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.
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 these, 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 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 of stuff 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 this. You will learn right away that this can get burned pretty easily with the sugar and stuff. So be careful making this, as sticky stuff melts as you heat 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 web that people LOVE THIS FOR MAKING FRENCH TOAST. Yes. That sounds like a good 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.
Trader Joe’s has this to say: “Our Plum Torte comes to us from a longtime supplier in Canada, who just so happens to be an expert in the art and science of fruit-forward pastries. Here, they start with halved, slightly tart, quite juicy Plums (the first ingredient!), arrayed within a layer of batter. The Torte is baked until just done, then frozen in this state of perfection. Once you get it home, some time in your oven is all it takes to achieve the alluring aromas, slightly crispy edges, and tender, fruity Plum Torte of your dreams.”
Yes the first ingredient listed is plums, and as you can see in the picture you will find a good amount of them. Big halves of juicy delicious plums throughout. which make this a super yummy plum cake.
Yes, it’s a bit on the pricier side for a Trader Joe dessert dessert but the quality is there, with good ingredients. Plums and a lot of butter. It tastes like something you bought at some bakery, though at probably double the price.
Here’s my honest review: Myself, my wife, and a neighbor taste tested this PLUM TORTE. All three of us found it surprisingly good, remarking about all the tasty plums baked into a tasty, buttery cake. We thought it was quite delicious just as is, however we thought the plum torte would be spectacular if one matched this with either some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
We did have one problem which was getting a clean slice out of the pan. Our torte wanted to stick to the tray. But it was my fault, as I learned after carefully reading the instructions. I had not taken it out of the tray as recommended and put the frozen torte onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (we did “baked from frozen”). Read the two methods for baking this carefully, as they differ slightly.
They give you two ways to bake this, from Thawed and from Frozen. The Thawed method has you thaw it overnight in the fridge, so plan ahead for that one. With it thawed overnight, you bake it for only about 5-8 minutes at 350F. That method has the cake stay in the tray, and they suggest for serving you cut “off the edges of the paper tray”.
The baking from frozen method is slightly different and has you remove it from the tray (we missed this part and had left it in the tray) They say put the frozen torte on a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake for 18-20 minutes or “until heated through”. Or maybe try using the baking sheet for either frozen or thawed?
Either way let it cool for a few minutes of course.
I think the trick with this is to get it baked enough so the edges get a slight crispy-ness as that would be the optimum texture. The torte is not very sweet. The plums are a bit tart. In fact, if you like you could dust the top with a little powdered sugar, maybe even crunchy TURBINADO SUGAR.
This would be excellent to serve for company or guests.
Trader Joe’s Almonds are grown in Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley where the weather conditions are ideal for the production of California’s finest quality almonds.
I”ve gotten every kind of almond at Trader Joe’s including raw but I always come back to the roasted and salted variety. We switched over to the 50 per cent less salt kind and guess what? We don’t miss that “extra” salt at all. These are perfect. If you want to cut down a bit on sodium, trust me you won’t miss that extra amount.
These almonds are delicious. So delicious in fact, I have be very careful lest I find that half the bag has magically disappeared.
The quality of Trader Joe’s nuts is well known, not to mention TJ’s nuts I think are better on price than almost anywhere else?
Trader Joe’s is selling these for $6.49 now. DRY ROASTED.
Certified Organic, 13g Whole Grains per serving, 70 cal slice
This is a NEW ITEM (AUG 2026)
21 Grains and Seeds Thin Sliced Organic Bread, with whole wheat and “organic seed and nut mix” containing organic sunflower, flax, pumpkin, sesame, black sesame, poppy, millet, rolled oats, quinoa, rye, spelt, yellow corn, amaranth, buckwheat, khorasan, purple corn, brown rice, sorghum, vital gluten, seeds and flours and other goodies like molasses.
A very nice slightly nutty tasting light brown whole wheat bread. Sliced thinly. One slice is 70 calories.
Made great toast with this as well as grilled cheese sandwiches. I would buy this again.
$4.49 for a 20 oz loaf
“Trader Joe’s Organic Thin Sliced 21 Grains & Seeds Bread is multi-faceted. Each Grain and Seed contributes its own characteristic taste and texture to produce a brown bread that is moist and slightly sweet, with a satisfyingly robust flavor. It’s excellent for sandwiching Organic Reduced Sugar Strawberry Preserves and Creamy Salted Peanut Butter. It’s also fantastic when two pieces are toasted in a pan with a generous number of Cheddar & Gruyere Mélange slices all melty in-between. And since our supplier has Sliced each loaf nice and Thin, it’s ideal for smaller-portioned sandwiches and toasts: each Slice comes in at about 70 calories.”
