The 31 Best Trader Joe’s Foods of 2024

Alex Beggs
·11 min read

The best Trader Joe’s foods in 2024 were, of course, the tasty little treats. The fun-flavored foods (White Queso! Coffee Panna Cotta!) that make life sweeter, saltier, and more delicious. Some new products, like Bubble Waffles, actual vanilla beans, and Mocha Latte Pretzels came and teased us before disappearing into the Graveyard of Unscaleable Delights. Others have stuck around, so I’m stocking up on the queso while I can. This highlight reel includes the products I pick up every time I shop, from boring staples like prewashed leeks to icons like the Saddle Crisps, plus new products that made their mark on a long, weird year.

Newbies

Chao Tôm

These Vietnamese shrimp skewers really hit. Unlike a lot of Trader Joe’s frozen food, there’s noticeable flavor here: Lemongrass! Ginger! The texture can vary depending on how you cook them, but in the oven, flipping halfway, mine turned out browned and bouncy. The meat slipped right off the sugarcane skewers (compostable, cool) and the dipping sauce is up to you. Whip up your own while they cook or sink into the couch and rely on Trader Joe’s Pepper Jelly.

Sous Vide Chicken Thighs

I don’t buy these on the reg because cooking chicken thighs is cheaper, but I love that they exist for those nights when life feels harder than usual. The chicken is tender and juicy, a blank canvas for a few meals. The Sous Vide Turkey Breast Tenderloin is great for sandwiches too.

Squiggly Knife Cut Style Noodles

The frazzled Medusa hair shape of these noodles is joyful and the cooked texture has nice springiness. I keep them on hand specifically to make this Andy Baraghani banger. The packet of broth mix I toss in the trash and don’t feel badly about!

Cinnamon Twist Danish

I gave this a mediocre review when it came out this spring, but when I saw it at the store this month I yearned for it. Add to cart. It’s like a twisty, oversized cinnamon roll. And it seems to sweat within the box, creating condensation on the plastic window. I like a food that might be alive and struggling, like me. The dough is chewy and buttery and laced with a cinnamon filling, offering comfort when you need it most: 3 p.m.

Norwegian Sourdough Rye Chips

The best part of Gardetto’s, here for your dipping requirements or cheese plate decorating (also great out of hand when boredom strikes). These crackers have a deep, toasty rye flavor and tiny holes like mini slices of sourdough. I love the way they leave my fingers a little greasy, like a fresh Cheez-It.

Jalapeño & Cream Cheese Crispy Wontons

While I never know if Trader Joe’s is going to have chives or Greek yogurt, it will always have frozen snacky snacks that tingle my takeout tastebuds. These wontons aren’t very spicy, but otherwise they’re perfect and the only justification I need to own an air fryer. (You can make them in the oven too, but it’ll take longer.)

Ridge Cut Potato Chips Seasoned With Horseradish & Chives

Here’s the heat. You will breathe fire after eating these chips, but when’s the last time you really felt something anyway? Pair with a giant sandwich and a diet root beer and feel the universe clicking into place.

Roti With Thai Red Curry

This concept reminds me of one of my favorite restaurant dishes of the current era: the roti with red curry at Thai Diner in New York. Obviously, the TJ version is not as good but it satisfies! Air-fry or pan-fry the mini rotis to avoid turning them into tostadas. And advocate to your local Trader Joe’s store manager for the addition of life-size frozen roti in 2025.

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Salmon Rub Seasoning Blend

A worthy addition to Trader Joe’s chaotic spice mix lineup, this Salmon Rub disappeared from my pantry after a few months of constant use. The balance of smoky paprika and brown sugar is spot-on. Sprinkle it on any cut of salmon, but might I suggest TJ’s BBQ Cut Salmon—my preferred thickness (very) for searing, roasting, and grilling. The rub is also great for seasoning roasted chickpeas for snacks.

Coffee Panna Cotta

My cashier said that our Trader Joe’s stocked up on this dessert because it’d blown up on TikTok. There was more panna cotta in the store than eggs. As a wiggly food obsessive, I was psyched, and it delivered. Strong in coffee (just like TJ’s coffee ice cream—also incredible), it’s the adult version of a Jell-O cup in your lunchbox. Unfortunately, it doesn’t unmold as beautifully as the photo on the box. If you’re pulling this out for a dinner party, cut up some strawberries to hide the pockmarked edges. Or squirt a wreath of whipped cream around it—festive!

White Queso Dip

Lord help us, this new queso is incredible. Unwrap the plastic seal and don’t be alarmed that the cheese has developed a skin—it’ll all come out in the radioactive glow of the microwave. (Heat it up in a separate microwave-safe bowl please.) The cheese is smooth, barely spiced with flecks of red and green pepper, and tastes like totally run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex queso—exactly what we’re going for. Pair with TJ’s Truly Tortillas Chips (see below).

Pantry Staples

Homestyle Flour Tortillas

You’ve heard it a million times, but Trader Joe’s chewy, thin flour tortillas are iconic for a reason, especially if you live in a tortilla-deprived region. Heating them over a flame or in a rippin’ hot pan is essential, otherwise they’ll be a little too chewy and doughy.

Tikka Masala Curry Sauce

Things in my basement: mouse traps, “good boxes we might need one day,” and so much backup Tikka Masala Curry Sauce. It has a well-balanced flavor that some packaged foods sorely lack. And it solves a lot of problems for me! Mainly the problem that is feeding a ho-hum human body day after day. Pour the sauce in a pan, add a can of chickpeas or some tofu cubes or shrimp (see above) and a bag of spinach done. Serve with rice or frozen naan.

