“Combining the patisserie polish of a classically French lemon meringue tart with the tropical flavors of ripe passion fruit, every bite of Trader Joe’s Passion Fruit Meringue Tartelettes is tangy, buttery, and so very satisfying. They come to us from an expert baker in France, who starts with a crisp, crumbly tart shell that they fill with a full-flavored Passion Fruit curd, then top with a perfectly-piped dollop of Meringue prior to baking.” – Trader Joe’s
These tarts are one of my favorite desserts Trader Joe’s has. Imagine a Lemon Tart, but its made with the tropical fruit, passion fruit. So a bit unusual and very special. My neighbor got these as a treat for us to share as we’ve had them before and both loved them. One each. No Sharing!
These are “Made in France”, and they taste like it. Classic, very fruit forward with big buttery flavor. Passion fruit is not a super familiar fruit in the U.S. It’s very tropical, actually a bit sour so here of course it’s sweetened so you still get a little bit of it’s sourness, which counterbalances the sweetness of this dessert. The top has a soft pretty meringue concoction. The whole thing is smooth and yummy with a some buttery pastry binding the tart together.
Instructions say, “Let thaw in fridge for 2 hrs”.
One guy on Reddit, wrote “its the longest two hours of my life”.
These are a 10/10 dessert.
$5.49 package (2 tarts) 200g / 7.05 ounces
320 calories each
PS – Trader Joe’s website says these are “limited” sold in Spring but I just saw them in the freezer of my Trader Joe’s (now mid- November) So hopefully you will find them, or wait till they come back. “Supply Is Limited”
These are a limited seasonal Thanksgiving item. “Available till the end of November.” So grab them if you want to try them.
Trader Joe’s Just Like Your Grandma’s Stuffing CHICKEN SAUSAGE with carrots, celery, caramelized onions and spices
They picked a long crazy name for these new sausages, probably to get our attention. Guess what, it worked on me. I saw this and the crazy name did make me curious and want to check them out. Well, I can’t say they exactly remind me of “grandmas stuffing”. However I liked them. I think these sausages are quite tasty.
These are small sized savory sausages made from chicken and a host of vegetables plus spices, and I found them tasty.
Trader Joe’s introduce them as a Thanksgiving product saying, you’ve got to serve people before and after Thanksgiving day itself and these could be for that, maybe for your family’s breakfast the next day (or a snack or appetizer)
“After a few minutes plumping in the microwave or crisping in a pan, they achieve a tender, meaty texture and flavor that’ll bring back heartwarming memories of homemade Stuffing from way back when.” (tip: I say No Nukes; I they will taste better browned up)
Here’s my honest review of these sausages:
I scored them on both sides. Grilled two up in a pan with a little butter and cooked them about 3-4 minutes per side, until they looked golden brown and delicious. And delicious they were. They swelled up and got plump and juicy. These were very tasty and satisfying. Honestly if I didn’t know these were chicken not pork, I could almost swear they were those old pork sausages we used to get on special occasions when I was a kid (Jones Sausages?). These are that savory. Great flavor and wonderful spices. They were great when I just ate them just by themselves but I know I would love these with eggs, or pancakes and maple syrup, or what have you.
On thing I really liked was they are not kidding about things like carrots. As I bit into a sausage, I could the middle had orange bits and green bits. Beside chicken these contain carrots, celery, caramelized onions, and aromatic herbs and spices such as sage, thyme, and rosemary. I guess that’s the Thanksgiving connection. Anyway, they were so yummy my two test sausages got eaten quickly. Yum.
Ingredient list is fairly short and fairly natural. Chicken, carrots, and celery are the first three ingredients. Then, caramelized onions, vinegar, black pepper, sage, thyme, citrus pulp, onion powder, rosemary extract, white pepper. Seem fairly low in sodium and low in fat. Label says, “Gluten Free“
My suggestion to cook them would be to make them pan fried. Medium heat, add a bit of butter to help browning. Cook till golden brown. You could do your eggs (or pancakes) in the same pan.
No preservatives. “After opening, use in 3 days.” (or freeze)
2 sausages = 100 calories (50 cal each).
12 oz package $4.99 (LIMITED TIME) Find them in the Refrigerated section. “Available till the end of November.” So grab them if you want to try them. I could see freezing a package (or two)
Trader Joe’s Hane Style Beef Gyoza, frozen dumplings
Hane-style gyoza (known in Japan as hanetsuki gyoza, or “winged gyoza”) is a popular style of Japanese pan-fried dumpling distinguished by a golden, lacy, crispy starch “wing” or “skirt” that connects the individual gyoza together
Trader Joe’s has come out with these NEW frozen dumplings which try to replicate this way of making them with that crispy bottom skirt. The cooking method with these is “pan steaming” them. (So: no nuking, and no air fryers.)