“Trader Joe’s Just Salmon Skin Baked Dog Treat are made from salmon raised without antibiotics in the cold waters of Northern Scotland. The skin is simply baked with nothing else added” (from the package)
INGREDIENTS: Salmon skin
These are pieces of Salmon skin and nothing else, baked into little pieces, ending up as crispy crunchy bite size snacks. They are not stinky, just the tiniest bit fishy smelling.
I think your dog will love these.
Me, I have cats. Sure these are labeled “for dogs” but is there any law that says cat owners, like yours truly, can’t give them to our feline friends too? I mean there’s nothing that is bad for cats in these. Its just salmon skin. Fish. Period. No additives, no nothin’. So I tested these to see if my two cats would like them for treats.
Result: One of my cats loves these treats and crunches a piece into smithereens in seconds. The other, a pickier eater, will on occasion eat one but sometimes will ignore the treat, while kind of looking at me like I’m cheating him with just skin and not the FREEZE DRIED SALMON pet treats which are pieces of salmon with flesh. Which by the way is labeled “For Pets” not just “For Dogs” like this one.
Paneer is a fresh, non-melting Indian cheese that you can cube, slice, or crumble. It absorbs flavors and holds its shape when heated. Use it in curries, stir-fries, salads, or as a substitute for tofu or halloumi
Apparently twice before, Trader Joe’s used to sell a paneer cheese, first way back in the 90’s and again around 2000. But they say it just didn’t catch on back then so they dropped it.
Now with a few very popular items like PALAAK PANEER and PANEER TIKKA MASALA – which they sell a lot of – people are more familiar with paneer. So once again, TJ’s just came out with this, Indian Style Paneer Cheese. This is made for Trader Joe’s by a cheese producer in Wisconsin.
What makes paneer cheese useful to cook with is that it doesn’t melt. Paneer stays pretty solid when cooked. So good for adding to dishes as well as for grilling. Trader Joe’s says marinate it in your favorite spices before grilling. Or simply add it for extra cheese into one of entrées like PALAAK PANEER. I love Palaak Paneer but I think theyve gotten chincier with how much paneer is in it (Which I think it used to have more, and maybe they cut back for cost reasons?)
“Made for us in Wisconsin, this pasteurized cow’s milk cheese is produced by curdling the milk with acetic and lactic acids, resulting in a firm and crumbly fresh cheese with a subtle tang.”
This cheese is just milk and acid to coagulate it. It has zero salt and no flavor really. Think of it as a blank canvas like tofu.
Here’s my honest review of this new PANEER cheese. I was expecting this to be like the paneer in their entrees (made in India) like Palaak Paneer or Tikka Masala Paneer. This seemed firmer (before I learned the hot water soaking trick) and needing to let it cook at least 10 minutes or more.
(hot water trick!) *What I have learned since I started is that some people recommend putting paneer in very hot water for about 5 minutes before using it.
I tried to “crumble” it as they describe it as being “firm and crumbly”. I couldn’t really crumble the cheese with my fingers (tip: this worked better after the hot water trick*).
I cut the paneer into cubes and sauteed/grilled it in butter, sprinkling on some Indian masala spices and curry powder. Not bad that way grilled up. Grill it low and slow.
I tried the hot water soak, the second time I cooked with it and it did seem to help with the texture being too firm. Worth trying this hot bath trick before you use it. Also I learned to cook it for longer periods. If putting in a stew or curry let it cook at least 10 minutes to soften and absorb flavors. If grilling this, try low and slow till nice and golden brown. Flavoring: you need to add a ton of things to give it flavor. Garlic is wonderful and lemon juice at the end will perk it up nicely. Don’t forget a pinch of salt! It has zero.
I adore key lime pie, so I was happy to see that Trader Joe’s had one. Here’s my honest review of Trader Joe’s KEY LIME PIE, sold in the frozen section.
While I thought this pie was kind of tasty and did have some of that key lime flavor, unfortunately the level of sugar in this is through the roof. This key lime pie is just way, way too sweet. Too much sugar. My wife tasted it and immediately made a screwed up face and complained that it was Crazy Sweet. She could barely eat hers.
