“Light nutty flavor that is great in oatmeal, smoothies, pancakes and waffles.”
RANT
Unfortunately Trader Joe’s discontinued a very good product they used to carry, Whole Roasted Flax Seeds – and replaced it with this one: ORGANIC GROUND FLAXSEED MEAL. Meal of course meaning they pre-ground the seeds.
You know there are people who buy ground coffee. Other like myself prefer to buy coffee beans. Reason being, coffee beans which you grind before using it is so much fresher.
I preferred to buy the whole flax seeds which I would grind myself, which was not terribly hard to do in a hand grinder I got.
That way the flax seed meal was totally freshly, compared to flax seeds already ground up here.
I used to grind the whole flax seeds up with a second coffee grinder, I use for grinding things besides coffee, like some seeds and whole spices. I would grind up the whole flax seeds every day or so, which is ideal as they contain natural oils which are best fresh .
I think Whole Foods might sell whole flax seeds?
For the time being, I got this new version that Trader Joe’s replaced that product with. I use flax seeds in a few ways, for mixing into my Kefir, and smoothies and or adding into baked goods or pancakes.
Sadly I found that these pre-ground flax meal is not as good. The taste is off to me. I don’t know if they use Golden or Brown flax seeds, it looks like it’s made from a dark and a light seed.
I’m sure Trader Joe’s wanted to make it “easy” for you (as in, “what kind of customer is going to grind them themselves”?) Guess what, I did it, it’s not terribly hard and was preferable to me at least if you care about the flax meal being super fresh.
So get this if you want them pre-ground. Be sure to refrigerate the package after opening to keep as fresh as possible. Maybe even keeping this in the freezer is best?
In short, that discontinued whole flax seed was a better product. Grinding them ourselves guaranteed freshness, which this does not. So another RANT!
$3.99 / 1 lb
Another option might be to just buy whole flax seeds (AMAZON) These aren’t toasted but you could do that yourself pretty easily. (MAR 2026 cost is $6/lb)
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
Aug 04, 2022 @ 22:18:50
Please bring back the roasted (whole) flaxseeds.
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Sep 30, 2022 @ 12:32:52
We much prefer whole non-roasted flax seeds that we grind as needed (to insure max freshness and nutrition) for our good-health smoothies.
These are not “desert” smoothies – – they’re pure “healthful” smoothies. Pre-ground seeds loose nutrient value and freshness quicker. Check-out the following before you get to the “check-out” line with less than desirable healthful food : ]
https://www.eatingwell.com/article/290627/are-store-bought-pre-ground-flaxseeds-as-nutritionally-effective-as-buying-whole-seeds-and-grinding-yourself/
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Oct 08, 2022 @ 14:31:15
Please bring back the whole seed Flax Seed- it was so delicous
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Nov 01, 2022 @ 19:36:10
Just bought bulk flax seed at Fairway. Of course I bought other things there instead of Trader Joe’s since I was there. Bring backs the flax (seeds)!
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Jan 05, 2024 @ 10:43:40
I had been buying Trader Joe’s flaxseed meal for some time, but in the past few months every package has been rancid (unpleasant, bitter taste). I have bought packages with expiration dates in January, February, and March 2024 and all three had this problem. I’m done now. Has anyone else had this problem?
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Apr 12, 2025 @ 10:23:57
I too have experience a change in the taste of Trader Joe Flaxseed Meal. I’ve been buying it for years, but suddenly now the taste is very crude and rancid. I noticed on the package that this product is made in India. I never noticed this before and think they may have switched vendors. It was a good product with a great taste, but now they’ve seem to have decided to go with a lower quality vendor. I need to find a better product…
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