If you are one of those who love trying out all of Trader Joe’s frozen dumpling options, you will want to try these new ones. From what I gather online, these have already become a Viral TJ’s item.
Are they worthy of the hype? So let’s start with, yes I did think these were pretty tasty. The lacy skirt thing may not turn out as pretty as home made from scratch (see below). Oh and by the way, at first I never saw them in the frozen dumpling section, so I asked my TJ’s front desk if they had any. and he said they were in a different area and got me some, so if you don’t see them, just ask the front desk 😉
First, if you are new to this dumpling bottom crispy starch wings thing, I suggest taking a look at the link below to see what The Real Thing looks like, made from scratch. You can get an idea how this technique can really come out. Plus you can learn how to make them with any dumplings and some flour and water. Lisa Lin clearly knows what she’s doing, as hers look fantastic. Check our her site and watch her video on how to really make those lacy bottom skirts with basically just a flour slurry.
Naturally Trader Joe’s frozen Hane Style Beef Gyoza don’t come out as good as those, however the bottoms of mine did get a bit of that lacy bottom and did get crispy on the bottom. Here you can see a few when I made them the first time. BTW I forgot to separate them a half inch apart as per the instructions (D’oh)!
This was my first try making these new gyoza. From what I understand how good these come out totally depends on your technique cooking them. I read online people say follow the instructions on the package to the letter.
Tip: You definitely want to use a good non-stick pan (or cast iron which I used). I watched one video of guy who made these and could not get them out of his old, worn out non stick pan, they just stuck like glue. They are not called “pot stickers” (gou tié) for nothing.(The Chinese guo tié became gyoza in Japanese.)
This beef filling here is a bit different from the typical (pork). These are made with ground beef, onions, scallions, vermicelli, a little shitake and other things. It is pretty tasty. These beef dumplings make a interesting change with their their own unique beefy Japanese flavor, thought I do love me some typical pork/chive dumplings.
When I made these I found the wrappers a little bit too thin and got too soft. Not chewy enough but maybe that could be a bit with my cooking. I have to experiment the next time I make them again to find the best cooking technique, which might mean adding a hair less water (they say “add two ounces water”). I just eyeballed the amount. Also my (rather extensive) dumpling cooking experience tells me one should add a bit of oil to the pan first.
They could be eaten without sauce but you still might want to eat these with your favorite sauce and/or chili crisp. I made a sauce for these myself (soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, scallion….) Trader Joe ‘s bottled sauce options could be Soyaki, or Ponzu, or your whatever your favorite dumpling sauce is.
How to Cook:
In a good non-stick or cast iron pan, place six frozen gyoza seam-side up. Optional? add a little oil
Pour two ounces water over them. Cover with a lid, turn on medium heat.
Let steam for 7 minutes.
Remove lid and continue cooking until water evaporated and bottom looks lightly browned (approx 2-3 mins).
Loosen with spatula. Turn off heat. Let rest for two minutes. Gently remove with spatula (optional) flip onto a plate; very carefully!
Done. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce
TIP: the pan flip thing could be dangerous; you could just flip them over with a spatula onto a plate bottom side up ;
I made them a second time; following instructions to the letter (I measured 2 ounces water) and they turned out worse then the first time. I think reducing that, maybe 1 1/2 ounces. You may need to experiment with these.
You can get a few tips from Ms Ming PhD if you watch this before making them. Spread them a little bit apart though. I concur about using a bit of oil despite what the package says.
Could be a snack, appetizer or the main part of a meal which is what I did with them with fried rice on the side. These go really well with JAPANESE FRIED RICE.
TJ’s says: “….These chicken meatballs are made with all natural, minimally processed chicken thigh and breast meat from birds raised without antibiotics. The chicken is ground and mixed with chopped cranberries and jalapeño, then fully cooked…”
People seem to love Trader Joe’s convenient chicken meatballs. They’ve come out with yet another flavor combo – Cranberry and Jalapeño which they say is a “sweet and savory” version. Add them to the growing and changing list of Chicken Meatballs (four? five?).
I’ve liked a few of the chicken meatball flavors they’ve come out with. To me the most interesting variation has been those Buffalo Style meatballs. Very savory and they do have a little kick. These don’t.
