Cauliflower Gnocchi
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!
Cauliflower Gnocchi
Ingredients
- 1 pound cauliflower, 450g
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup all purpose flour, 60g *
- ¼ cup potato starch, 45g
- ⅔ teaspoon salt
For frying:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried rosemary, or 1 tablespoon fresh
Instructions
- Wash and separate cauliflower into small florets. Place in a steamer basket. Pour 2 inches of water into a pot and place the steamer basket with cauliflower on top. Cover and bring to boil on medium heat. Cook on small heat for about 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft.
- Transfer cooked cauliflower to a colander lined with a clean kitchen towel. Wrap the towel tightly and squeeze the moisture from the cauliflower as much as possible.
- Transfer the drained cauliflower to the food processor and blend until no big clumps remain. The consistency will resemble a paste with small crumbs.
- Add flour, starch and salt to the cauliflower paste and pulse a few times until mixed. Try the resulting dough with your fingers. If the mixture is very dry and doesn’t stick together you may add 1-2 tablespoons of water. The dough should not be sticky but will hold together and should be easy to shape.
- Transfer the dough to the working surface sprinkled with flour. Shape into 3 logs, about ¾ inch thick, cut into ½ inch gnocchi with a knife or dough cutter.
- Make dents in every gnocchi with a fork. This step is optional; traditionally it’s made to help the sauce stick better.
- Bring a 3 quarts pot filled with 2 quarts water to boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and turn the heat to medium.
- Carefully add gnocchi to the boiling water, stir once with a wooden spoon to make sure they don’t stick to the bottom. After the gnocchi floats up to the surface, cook for 30 seconds more. Then transfer to the colander and let cool.
- In a nonstick pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add rosemary sprigs and cooked gnocchi. Fry on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
- Serve with marinara sauce.
Notes
- * You can use the same amount of cassava flour for the gluten free version, but the gnocchi will be a bit harder and chewier. To make them softer, replace 2 tablespoons of cassava flour with almond flour.
- To store: 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.
- To freeze: 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.
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Cant wait to make all soon for me i love gnocchi sooooooooo much i never had cauliflower gnocchi before perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Enjoy soo much Ramya!!
Hi Jessica! I’d love to try this recipe, but the cauliflower weight is a little confusing. Two pounds is just over 900 grams. Can you clarify the weight? Thank you!
Hi Colin,
Oh my gosh I’m so sorry about that! I’ve been corrected, it’s 1 lb/450g! Enjoy so so much!
Hi! Made these for my family tonight. Big hit! Next time I will 1.5 or 2x the recipe. Dough comes together nicely in the processor, however, I added another 1/2 C of flour to make it workable. It was still sticky coming out of the bowl, but with a gentle hand and a floured countertop, I made it work. Great recipe and lighter than traditional gnocchi. Bravo!
Thanks so much for sharing Sarah!! This comment is so helpful
These gnocchi are so delicious! My partner made them last week to accompany a version of your Gnocchi Soup. Beig a keen gardener though, I substituted other greens and got my patner to add beetroot, including its leaves, to the soup.