From seasoning blends to convenient veggie creations, Trader Joe's always keeps its
customers excited to discover what sort of culinary concoctions will be dreamt up next.
We've rounded up some of the most beloved items to hit the shelves over the years,
so keep watching for all the delicious details!
Good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Trader Joe's Everything but the Bagel
Seasoning has quickly become a smash hit since it was introduced in 2017.
It was immediately nominated by customers as one of their favorite products that year and the next.
By 2019, it was voted the number one product at Trader Joe's, with one shopper declaring,
"This stuff is, quite literally, my everything."
Everything but the Bagel Seasoning consists of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and sea salt, along
with dried garlic and onions. It's obviously great for spicing up a bagel and cream cheese, but this
blend can also do so much more than that. Trader Joe's recommends adding it to such delicacies as
grilled chicken, buttered popcorn, baked potatoes, dips, pizza dough, salad dressing, pasta,
and mac and cheese. Though you can only get this seasoning blend from Trader Joe's, some shoppers
have taken to reselling it on Amazon, where it's garnered more than 10,000 positive reviews.
If you've never experienced Trader Joe's Cauliflower Gnocchi you're seriously missing
out. This is another item that customers voted as their favorite in 2019, naming it the best
vegan-slash-vegetarian item. These soft little delights located in the freezer section are
made with one of the trendiest vegetables around and can be ready to eat in just a few minutes.
Cauliflower has a reputation as an extremely versatile veggie. It can be riced,
mashed, grilled, made into pizza crust — you name
it! You can skip the prep work by grabbing the cauliflower gnocchi from Trader Joe's,
and the possibilities for how to cook with it are practically endless. As Grub Street puts it,
"They're cheap, convenient, and they are ostensibly healthy [...] Cauliflower
gnocchi is the embodiment of the Influencer approach to eating,
and there are bags upon bags of it in my freezer right now."
Maybe that's why you can find displays of this product all over instagram. In fact,
it even has its own dedicated account run by a superfan.
Another consistent Trader Joe's crowd-pleaser is the Mandarin Orange Chicken. It was voted
as favorite entrée in the most recent TJ Customer Choice Awards after ranking as
the best overall product for several years in a row. Another staple from the freezer section,
it surely owes some of its popularity to its convenience. You just have to bake the
chicken according to package instructions and then sauté it up in the defrosted sauce
until it gets perfectly caramelized, sweet, and tangy. According to Trader Joe's, it:
"Looks like takeout, and tastes even better."
And you don't just have to take the company's word for it. According to Insider,
chefs rank Mandarin Orange Chicken as one of the best frozen foods you can
get at Trader Joe's. And as The Kitchn puts it,
"It's basically like if you got an order of orange chicken from a restaurant,
and every piece in the carton was a 'good' piece."
That sounds like a delicious dream come true!
"Mmm. Tastes like chicken."
Joe-Joe's are basically Trader Joe's take on an Oreo, and they're particularly beloved. At
one point, they were ranked as customers' third-favorite product on the shelves.
But the seasonal version of this treat, the Candy Cane Joe-Joe's,
are on another level entirely. These cookies are so popular,
in fact, that they even have their own Facebook page with thousands of likes.
The Candy Cane Joe-Joe's are made with the same chocolate cookies as regular Joe-Joe's
but with pieces of real peppermint in the cream filling. They're only available in
limited supply during the holidays, and they consistently fly off the shelves every year.
These cookies were ranked as the best version of Joe-Joe's by Spoon University, while shoppers on
Influenster have said that these are their favorite cookies to eat at the holidays,
with several admitting that they stock up on boxes so that they can eat them year-round.
Move over Reese's, there's a new peanut butter cup in town, and it can be found on the shelves
at Trader Joe's. TJ's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are a tried and true crowd-pleaser.
They're smaller and deeper than a typical Reese's and come in a plastic bin that
makes it easy to keep popping them into your mouth without thinking about it.
Customers voted the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups as their favorite sweet treat at Trader Joe's
in 2019, a title that it's also held in previous years, along with the distinction of favorite
TJ's candy. And how's this for an endorsement? In a peanut butter cup taste test conducted by
Mic in 2017, Reese's was ranked lower than Trader Joe's in the dark chocolate category.
And in another food listicle, Thrillist ranked the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
among its selections of the 50 most essential products at Trader Joe's.
Trader Joe's frozen foods aisle is nothing short of a wonderland of unique creations.
It's got everything from breakfast to dessert, conveniently prepared produce, all the party
appetizers you'll ever need, and all kinds of entrées you'd probably never make from scratch.
Ranking high among the treasures is the Chicken Tikka Masala . In 2020, Delish ranked every single
frozen meal at Trader Joe's, placing Chicken Tikka Masala as the best of the bunch while declaring,
"It's truly the gold star of frozen food, and as good,
if not better than, any take-out meal you could order."
But forget take-out! As the blog What's Good at Trader Joe's put it,
"[The Chicken Tikka Masala] tastes just as authentic as the food from
the best Indian restaurants I've been to."