If you find the Buffalo ones too spicy you may like these. I mostly taste the “sweet” here in these cranberry ones and I am not getting much of the “jalapeño”.
Compared to the original plain ones, these mainly taste sweet from dried cranberries with just a hint of jalapeno? Me, I would have like a bit more of the jalapeno flavor going on here. They not only have dried cranberries, they also have sugar?
Compared to the Buffalo ones, these are mild. Personally I find the Buffalo ones tastier, but those are pretty spicy. So for those who don’t like spice and especially for kids, you might want to try these.
Cook them on the stove, air fryer, baked in an oven or tossed into the sauce of your choosing. Sauce for these? Perhaps these could these be good with the Pumpkin Bisque? Maybe mixed into the SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI?
Maybe they might make a good easy appetizer for Thanksgiving or holiday gatherings….?
“These Meatballs make a great savory snack or appetizer—just simmer these them in a sauce of your choice, or serve alongside a tangy dip, and you have a quick and flavorful appetizer for cocktail and holiday parties alike.”
I found these one note and wasn’t very impressed with them, however I’m sure others will like that they are sweet and not spicy.
The new stores will open across 15 states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.
Trader Joe’s did not disclose the exact opening dates for each location.
“Grown in the Northern Highlands of Vietnam, this 100% Arabica coffee expresses notes of roasted herbs and cocoa in every satisfying sip. It’s bright and balance profile a result of the high elevation and mild climate of its growing region. Makes it especially suited to pairing with pastries and fresh cut fruit”
“Trader Joe’s Vietnam Medium Roast Small Lot Coffee benefits from the Vietnamese Northern Highlands’ high elevation and comparatively temperate climate, which both allow the Coffee beans to ripen slowly and steadily, developing a pleasant equilibrium between the more acidic, cocoa-like elements and savory, herby aspects of its unique flavor profile.”
“while supplies last—these truly are Small Lot Coffees, and once they’re gone, there’s no telling when (or if!) they’ll be back!”
LIMITED ITEM
Trader Joe’s just came out with this new VIETNAM SMALL LOT COFFEE. I believe this is the first coffee they’ve had from Vietnam to my knowlege. It’s Medium roast. The whole beans looked and smelled lovely, and the bag I got was pretty fresh. The roast date was only about 3 weeks before I bought it, not too bad for Trader Joe’s.
Reading the package – which is so beautiful by the way – I was a bit surprised reading the words “Roasted Herbs”. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before to describe a coffee.
So how is it?
I actually really liked this. In fact the more and more I tried it over the next few days, it grew on me, more and more.It is a bit unique (roasted herbs?) . Yes for the “cocoa” notes and there that other note, I can’t quite put my finger on. A slight funkiness? In a good way. Possibly that must be the “roasted herbs” part. OK, then. In fact, here in the U.S. some Vietnamese people make Vietnamese coffee with the New Orleans brand Cafe Du Monde which has roasted chicory in it!
In addition to brewing it as I normally do, in my Moka pot, I thought, I why don’t I try making a “Vietnamese Coffee” with these beans since I have that typical Vietnamese Phin Filter for making Viet Ca Phe. You may have had this style coffee, maybe in a Vietnamese restaurant. Cafe Sua Da can be served either cold and hot. Like a drip espresso style with the coffee mixed with condensed sweetened milk. It’s delicious.
When I made it with this Vietnam Coffee, here too, the result was delicious. It was particularly good made that way. BTW Trader Joe’s sells cans of Sweetended Condensed Milk too. But it was good too, just made regular fashion.
If, like me, you are into checking out pretty much any SMALL LOT COFFEE they come out with, at least to try once, I would say this one is worth trying. It’s an interesting and tasty coffee. Lastly I am so impressed with the incredible illustration on the bag design with water lilies, lotuses, mountains, and water…
TRADER JOE’S SMALL LOT VIETNAM COFFEE – $11.99 (12 oz) bag
Those Vietnamese “phin” filters are not expensive (under $12) . Condensed milk goes for about $3.
“In Vietnam, coffee, whether it’s brewed and served at home or in restaurants, is brewed leisurely. Hot coffee (cà phê nóng) is preferred in the morning, while iced coffee (cà phê sữa đá) is saved for the heat later in the day.” – HungryHuy
TRADER JOE’S MAPLE STREUSEL BREAD – “A Soft Moist Loaf With A Rich Maple Flavor, Topped With A Crumbly Streusel”
LIMITED TIME, Seasonal, Autumn
<TIP: This Makes Great French Toast ! >
I came across the Maple Streusel Bread, which is a Trader Joe’s seasonal Fall item. Actually I could smell it when I got close to the shelf, even through the bag. This has a wonderful, enticing maple aroma.
