October 7, 2021
Gluten Free

Cauliflower Gnocchi with Roasted Fall Vegetables

A comforting and easy sheet pan frozen cauliflower gnocchi recipe made with roasted fall vegetables. This is perfect for a quick, healthy meal or side dish for busy weeknights, meal prep, and even for holidays.

I love a quick and easy sheet pan style recipe that can put a great meal or side dish on the table with little effort. If you’re looking to amp up your veggie intake or want to try and enjoy a meatless meal idea, give this pesto cauliflower gnocchi recipe a try!

Have you jumped on the frozen cauliflower gnocchi trend yet? I love creating new ways to enjoy this easy lower carb and effortless ingredient lately.

You can use it to make cauliflower gnocchi nachos, this delicious chicken and cauliflower gnocchi soup (similar to the one Olive Garden makes), and even this addictive cauliflower gnocchi pizza skillet too.

I’ve been buying Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi for a while now, and with it’s popularity I’ve even seen it at regular grocery stores like Whole Foods and Kroeger.

Additionally, I love that this recipe is lifestyle friendly for vegetarians (or if you’re low carb and gluten free too). If you wanted to pair this with fish, chicken, or even Italian sausage too for a full meal you can easily find ways to make it a family friendly hands off meal.

Below I’ll share my roasting tips, techniques, and the best methods to cook Trader Joes frozen cauliflower gnocchi in the oven. Grab all the details just below or jump to the recipe and dive in!

“School” Supplies:

Large Sheet Pan
Mixing Bowl
Knife and Cutting Board
Spatula

“Class” Notes:

Use the culinary notes to help answer commonly asked cooking questions, note recipe substitutions, and to feel confident cooking this recipe. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Gnocchi and Fall Roasted Vegetable Ingredients:

Here were the ingredients I chose to use for a variety of color, flavor, and ease of cooking.

Frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi: If you don’t want to use cauliflower gnocchi, you can substitute with traditional potato gnocchi for this recipe as well.
Butternut Squash: Microwave the whole squash for two minutes to make it easier to cut. Slice in half, remove the seeds, cut away the outside peel and then dice into one inch cubes.
Red Beets: Red beets stain easily, so keep that in mind when prepping them (I used gloves). Slice away the outside skin and then dice into one inch pieces. You can sub with other types of beets too if desired.
Yellow Potatoes: I had yellow potatoes on hand, but sweet potatoes, russet, or red potatoes are great options to use here too. I left the skin on for ease and added nutrients and diced into one inch cubes.
Brussel Sprouts: Trim your sprouts at the root and slice in half and set them aside.
Olive Oil: For the root veggies
Salt and Pepper: Seasoning for the veggies
Pesto: I used pesto just on the cauliflower gnocchi to really add some extra flavor. You can use a vegan pesto (since regular pesto contains parmesan cheese) if desired.

Cauliflower Gnocchi with Roasted Fall Vegetables ingredients

Cooking tips and instructions for roasting your vegetables:

Here are a few helpful tips for properly roasting your vegetables before you get started-

Slice and dice all your vegetables to be a similar size and thickness. This helps promote even cooking and browning.
Roast your vegetables at a higher temperature (preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.) for encouraging golden brown veggies and gnocchi.
Want to jump start your cooking process? Always let the sheet pan preheat in the oven as well so it’s very hot when you add the raw veggies to it.
Coat your veggies in an even layer of oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place the vegetables on a pan so they lay flat and even. Vegetables that touch or are over crowded encourage steam to form, preventing your vegetables to brown.
Cook your vegetables for about 25-30 minutes and flip them. Then continue roasting as needed until tender (about another 20-30 minutes).

How to cook frozen cauliflower gnocchi?

For this recipe, I actually chose to bake it straight from the bag fully frozen. While I often prefer to pan fry or even air fry the cauliflower, it actually works great to roast these with the veggies.

Because the root veggies are quite dense however, they need to roast for a while without the gnocchi to start.

Cauliflower gnocchi by itself is honestly a bit bland. I used store bought pesto to really doctor this up, add some serious flavor, and keep it simple too. Here is a great recipe for homemade pesto too.

While you can add pesto to everything, I like it personally just on the gnocchi itself. I find it can be somewhat overpowering if it’s on everything.

If you do opt to add it to the other veggies, you may want to mix it in only at the end so it doesn’t burn while the veggies roast (since they take a decent amount of time to cook).

roasting frozen cauliflower gnocchi with veggies

Serving, Pairing, and Reheating:

When the recipe is fully cooked, let it rest 2-3 minutes before serving or transferring to a serving bowl.
Pair with main proteins like my air fryer salmon, these maple pecan chicken thighs (so festive for fall), or just a simple reverse seared steak!
Reheat on the stove in a pan and pair with eggs for breakfast or pop back in the oven to reheat throughout the week and enjoy!