A few weeks ago, I decided to give Amazon Fresh a try and order groceries to be delivered at home. I was particularly interested in trying their house brands, to see how they measured against others. In general, I was disappointed – and this was particularly true with the Aplenty Gnocchi with Tomato & Mozzarella frozen entree.
Much has been written about how Amazon is trying to compete with Trader Joe’s by copying its most successful products – something which it does with products that third-party vendors sell through its site. This particular item, seems to be a knockoff of Trader Joe’s Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, which has been a favorite of mine for almost twenty years. Alas, it does not succeed.
Unlike Trader Joe’s gnocchi, this one comes with tomatoes instead of tomato sauce. This means that there isn’t enough moisture in the dish to help the gnocchi plump up and lighten. Instead, they are heavy and dense. Moreover, the tomatoes don’t do much to flavor the gnocchi, and neither does the cheese, which remains in clumps. The result is a heavy, not very tasty dish. I would not get it again.
It sells for $3.80, so it’s even about 20% more expensive than the gnocchi at Trader Joe’s.
Haven’t tried the trader joes but absolutely love how these taste on a skillet that is lightly pan seared. The actual tomatoes vs. the sauce makes it great if you want something that is more light crunch during the pan searing process vs. just the thick sauce of Trader Joe’s that i haven’t tried. Definitely will give that a go later on. Its one of my wife and I’s favorite products at their Amazon Fresh stores personally.