reheat it in a skillet over medium heat or in the microwave until warmed through.

Can I Freeze This Recipe?

You can freeze cauliflower gnocchi before boiling or after boiling—it’s up to you! It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To freeze it, I recommend setting the gnocchi on a parchment-lined baking sheet and placing it in the freezer. Once the gnocchi is frozen solid, transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag.

If you’ve frozen the gnocchi before boiling, you can simply boil the gnocchi directly from frozen and proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.

If you boiled the gnocchi and then froze it, thaw it in the refrigerator or microwave, then fry it as described in the recipe.

More Vegan Cauliflower Recipes

• Cauliflower Mac and Cheese
• Roasted Cauliflower Soup
• Crispy Cauliflower Tacos with Chipotle Crema
• Sticky Sesame Cauliflower Wings
• Bang Bang Cauliflower

Enjoy friends! If you make this cauliflower gnocchi recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!

published on Dec 13, 2023

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