Today's the day! Here are the BEST things to buy at Trader Joe's! My obsession with Trader Joe's is REAL. I insta-story my way around the store on a fairly frequent basis and and it's high time I spill my secrets. So here we go...31 TJ's products you can't live without!
What to buy at Trader Joes:
Greek Feta in the Brine. Trust me, this will change your life. You'll be buying feta in the brine forever and ever - it's the only way to go.
Port Salut - it's the best soft and creamy cheese for your cheese boards!
Dark Chocolate Caramel Balls!! Actually, you probably shouldn't get these if you don't want to eat all of them in one sitting. Addictive doesn't even come close to describing them,
Quinoa! I buy it in bulk because I go through about 1 bag a week!
The organic frozen blueberry selection at TJ's is fantastic. We go through 1 bag a day for our smoothies and these are reasonably prices and VERY delicious!
I know I said I don't buy produce at TJ's but I make an exception for 2 things... one of which is avocados! I buy them when they are rock hard so they can ripen on my counter at home. And if you need to speed up the ripening process, throw them in a brown lunch bag with a banana!
Chocolate Chips!! DUH! In case we need cookies, or banana bread, or melted chocolate... better to be safe than sorry!
And the 1 lb chocolate bars! OMG these are actually incredible
Sometimes we need Mandarin Chicken for dinner that tastes like Panda Express without having to leave the house. No judgement here - I love this stuff!
Refried Beans. Mandatory for nachos!
Some of my favorite crackers ever - perfect for a cheese board! And way cheaper than the variety at Whole Foods.
Easily the best blue corn tortilla chips on the market. The salt ratio is spot on
THIS Dark Chocolate Bar is basically everything you need in life!
The other produce exception I make at TJ's is their Broccolini! Mostly because I eat about a pound of it daily and I use it up so quickly!
Cauliflower Pizza Crust! It took me a while to get on the cauliflower pizza train but I'm into it!
Cauliflower Gnocchi. I didn't want to love it but I actually do!
TJ's has the best nuts at super reasonable prices! Their coconut cashews are my go-to 3pm snack!
Chocolate Covered Grahams. I mean, enough said!
If you've never had Garlic Spread before... you're missing out. It's that dip they put on the side of every order when you go out for Lebanese food. It's like the most pungent garlic sauce that you'll want to slather on EVERYTHING.
Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels. Literally my husbands life line.
Quick cooking farro - because with this dinner can be ready in 10 minutes plus a little prep time.
These savory thin mini crackers are THE BEST for dipping in hummus and my homemade tzatziki!
This is one of my fav nut butters because there is NO PALM OIL in it. Just the almonds. Perf for my morning smoothies!
Prosciutto - cause we need this for cheese boards!
Fresh Mozzarella. No explanation needed.
THIS is easily one of my favorite vinegars ever. It makes a killer salad dressing!
Don't tell anyone but sometimes I buy this spinach artichoke dip when I'm too lazy to make it from scratch and claim that it's homemade.
Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels!! These are hands down one of the best things to buy at Trader Joe's. Great in cookies, brownies or just by the handful.
Roasted Corn!!! Use it in all of your recipes that call for corn. It's loaded with flavor from fire roasting and I want it all day, every day!
Zhoug Sauce. OMG this stuff is addicting. It's great in addition to hummus, on top of protein, with veggies, mixed into quinoa extra. I am fully hooked.
This Chili Onion Crunch is new and it's VERY delicious when spooned over just about everything.
What should I not buy at Trader Joes:
To be honest, I only buy a few kinds of produce from TJ's because I find that it goes bad rather quickly! So I get produce from the farmers market and other stores. But TJ's wins hands down for just about everything else...)
What did I miss at Trader Joes:
What did I miss? Any of your favorites miss my list? Shout out your best things to buy at trader joe's recs in the comments section so I can snag them and try them next time I pop in!
Tj Mayo in the glass jar is a must , ( blue and yellow label) chicken breakfast link sausage, everything but the bagel seasoning, jicama wraps ...
Maple butter!! It’s just pure maple syrup...I could drink it. It tastes like maple candy. So great on muffins
I love those... I like to eat them with avocado sprinkled with Tajin.
Love TJ’s! Chocolate covered peanut butter stuffed pretzels and English coastal cheddar cheese. So good!
I love a lot of those things but Spud Crunchies Potato Snacks are hands down my favorite thing. In the summer they have a seasonal ketchup flavor and don’t even start me on mixing them! Yum!
Their mini dark chocolate peanut cups are perfection! I have no self control with those things and I am not ashamed!!!
I’m embarrassed at how obsessed I am with pumpkin brioche twist bread. It’s a must buy when I’m there!
Most of my favorites are on this list, but two more not to be missed - cocoa batons, and butter toffee pretzels. The latter are SO ADDICTING and amazing. I think they’re only available seasonally in the fall or winter.
We are obsessed with their garlic olive oil and basically the apple smoked bacon is everything
Huge TJ’s fan! I don’t know the exact name but in the frozen apps there are these little pastry cups with feta and caramelized onion that are so delicious. Also love the dark chocolate peanut butter cups.
Love your list, thanks! A few other items to try:
-32 oz red or blue whole milk European style yogurt (I’ve heard and believe it’s from Straus)
-mixed nut butter
-steamed lentils, ready to eat (near the bagged lettuces) - cook w onion, coconut milk, jalapeño & lime juice for a super quick Caribbean-style lentil/curry-ish dish (or eat cold over Mediterranean salad, or Cook into Italian-style lentil soup...)
-truffle potato chips (for when you can’t find Torres truffle chips - the best!)
Flowers!!!, organic bone in chicken( cheapest I’ve found) , mini ice cream cones( the only ones I can find with no nuts for my allergy kiddos), frozen chocolate croissants.
Not for you right now, but for your hubby or social distance entertaining, or gifts - you cannot miss the TJ Reserve Rose or Brut sparkling wine. It’s only available in November & December and sells out quick. $9.99 a bottle and made in California in the traditional methode Champenoise style. No joke, so good can’t miss!
My new favorite thing is the jicama wrappers! Great for low carb tacos or just snacking on them sprinkled with Tajin
Yes to this!! I’m obsessed with the jicama wraps right now. Perfect for taco night and a great replacement for lettuce in Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I’ll have to try the wraps with Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Seasoning...love this seasoning on my apples and pineapple!
The organic medium salsa, tomatillo salsa, UNEXPECTED CHEDDAR, garlic naan crackers (holiday season), black truffle ketchup (summer season), Cacio e pepe ravioli, fiochetti, olive tapenade in the fridge section and the Artic Summer ginger lime seltzer’s are all amazing ☺️
I recently bought the frozen chocolate croissants - you just set them on a baking sheet overnight and bake in the morning. I was really surprised at how delicious they were! Obviously can’t compete with my favorite bakery, but let me tell you it was a HUGE win during lockdown. And so good just to have on hand.
Two words: cookie butter!!