I am a Trader Joe’s devotee. Sure, I scope out the bargains at Aldi, and I make Target orders for Hidden Valley ranch. But Trader Joe’s is the grocery store that holds my heart. After all, it’s charming, with an abundance of friendly employees in Hawaiian shirts. It has the best, most interesting snacks that you can try at the sample counter. And it has reasonable, budget-friendly prices on most items.
In the five years that I’ve lived within driving distance of Trader Joe’s, I have spent a lot of time wandering the aisles. (And resisting the temptation to try every single dessert.) After all my taste tests, I’ve narrowed down my list of what’s just good and what is absolutely necessary for grocery happiness. The items below are the latter. They are my definitive Trader Joe’s favorites, the things I refuse to buy anywhere else. If you’re new to Trader Joe’s, or you’re a fanatic looking for some new snacks to try, here’s what I recommend.
Our Top Picks from Trader Joe’s
Seasonings and Sauces
- Everything But the Bagel seasoning. I love this stuff and add it liberally to avocado toast. It’s great for fancying up a plain bagel and cream cheese, too.
- Thai yellow curry sauce. This makes a delicious, easy dinner – cook some frozen veggies and chicken in this sauce and add rice. It’s one of my favorite things Adam makes on his nights to cook.
- Crunchy salted peanut butter. Admittedly, my favorite peanut butter is Old Home Natural peanut butter, but I haven’t found that outside of Minnesota. This is a decent substitute. Its only ingredients are peanuts and salt, and it’s only $1.99!
- Island Soyaki. The regular Soyaki is tasty. But the Island Soyaki, a soy sauce and teriyaki combo with a hint of pineapple, is extra special. It makes a great marinade!
Snacks
- Salt and pepper chips. These are perfect when you want a chip with an aggressive, snappy crunch, with a flavor somewhere between the basic Lays and the wince-inducing tang of salt and vinegar. Addictive.
- Restaurant-style tortilla chips with a hint of lime. I like my tortilla chips real salty, and these deliver! Perfection with guacamole.
- Cornbread crisps. These make chili much more epic.
- ABC (Almond Butter Cocoa) bars. These granola bars are what I eat when I really want peanut butter cups but am trying to make a healthier choice instead.
- Peanut butter filled pretzels. Do not bring these to work or you may eat the entire bag in one sitting.
Desserts
- Dark chocolate peanut butter cups. This is one of the first things I tell anyone looking for new Trader Joe’s favorites. It is not hyperbole when I say that these are one of my favorite foods. Keep them in the fridge or freezer and just try to exercise good self-control. I buy the $0.99 bags at the checkout to keep my consumption moderate.
- Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches. These are like the gas station Kemp ice cream sandwiches of your childhood, except leveled up. The chocolate chip cookies somehow stay soft and chewy, and the ice cream in the center is luscious. Adam and I have to split these, otherwise the box disappears way too fast. Pro tip – let them sit out for a few minutes to soften before devouring.
- Dark chocolate covered graham crackers with sea salt. Put a toasted marshmallow between these, and you have the world’s easiest s’more. Or just eat them plain out of the bag.
- Gone Strawberries. I don’t buy these often, because I will devour the entire bag in a day.
- Belgian chocolate pudding. Find this luscious pudding in the refrigerator section. A clerk once told my mom that this was like unicorn poop. Add frozen raspberries and little whipped cream if you want all your dreams to come true.
- Vanilla ice cream bonbons. These taste like a chocolate-covered, bite-sized version of Dairy Queen ice cream cake.
- French Macarons. These are shockingly delicious for being a frozen cookie.
- Chantilly Cream Vanilla Bean Mini Sheet Cake. A friend once brought this over for dinner, and I have never been the same. One of the best vanilla cakes EVER.
- Semisweet Chocolate Chunks. These automatically make any cookie more delicious. (And they’re pretty good right out of the bag, just saying.)
Frozen
- Mandarin orange chicken. This is our favorite frozen meal. We even served it to a friend who was staying at our house, and she affirmed that it was like takeout but better. This is also my go-to meal to leave with someone who’s just had a baby or is recovering from an illness. Just add frozen broccoli!
- Pork gyoza potstickers. These also taste better than takeout. They are best crisped up a little in a frying pan, but in a pinch I will also heat them up in the microwave for lunch.
- Garlic naan. This is the besssst. We never eat this naan without raving about how good it tastes. We pair it with the thai yellow curry sauce, shakshuka, or just about anything else with sauce. It also makes a great “dough” for a very quick pizza. (Make sure you get the kind from the freezer section!) In a pinch, the Malabari Paratha is quite good, too.
