Trader Joe's Is Selling Chocolate Lava Gnocchi That Are Like Mini Molten Cakes
Shoppers have been losing their minds over (and sometimes mispronouncing) Trader Joe’s famous cauliflower gnocchi for years, so it only makes sense that the giant grocery store chain would introduce another unique flavor into the mix: Chocolate Lava Gnocchi.
The new product was first reported on by the grocery store’s own podcast, Insider Trader Joe’s. In their September 16 episode, Trader Joe’s Vice President of Marketing Product, Matt Sloan, and Marketing Director, Tara Miller, disclosed multiple new dishes including the gnocchi.
But the first person to really highlight the pasta’s release was the Instagram account @traderjoeslist, who posted a photo of the packaged dessert product on Tuesday night with the caption “🚨 Pretty sure the internet is about to break 🚨 📸 @thesnacksoflife.“
The post already has more than 40,000 likes and 7,000 comments — a very high number even for the account, which has nearly 1 million followers.
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🚨Pretty sure the internet is about to break 🚨 📸 @thesnacksoflife
A post shared by Trader Joe's List (@traderjoeslist) on Nov 12, 2019 at 1:19pm PST
Naturally, shoppers are losing their minds over the new chocolate lava gnocchi.
Podcast listeners shared their thoughts on Reddit prior to the product’s official release. One user said they were scared but intrigued at the same time, while another wrote, “I’m traumatized after the chocolate hummus so this is a pass.”
After last night’s post, some people immediately searched for the product at their local Trader Joe’s and were told that the dessert gnocchi would be stocked starting on Wednesday. Others had more luck — Instagram user @hungryhungry found it and served it with vanilla ice cream. She gave feedback on her story, saying: “They’re gooood!! The package suggested whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and it was soooo good with the ice cream like warm lil chocolate lava bites loved it.”
She also mentions that the gnocchi served plain is “a little gummy on the outside” and recommends that shoppers cook them longer than six minutes so the outside will be more crispy.
Trader Joe’s Vice President of Product Innovation, Lori Latta, said that she originally saw chocolate gnocchi on a trip to Harrod’s in London and ask their gnocchi supplier to make a similar (but “better”) version of the dish.
She told the Kitchn, “This was originally designed to be dessert, but I think that there are some people who might make a dinner out of it. They’re really easy to prepare because you just put them in a sauté pan with a little bit of ghee or butter and brown them. I think it takes no more than the cauliflower gnocchi, so 6 to 7 minutes.”
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The packaging describes the pasta as sweet chocolate gnocchi with a molten chocolate core, and it shows a photo of the gnocchi dusted with powdered sugar and served with raspberries. Each one contains 2.5 servings for a total of 780 calories. You should be able to find the product at your local Trader Joe’s starting WEdnesday.
