Okay, we have to say upfront that we didn’t get the Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Gnocchi from the freezer aisle. No, we found this in the refrigerated section, pretty dang close to where you find the non-frozen burritos and refrigerated wraps. However, because the fall season is just beginning, we’re going to go out on a limb and say you’re probably not going to be mad about it. Yes, we’re mostly a frozen food review site, but we do venture into other parts of the grocery store occasionally and report our findings. We felt that the Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Gnocchi was worth breaking our routine for.
Besides, our previous Trader Joe’s review was a frozen food (and another fall exclusive), so we’re still keeping things somewhat balanced around here.
Anyway, these are an absolute cinch to heat up. Simply boil up a pot of water, then toss in the gnocchi for about three minutes — really, these dumplings are done when they start to float. Then, just dump all of the gnocchi into a strainer and serve it up! This is super fast and super easy. (If you want to read the full cooking instructions, check out the package scan at the bottom of this review.)
Now, these are super simple; they’re just a basic gnocchi with a pumpkin puree added.
But simplicity isn’t a bad thing, especially where gnocchi is concerned, and this stuff is fantastic. While there is still that dense potatoey consistency and flavor, there’s a sweetness underneath it all that elevates these to a whole new level. It’s not a strong sweetness — it’s pretty subtle — but it really makes these things pop.
You could easily eat these without a sauce of any kind, but we definitely think they’re better with a sauce. We tried them with a tomato basil sauce, which isn’t the best match but it’s what we had on hand. We’d love to try these with a butter cream sauce, because that seems like it would really drive these home.
The package claims about a third of its contents are a serving. That seems fair, because this stuff is actually super filling. One serving contains 240 calories and 760 mg of sodium. When you factor in whatever sauce you end up using, this could definitely end up with a pretty high sodium level. And if you get tempted to eat the whole batch in a sitting? Well, look out!
The Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Gnocchi makes for an absolutely fantastic fall meal. We do think this pasta works better with a sauce, but even when eaten on their own (or with the completely wrong sauce, like in our case), these potato dumplings are still pretty enjoyable.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for this totally-not-frozen gnocchi, check out our package scan below.