Some weekends aren’t for cooking — they’re for staying home, wearing comfortable clothes, and eating something warm without making a mess.
This was one of those lunches.
My husband and I shared Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi with Trader Joe’s French Onion Soup, and the whole thing came together while the oven was heating. It felt cozy, filling, and way more like a real meal than the effort required.
Total active time: about 4 minutes of stirring and 2–3 minutes of prep.
The rest was hands-off.
What We Made (For Two)
Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi Trader Joe’s French Onion Soup (2 servings) Optional: extra croutons (from home)
This works so well because everything happens in parallel.
Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi (Stovetop, 5 Minutes)
This might be one of the easiest frozen items Trader Joe’s sells.
Exactly how I made it:
Add frozen gnocchi to a pan Add 2 tablespoons of water Cover Cook on medium-high for 3 minutes Remove lid and stir until the sauce coats and thickens
That’s it.
No oil, no butter, no extra ingredients.
I stirred it maybe twice. The sauce thickens on its own and coats the gnocchi evenly.
Trader Joe’s French Onion Soup (Hands-Off, Cozy Payoff)
Frozen soup puck / packaging Soup in oven-safe mugs
The soup comes individually wrapped — you just cut it open and drop it into an oven-safe container.
I used the oven-safe mugs in the photos (from Amazon). They have lids, which makes leftovers easy and keeps cleanup minimal. I like versatile kitchen items, it’s a cup, a bowl, microwave safe, oven safe, Tupperware all in one. Very useful and space saving.
How I made it:
Preheat the oven, unwrap the soup, drop into oven-safe cups, bake 45-50 minutes. If I’m extra lazy just turn on the oven and put it in while preheating set timer for an hour.
It does take close to an hour, but it’s completely hands-off — which is why starting it first matters, honestly we were already hungry and I was trying to use freezer items. I need a grocery run but I like to keep simple things and variation.
Taste & Texture Review:
I love Trader Joe’s Gorgonzola Gnocchi, so this was my first time trying the Cacio e Pepe version — and it didn’t disappoint.
The gnocchi itself is soft and pillowy, and as much as I wanted to doctor it up, it honestly didn’t need anything. The sauce coats thickly and evenly, and there was even some left in the pan and bowl, which never happens with frozen pasta.
For reference, the pan and bowl photos show the entire bag. We shared it in one bowl, and I don’t think this would realistically feed more than two people. There were no leftovers, even with me being a pretty light eater.
The pepper flavor is present but not overpowering — balanced and creamy rather than sharp. That said, a little fresh-cracked black pepper at the end never hurts if you like it extra punchy.
I usually default to Campbell’s French Onion Soup with extra Alpine cheese and croutons, so that’s my baseline.
Trader Joe’s version is much less salty, more earthy onion flavor and has built-in bread and cheese texture. When it’s baked and not microwaved it feels closer to something you’d order at a casual bistro
If you bake it instead of microwaving, you get that lightly crisped, melty top that makes it feel like real French onion soup.
I did throw a few extra croutons on at the end — mostly out of habit — but it honestly didn’t need much help.
Why This Works as an Easy Weekend Meal
Minimal prep and almost no cleanup that feels shared (not sad desk food). It’s warm, filling, and comforting while being mountains cheaper than ordering out
This is the kind of lunch that works when:
You’re home all afternoon It’s cooler outside. You want something warm without committing to cooking and you still want to eat together.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t a foodie meal — it’s a real-life meal.
Trader Joe’s is great at these low-effort, high-comfort options, and this combo is going into our regular weekend rotation. If you want something warm, easy, and genuinely satisfying without trashing your kitchen, this one’s hard to beat.