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!
Love these recommendations from TJ's! Gives me lots to add to my list. I happen to love a few things that are not on your list:
Unepected Chedder Cheese (now it comes shredded as well)
Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter (I like salted) Valencia
Organic Vermont Maple Syrup, Bourbon Barrel Aged (THE BEST SYRUP!) - seasonal
Pico De Gallo Salsa (fresh)
Mediterranean Style Hummus
I recently bought Trader Joe’s Pepita Salsa and basically went through a jar in a day. The cacio e pepe ravioli is really good too.
DISCONTINUED- Dark Chocolate Caramel Balls
my fav is Dark Chocolate Orange Sticks !!
I’ll only mention what I didn’t already see in comments. Frozen falafel balls and mini biscottis!! And I don’t think you mentioned their big package of organic basil!! It’s perfect for making a big batch of your basil vinaigrette!! Now I’m hungry.....
The chili onion crunch is everything. But the Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce is becoming a favorite quickly! The frozen almond croissants are a Sunday morning staple. I also love the mini brie bites, the beet crackers, and the garlic onion pistachios!
Try the Cauliflower Jalapeño Dip in the fresh food section. It’s really good with raw veggies for a snack when you’re trying not to eat the chips in the pantry
Also I use it as a sandwich spread.
So some things you missed that are MUST buys: cacio e pepe ravioli (I like to pan fry them, my husband just boils them which is also excellent), dark chocolate almond butter cups (don’t buy just 1, trust!), cauliflower thins (comes in 4 in the refrigerator section and great to make pizza, avocado toast, you name it), cowboy quinoa patties (pan fry these bad boys or put them in your air fryer, regardless, you won’t be sorry), cinnamon bun butter - omg, no seriously. So I use this in my challah but also used it as a hack to make monkey bread. I added about a tblspn or 2 butter and a little brown sugar and heated it in the microwave and it was unreal!
The Mac n cheese in freezer is bomb also ours carries a danish cringle from Wisconsin that’s beyond and freezable! Oh and the chocolate croissants in freezer are amaze balls. Fried rice is really good too. And their tarts by freezer pizza. I like the prosciutto one and there’s a Gorgonzola one !
Pepita salsa!! Best salsa in the game. Obviously with their blue tortilla chips.
5 seed almond bars! Going to try to recreate the recipe in the next couple of weeks. Obsessed.
The Pumpkin Spiced Pumpkin Seeds are AMAZING on a winter salad with cheese and apples!
And a pantry staple is the shelf stable Whipping Cream.
If you haven’t tried their Cowboy Caviar, you must!! It is my favorite item at TJ’s (beside the PB pretzels 🙂
Turkey Cranberry Apple Salad! Get it before it’s gone...only around until thxgiving. Also, their Raisin Bran cluster cereal. The BEST! Thx, Gaby, for your posts, recipes, books and IG live! You are a bright spot in this uncertain and dangerous time. Good luck to you and your hubby with your baby!!!
I use stuff from TJ’s when I need a quick and easy pre-made dinner. Some things I would recommend is the Tikka Vegetables (usually by soup & rice - I’ll add some chicken and serve over jasmine rice or mix it with their roasted pepper soup), frozen gyoza (my Japanese friends love them), frozen Japanese style fried rice (easy lunch or pair it with orange mandarin chicken), Mediterranean style hummus (I know you make TONS at home but this is my favorite store-bought), and multipurpose umami seasoning blend (amazing on chicken)
I love TJ soup dumplings. I buy 6 at a whack.