Even though I knew it’s not exactly health food, I thought I should try this and review it. For you guys. That’s my excuse, as I normally eat try to stay eating pretty healthy 😉
Sweetness level I would say is like that of cinnamon buns, though here the aroma is that of maple. Rich maple flavors. The bread is a bit dense and has a crumbly streusel topping and icing, and swirls throughout the bread. Its a bit sticky when you handle it.
I tried it a number of ways. Plain, right out of the bag. A bit sweet but not bad. Next I put on a little butter. Yummy. Next I thought I should try toasting it. Warning: You learn right away that this can burn easily with the sugar and stuff. So be careful and know sticky stuff melts from it.
The slice of toast below is actually not burned, just toasted up to the perfect point where it was really golden brown and delicious with some salted butter spread all over it. Toasted it was already way better. So yummy. You could sprinkle on cinnamon too for that cinnamon sugar taste.
TIP: When toasting this, keep a close eye on it as it can go from perfect to burned quickly. Go slow (low heat). I toasted it on my cast iron grill pan. It will drip some. If making in a toaster oven, put foil underneath as it will drip and get sticky.
Next I saw on the Net that people LOVE THIS FOR MAKING FRENCH TOAST. Oh yeah, that sounds like a great idea.
I tried it as the bread for French Toast. Yup, it turned out terrific. Again, cook it slowly and carefully on fairly low heat. I cooked it in in my grill pan, in about a tablespoon of Kerrygold salted butter.
When its finished it looks wonderful and basically makes its own syrup from the maple and stuff. It almost doesn’t need any maple syrup but add if you want to really double down on the maple. I think could also be good with fresh berries, Greek yogurt or even a bit of good jam.
MAPLE STREUEL BREAD FRENCH TOAST: Egg/milk mixture. 1 egg plus a splash of milk will cover about 2 or 3 slices. Let it soak for some time to absorb the liquid, maybe 10-15 minutes. so it penetrates the whole slice. I cooked it in good (salted) butter. Cook till golden brown and delicious. Serve.
$4.99 (20 oz) About 13 slices in the loaf.
1 slice has 150 cals. And yes a pretty big 13 gram sugar (which is 26% of rec. daily amount)
Features real maple syrup, a brown sugar swirl, maple streusel topping, and sweet icing.
Nutrition: Contains 150 calories per 43-gram slice, with 4g of total fat and 13g of sugar.
Texture: Dense and rich loaf, often described as cake-like.
Popular Uses: Best enjoyed toasted with salted butter or used to make French Toast.
Availability: Offered for a limited time during the autumn
Perfect for cozy fall breakfasts and making irresistible French toast!
The only bread for French Toast? Well, I think the Sliced Brioche regular of pumpkin also make great French Toast.
“Rich creamy CHOWDAH made with hand shucked Atlantic surf clams, tender potatoes, and sauteed onions”
Even Trader Joe’s knows to pronounce it properly, with a Boston accent: Its pronounced “CHOW-DAH”
New England Clam Chowder is one of my favorite kinds of soups, especially in colder months, though could be enjoyed most anytime. A creamy, tasty clam chowder is just so satisfying. Hearty and flavorful. Trader Joe’s sells a ready to eat version for $4.99, which is a good price compared to say a restaurant, or Whole Foods.
Ingredients here include: Fish stock, light cream, clam juice, clam meat, potatoes, onions, butter, flour, clam concentrate, salt, sugar, garlic, vinegar, red pepper….
Here’s my hones review of Trader Joe’s New England Clam Chowder.
It was recommended to me by a friend as a good soup from Trader Joe’s. I see why she recommended it. They got the flavors right. The flavor of this is pretty much right on the money for a tasty chowder.
What I liked: The flavor is quite good, from the combination of cream, milk, fish stock, clams and clam juice. Very tasty.
What I feel could be better: Could be bit thicker. While I don’t like a gloppy chowder where they put too much flour in it, this is a bit on the thin side for a chowder. Hence all the good stuff will be one the bottom of your bowl. I suggest you could toss in some Oyster Crackers as they do up in Boston. (TJ’s sells Oyster Crackers.)
The taste of this chowder is great, and if it had a bit more stuff, it would be terrific. A few more potatoes in it for one thing. Of course I would love a few more clams too. At least the clams that are in this are good. The hand shucked Atlantic Surf clams are flavorful, cut into small pieces and are soft, not rubbery (or sandy!)