Produce
- Organic Shredded Green and Red Cabbage mix. This mix has a sharp crunch and is great for tacos or for making a basic salad more interesting.
- Bananas. They’re so inexpensive! Get extra and freeze for smoothies.
- Southwestern Chopped Salad mix. Add half an avocado and you have a tasty, easy lunch! The dressing on this one is particularly good.
Pantry Staples
- Chicken broth. My mom claims this is the best chicken broth she’s ever tried. I can’t say that I’ve done a scientific taste comparison, but I do know that I could drink this straight when I was sick and it actually tasted good.
- Canned corn. This is weird. But Trader Joe’s canned corn tastes fresher and crisper than any other canned corn I’ve tried. We toss it on barbecue chicken salads or Southwestern salads.
- Pasta. I really like the capellini and linguine noodles, especially, and the price can’t be beat!
- San Marzano canned tomatoes. These are literally half the price at Trader Joe’s than they are at the grocery store across the street.
Cheese
Of all of the categories of my Trader Joe’s favorites, the cheese is the thing I get most excited about. (Did we serve TJ’s cheese as an appetizer at our wedding? Yes, yes we did.)
- Coastal Syrah Toscano. This cheese tastes a little like Parmesan, and somehow balances the line between firm and creamy. It’s utterly delicious and probably my favorite cheese of all time.
- Brie. We keep it simple and just get the cheapest kind. It tastes great, especially with jam!
- English Coastal Cheddar. An all-around crowd-pleasing cheese that has a little sharpness to keep things interesting, but is not at all offensive.
- Unexpected Cheddar. According to Trader Joe himself, this cheese tastes like basic cheddar at first – but then you find an unexpected hint of Parmesan and tiny little salt crystals that make it sing. (Is it obvious that Parmesan is my gold standard for a good-tasting cheese?)
- Honorable mention: Cotswald Double Gloucester with onion and chive. Adam really loves this one, which has a little more onion-y tang than the others. It’s good eaten plain, but the Internet also recommends melting it on a burger or grilled cheese!
- P.S. If you need good crackers to accompany all this cheese, we stock the multigrain crackers (in the orange-y brown box) and water crackers (in the blue box). They’re incredibly affordable and pair great with these options.
Seasonal Winter Items
While summer might be my favorite season, I gotta admit: winter is my favorite Trader Joe’s season. Keep an eye out for these favorites November through February!
- Spiced apple cider. It’s delicious hot or cold, and the spice blend is perfect.
- Chocolate Covered Candy Cane Jo-Jos. The regular Candy Cane Jo-Jos are great. But they ascend to god-like heights when smothered in dark chocolate. These top my Trader Joe’s favorites list around the holidays.
- Cranberry goat cheese log. The regular blueberry goat cheese log is tasty, but this seasonal log is worth snatching up while you can! I don’t typically even like goat cheese, but I am here for this.
- Mini gingerbread men. When I taught an after-school creative writing club, these were a kid-approved favorite. (But I definitely did not complain when there were leftovers.) You can tell there are real pieces of ginger in them, and they have a perfect gingery kick.
Non-food items:
- Refresh Citrus body wash. This body wash has a perky citrus scent, uses mostly “clean” ingredients if that is important to you, and isn’t drying. I cycle through a bunch of different body washes, but I consistently rotate back around to this one!
- Flowers. These might top the list of my Trader Joe’s favorites. I don’t feel guilty grabbing flowers at TJ’s because they are so affordable and lovely!
- Cards. I really dislike paying upwards of $5 for the sappy poetry of most commercial cards. Trader Joe’s cards have charming designs and simple messages – and they’re only a dollar! The selection is limited, but honestly? That just cuts down on decision fatigue.
- Freezer bags. The big blue cooler bag holds a ton, keeps things cold, and is really easy to carry. It’s 100% worth the (relatively minimal) cost!
I still want to try…
- Cauliflower gnocchi. This one makes many other lists of Trader Joe’s favorites. It sounds too good to be true, but now I’m curious.
- Jingle Jangle mix. I have not seen Jingle Jangle in my store yet, but I am keeping an eye out for this Christmas snack mix. What could be better than pretzels, Jo-Jos, and caramel popcorn, all covered in chocolate and mixed with peanut butter cups? Somewhere in the Trader Joe’s universe, ice cream made with this mix is also supposed to exist. If you see it, can you stock up for me?
- Zhoug Sauce. I’ve seen some recipes using this spicy, cilantro-based sauce that look wonderful!
Looking for even more budget-friendly options beyond these Trader Joe’s favorites? Check out my post on what to buy at Aldi!