That review couldn't find a single fault with the dish, as it also noted,
"TJ's really went above and beyond with this dish. Everything down to the Basmati rice was
phenomenal. The texture of the chicken is excellent, there's a good amount of sauce,
and the real kicker is that they got the flavor right."
"America's the greatest country in the world.
Think of all the great things that have come from America."
"Rugby."
"Chicken tikka masala."
The only thing better than an ice cream cone is an adorable miniature ice cream cone that's
been dipped in chocolate. So that's probably why the Hold the Cone! Mini Vanilla Ice Cream Cones
at Trader Joe's are such a huge hit. Also, the fact that these tiny treats are only $2.99 for
a box of eight probably also has something to do with it. These frozen sweets are consistently
ranked among TJ customers' favorites. In 2017 and 2018, they were voted the best dessert,
and they were named a runner-up in 2019. Thrillist included Hold the Cone! on its list of the "50
Essential Trader Joe's Foods," although they did call them "a bit of a mixed blessing," noting,
"On the one hand, it's quite appealing as a minimalist after-dinner treat,
giving you a downsized version of the glorious experience that is ordering
yourself a Drumstick right off the ice cream truck, right down to the
chocolatey end of the cone, which we all know is the best part. The downside is,
their snacky size makes it rather easy to talk yourself into polishing off an entire box."
But then they added,
"Well, is that REALLY a downside?"
We'd have to say no, it's not really a downside,
since you can always buy another box when you run out.
When it comes to Trader Joe's customers' favorite cheese, we should expect the unexpected. By that
we mean that the Unexpected Cheddar continues to be voted the best cheese in the store.
As Thrillist described it in their list of the best TJ products,
"It might be the crown jewel of the TJ's cheese spread.
When it comes to Unexpected Cheddar, expect to eat a whole block in one sitting."
And just consider the taste of the Golden State. According to market data,
Unexpected Cheddar is California's favorite Trader Joe's item in the entire store.
This is truly a cheddar unlike any other. According to Trader Joe's,
"At first bite, Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar tastes like an aged Cheddar. And then something
unexpected happens. The smooth creaminess of the Cheddar gives way to a tangy flavor
and slightly crumbly texture, a subtle hint of salt crystallization is discovered,
and it begins to taste like an aged Parmesan."
That's certainly not what you expect from your average block of cheddar!
Customers reach for the Unexpected Cheddar so much that Trader Joe's recently also started
offering bags of it in pre-shredded form along with the classic block.
So now you're one step closer to adding it to the likes of chili, mac and cheese, and so much more!
"Hahahahaha! That was unexpected!"
Spinach and artichoke dip is a comforting classic when it comes to party spreads
for everything from holidays to tailgates to potlucks. And why whip it all up from
scratch when you can get the cheesy, gooey goodness straight from the Trader Joe's
frozen section? TJ's Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip is a major crowd pleaser.
It's made with Swiss and parmesan cheeses, plus a blend of herbs and spices. And the
best part is that it's hot, bubbling, and ready to go after just five minutes in the microwave.
The Creamy Spinach and Artichoke Dip has praise coming in all directions.
In 2018, customers voted it their overall favorite appetizer at the store. PopSugar
includes it on their list of the tastiest comfort foods at Trader Joe's, declaring,
"This rich dip will leave you scraping the bottom of the barrel."
And Today.com includes it at the top of their list of must-have
items from Trader Joe's for a Super Bowl party, noting,
"This melty, cheesy dip packed with chopped spinach and artichokes
rivals homemade or restaurant versions."
It's safe to say that cookie butter has taken the United States by storm.
The decadent spread made from crushed cookies, creamy fat, and loads of sugar has been a winter
staple in Europe for decades. Cookie butter, which is a food paste made from speculoos cookie crumbs,
was introduced to the U.S. in 2011, and it's won over countless palettes. It was
in that year that Trader Joe's introduced its original Speculoos Cookie Butter. It
was such a major turning point that the company now refers to 2011 as:
"The year that divided time as we know it into 'B.C.B.'
(Before Cookie Butter) and 'A.C.B.' (After Cookie Butter)."
The sweet spread has been voted customers' absolutely favorite product at the store
several times, and it's easy to see why people love this stuff so much.
It's truly delectable and tastes so good with both sweet and savory pairings,
or straight out of the jar with a spoon, if you're so inclined. Furthermore, it's inexpensive,
doesn't need to be refrigerated, and can be used as a piece of all kinds of delicious baked goods.
Butternut Squash Zig-Zags have developed quite the loyal fan base.
It's not because they're made from anything fancy. Literally, it's just butternut squash. Rather,
it's because their preparation is frankly genius. The hearty gourd that we love to use in just about
everything during the fall comes in crinkle cut form at Trader Joe's. Not only is this unique,
it's practical. The Zig-Zags aren't just great in salads or soups, but they can also be baked
into fries or used in place of pasta. Simply put, they're a must-buy for easy and healthy meal prep.
Butternut Squash Zig-Zags come washed and ready to cook, so all the hard work is already done
for you. That ease coupled with the veggie's versatility makes the Zig-Zags an easy way
to sneak more healthy food into your diet. You might just discover that they have the
power to trick even the pickiest of eaters. Now, get to shopping, and get to eating!
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