Lets be honest, its Trader Joe’s, not Whole Foods which has lots of stuff in it but they charge maybe 8 bucks for 16 ounes? I saw a clam chowder at Fairway yesterday which looked good with lots of clams. But a 32 oz container there was about $11.
So overall though it could use a bit more of the main ingredients, it’s got very good flavor.
My wife and I had this for dinner. The container (20 oz) gave us each an average size, not whopping, bowl. But along with some bread, salad and a side, it made for very satisfying dinner.
Could be a great lunch too of course. Heat and Eat so could not be easier. A whole container is 530 calories. I even thought for a next time to throw in some (frozen) scallops they sell.
TIP: Enjoy this with TJ’s Oyster Crackers to put on top of this. If you love black pepper, add a nice bit like I did. Some chopped parsley would send this up a notch too.
Ditto; should you have a slice of cooked bacon, throw it in. Salt pork is very traditional for chowders.
Three baristas were asked to pick the best store bought coffee.
All three of them picked the Trader Joe’s coffee I had also picked some time back after tasting it.
Here’s what they said:
“After weighing roast level, sourcing, and flavor balance, the coffee experts we spoke to recommended Trader Joe’s Bolivian Blend for a good everyday coffee.”
I’m no barista, just a coffee lover so when I read this in Real Simple I felt just a wee bit vindicated, in that three coffee professionals picked the coffee I had picked as a Winner at Trader Joe’s. If you want to check out the original article at Real Simple here is the link to it,
Since TJ’s introduced this ORGANIC BOLIVIAN coffee, it has become my Go-To Trader Joe’s regular coffee buy. This is just a great All Around coffee. And they almost always seem to have supply of it in stock. Whole bean. Medium roast. Good for all brewing methods. Ten bucks, not outrageous for and Organic and Fair Trade whole bean coffee.
My review of the Organic Bolivian Blend if you missed it is here (link) It’s now $9.99 for a bag (12 oz)
I saw something a bit interesting yesterday at Trader Joe’s. There were a few new bags of pasta, marked 99 cents . In fact, so new they hadn’t gotten around to having TJ’s regular handmade signs they are famous for.
The familiar pastas in the colors of the Italian flag, that have been 99 cents, had gone up. Now $1.29.
Trader Joe’s Italian Penne Rigate (Product of Italy) were 99 cents forever. The new bags of pasta that are 99 cents say PRODUCT OF EGYPT on the back.
No doubt this is a cost measure in order for Trader Joe’s to continue to be able to have some pastas to sell for 99 cents, I am guessing due to rising costs on the ones from Italy. Guessing they couldn’t continue to sell some of the cheaper Italian pasta for $1 a bag so found these from Egypt as a replacement.
I didn’t try these new ones from Egypt yet but in the past I’ve gotten pasta elsewhere from Egypt which was not bad at all. By the way, don’t be surprised pasta is popular in Egypt. In fact, the national dish, KOSHARY is eaten by millions of Egyptians every day usually for breakfast. It’s a hearty dish made with pasta, rice, lentils, and other legumes. Filling!
The “better” Italian organic / artisanal pastas at Trader Joe’s are the same price, they’ve been around $1.49-1.99. Like ORGANIC Cavatappi still $1.99. Their Italian Organic Spaghetti ($1.49 price unchanged) is fantastic and a bargain, equal to top Italian Brands here. So those are an even better deal now, and I love all of those.
But if you are on a real tight budget, at least you can still buy pasta for 99 cents at Trader Joe’s. As I’ve said before, a jar of their Marinara (1.99) and a bag of this pasta (0.99) canfeed a family for three bucks.
So there are quite a few classes of pasta at Trader Joe’s…. The better ones are Organic/Artisanal, and use are bronze die cut (rougher exterior) …. Most of those are marked Organic.
UPDATE: I got the FUSILLI pasta (Egypt) from Trader Joe’s and tried it. I even compared it to the Italian one (formerly .99 now $1.29) The two are comparable. The Egyptian one is a tiny bit bigger in diameter, both say made with DURUM SEMOLINA. The cooking time for both is 10 minutes. The Italian one took a tiny bit more cooking time (30 seconds). Taste and texture is comparable, not wildly different. If you want to save 30 cents, I think the 99 cents Egyptian pasta is fine; great value. I would buy it again. There are Fusilli, Penne and Spaghetti ones.
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