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!
Cookie butter! chocolate cookie butter! Dark chocolate cookie butter cups! ...yes, all things cookie butter. And some honey sesame sticks because sweet + salty never gets old!
I love their almond croissants and hot and sweet jalapeños (these are new)! Fig and honey goat cheese is fabulous, even though I settled for jalapeño and honey yesterday (have yet to try it). I always get a basil plant while I am there, it seems to last awhile for me and the price is great.
I just tried the Honey jalapeno goat cheese. Amazing! I slathered a little on the Ghost pepper chips (I did not think that they were that hot) and warmed them up in the microwave. It gives the chips a creamy zip and tastes fabulous. The honey jalapeno goat cheese is good on peaches too!
You literally tagged all of my favorite things! That is the best TJ's feta and the hummus is SO good!
GONE BANANAS frozen chocolate covered bananas are the bomb!
http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/1634/
dude. their corn chips are amazing. the scooper ones that are like fritos! The Cheese Puffs are Casey life line.
Black Bean and Quinoa Chips are a must try, so flavorful! Also love their Smoked Gouda Cheese, literally the creamiest Gouda ever (pair with prosciutto for the best grilled cheese sandwich EVER). Obsessed with their frozen mini beef tacos and steamed chicken soup dumplings (which taste just like the real thing). Their fresh squeezed orange juice and tangerine juice are the cheapest around and legit so fresh.
Not food related but their French Liquid Orange Blossom Hand Soap is amazing..
The boxed frozen jasmine rice! Cooks perfectly in 3 minutes. Mini peanut butter cups, vegetable fried rice, Hatch chili macaroni & cheese, salsa verde, I could go on and on lol! love the Traders!
WHAT I did not know they carry Kombucha now! I can't live without my Ginger Chews - I've estimated that I've eaten probably around 15K of them in the last decade.
+1 for the fennel - one of only 2 things I buy in the produce section (the other is the green onions package - keeps a long time). I would also highly recommend both the frozen artichoke hearts and 'hearts in olive oil. Also in the condiment section are my favorite find by far, the Hot and Sweet Cherry Peppers. They are great on salads and sandwiches and make a quick appetizer stuffed with a cube of parm wrapped in a thin strip of salami. 🙂 Lots of great cheeses and in the meats section I always get the little container of chopped uncooked pancetta for boosting pasta and soup. Thanks for the post! Can you tell I love this kind of stuff?!
Try them stuffed with tuna and goat cheese.!
Yum! Thanks for the tip.
Kale and artichoke Greek yogurt dip!
The dark chocolate covered almonds but WITH SEA SALT!
Cauliflower rice!
I have a container of TJ's mini peanut butter cups in my fridge at ALL times.
Sun dried tomatoes in olive oil are the bomb! I have them on pasta, no other sauce needed.
Dark chocolate covered cookie butter! I had to give up eating cookie butter straight out of the jar, so the bars are my go-to when I need a fix!
I love their TJ's Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette and Fat Free Sesame-Ginger Vinaigrette, plus the Beet Chips and Peach-Mango Salsa from the shelves. From the frozen section, their Meatless Meatballs, Quartered Artichoke Hearts, Pearl Onions and Riced Cauliflower. From the refrigerated meat case, their packages of 4 individually cryovacted grilled chicken breasts (they keep for weeks for those days when you want a single grilled chicken breast for whatever reason and they are SO juicy). From the produce section, I love their packages of two fennel bulbs! They keep forever and are the best price for nice size fennel compared to any other stores in my market!!!
Coconut oil, roasted coconut chips (such a great snack- not too sweet with a little salt) and balsamic vinegar -acento Balsamic di moderna. The homemade flour tortillas are delicious as are the wheat corn tortillas. Greeting cards are adorable (and cheap) too.