Lightly Smoked Salmon

Boring but cute, and a lunch saver for topping salads and TikTok-ish rice bowls.

Non-Dairy Brown Sugar Oat Creamer

If you’re trying to save up for a house by avoiding tempting $6.25 shaken espresso drinks, this creamer does the trick. Lasts forever in the fridge, and is great with Earl Grey tea too. Might take a while to save up for that house, though.

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

This was hard to choose. The Vegan Caesar is also very good! The Ranch isn’t thick and gloopy, has real herbs in it, and gets me through a week of lunches. These refrigerated salad dressings at Trader Joe’s are go-to’s when the fantasy of being a person who makes their own salad dressings goes out the window. It isn’t defeat, it’s delicious.

Raw Argentinian Red Shrimp

Nothing adorable about this packaging, but it goes in my cart every trip. Love an affordable protein! I find the flavor sweeter and milder than other dubiously sourced shrimp. I mentioned pairing it with Trader Joe’s Tikka Masala curry paste in my post about quick meals from TJ’s, but sometimes I just sear the shrimp with garlic salt, toss it with pasta and/or salad, and call it dinner.

Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I don’t care how big your kitchen is or how gourmet of a cook you are. You’re telling me you don’t have at least one can of emergency soup in there? This sweet red pepper soup has saved me on more than one occasion, whether I’ve got a cold or need a 2-minute microwaved meal. Wonderful with a grilled cheese, a sprinkle of Gruyère, or Trader Joe’s Corn Chip Dippers.

Classic Salty Snacks

Cheeses

My complete thoughts on the best cheeses at Trader Joe’s are here, but on this trip I picked up a few favorites for a small get-together: the buttery, nutty Mini Basque Cheese and a soft wedge of a more farm-forward Goat’s Milk Gouda. The Cheddar & Gruyere Melange is for my holiday gougères and biscuits.

Truly Tortilla Chips

The only tortilla chip I can accept from TJ’s is this too-small bag of dense, super-salty chips with a hint of lime. They can hold up to dipping in a way the store’s other options (too many) simply cannot. You’ll notice there aren’t many broken chips in the bag—they’re that sturdy. Buy two.

Sea-Salted Saddle Potato Crisps

These are potato flakes reborn into duck-bill ovals, which you might recognize from somewhere. I actually have to avoid them because they bring out this feral Cookie Monster in me. I take handfuls and shove them at my face, growling as crumbs fly in all directions. Soon I’m pouring the canister into my mouth as shards impale my eyeballs and swerve up my nostrils into the gullies of my brain. They become a part of me. I lose my sense of self. I crawl along the floor and gather the crumbs, shrieking “FIVE-SECOND RULE! FIVE-SECOND RULE!” while the sun settles behind the clouds in the distance.

Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes

Perfect example of a food I’m never going to make at home but want to eat all the time. So awesome in place of tortillas for a breakfast taco. I keep these in the freezer for soups, stews, curries, chili.

Spicy Tempura Seaweed Snack

I love these greasy seaweed chips as a party trick for cocktail hour. They’ve got a dense, big crunch but are still dissolvable and airy, with those earthy green undertones of nori. Love.

Mac and Cheese Bites

Arancini walked so these balls of mac and cheese could skip and skedaddle and swerve into our hearts. Everyone knows that the best part of baked mac and cheese is that corner bite with the extra crispy crust. These are that bite every time. Come on. Pair with pepper jelly for best results.

Stepping It Up Spicy Snack Bar Mix

If I had a dive bar with a huge oil portrait of a naked lady behind the bar, only Michigan beer on tap, and a jukebox with no music made after 1974, I would serve this Spicy Snack Mix gratis in little bowls across the long mahogany bar. Inside: mini not-Cheetos, jalapeño-dusted pretzels, sesame chips, corn-nut-esque things, and spicy almonds. Soon the customers would all be regulars, their fingers always dusty with garlic powder and a hint of cayenne, and have a perpetual thirst that’s never quite quenched.

Tteok Bok Ki

We’re a few years out from the lockdown portion of the pandemic, but I’m still spending most of my time inside, under blankets, eating large quantities of food. These spicy tteokbokki pillows need to be doctored up with scallions and sesame seeds, but they’re a staple for a quick dinner that sticks to your ribs.

Classic Sweet Snacks

Chantilly Cream Vanilla Bean Mini Sheet Cake

These moist, modestly frosted baby cakes make me feel like a kid at a birthday party every time I accidentally nudge one into my cart. (Did you try the carrot cake version this spring?!) You know how when you make cake at home it’s stale by the next day? Through the magic of oil and industrial baking, these let you have cake all week. Beautiful.

Root Beer Inspired Float Bars

These ice cream bars used to be a summer seasonal special, but I bought them in November and feel like I won an all-inclusive weekend (flight not included) to a Sandals resort on Wheel of Fortune. What a coup! The icy root beer exterior is refreshing and robust, brilliantly blending with the creamy vanilla ice cream inside.

All Butter Shortbread Sandwich Cookies With a Raspberry Filling

Delicate shortbread cookies with a subdued layer of raspberry goo might sound like a snack for a post-church coffee hour. And they are! They’re lovely. The cookies are tender and made with real butter, and the tart jam is not too sweet.

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

Sometimes I wonder: What product, if discontinued, would send Trader Joe’s crumbling into its foundation like Shirley Jackson’s Hill House? It has to be the peanut and/or almond butter-filled chocolate cups, right?

Originally Appeared on Bon Appétit

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