With the pie we had to drink some strong black tea,. which helped tame a bit of the sweetness level.
Which led me to wonder I if I could try adding a dollop of plain GREEK YOGURT on top of the pie to cut down the level of sweetness. That did actually help, somewhat, with the sourness of the yogurt countering the sweetness which made it a bit more edible. My suggestion if you do buy this key lime pie, get some plain Greek yogurt, or unsweetened whipped cream for it. It will still be sweet of course but more tolerable.
IF they could cut down the sugar (which is a whopping 39 gram per serving) I would like this. As it is, I can just give this a MEH. B- for effort.
Key Lime Pie is not an easy pie to make and to get it right. You need lots of REAL key lime (which are costly, and should be from Florida (aka the real deal) not Mexico in the perfect ratio to sweetened condensed milk to balance out the sweetness. Real Key Lime’s are very sour. So the combo works.
Steve’s Key Lime pie is amazing, balanced perfectly and nowhere near as sweet as Trader Joe’s version. It has the citrus to sweet level correct. I’m sure it’s probably because they add more way more and real FL key limes, which are an expensive ingredient. Of course it costs a LOT more than TJ’s pie, which is only six bucks. So while this is a good price, and kind of tasty, its again simply too sweet. You can try to fix it up a bit with some yogurt, which does help make it more palatable. Maybe even a squirt of lime or lemon?
Trader Joe’s: “Tender sheets of pasta layered with creamy ricotta, tangy tomato sauce, and plenty of ground beef and pork seasoned with onion and garlic (the words “ultimate comfort food” would not be hyperbole here). Topped with an additional trifecta of cheeses—mozzarella, Romano, and Parmesan—the Lasagna is made fresh, then frozen and shipped to our stores, ready to report for ‘What’s for dinner?’ duty.”
(after baking in the oven)
RAVE
Just great to have in the freezer.
How can anyone not love lasagna? Soft slightly chewy, flat, wide sheets of yellow noodles, in three or four layers with a delicious tomato sauce and cheese. THREE kinds of cheese. All the layers topped with a cheesy bechamel sauce after baking that gets nice and golden brown and delicious. That is sounds like my Ultimate Comfort Food.
Years ago, I actually used to make it every now and then when I had company, as it was always a hit and could feed a crowd. But it is a lot of work.
If you are not going to make it yourself this Trader Joe’s frozen lasagna is an easy way to satisfy that craving. I had seen reviews of this online that people considered Trader Joe’s frozen lasagna quite good. I wanted to finally try it.
We got one to do a taste test for a little get together with a neighbor who wanted an “easy meal”. This TJ lasagna as our Main. Here’s my honest review. It’s true. Trader Joe’s frozen lasagna is not only pretty good, its surprisingly good. When we tasted it our reaction was that this was way better than we expected. This lived up to it’s well deserved reputation.
Trader Joe’s FAMILY STYLE MEAT LASAGNA is very tasty, very satisfying and just really yummy. TJ’s frozen lasagna actually tasted like something you could be served out at a family restaurant. All three of us tasters kept remarking at how (pleasantly) surprised at just how good this was for something made commercially. The ingredients even lists fennel seed. Now that’s Italian. The pasta, meaty sauce and cheese combined perfectly and was well seasoned with herbs and spices. The rich meaty sauce includes both beef and pork for plenty of umami. The noodles still had texture, they weren’t mushy. I liked the ratio of noodles to the layered cheese and stuff inside. For me, the best part were those dark, baked corner edges. I was sure we over-baked it but it was actually perfect. Just really nice and browned at the corners where the top of the lasagna baked up nice and chewy with browned cheesy goodness. The corner pieces were my favorite part.
All in all, this is quite a decent tasty entree , which was satisfyingly good and frankly a good deal for the price ($7.49). I think that would not buy you one portion of lasagna, anywhere, right? Let alone 4 (or 3!)
If you have this in your freezer, this can make a really easy dinner, which everyone will probably like and come in for a very affordable price…$2-3 a portion? Sweet deal for a family.
PORTION SIZE: This lasagna is 24 oz (2 lbs). While the box says “4 servings” (which would be about 8 ounces each) realistically that might be a tiny bit on the low side as far as feeding 4 adults. Maybe 4 adults if this is served with 2 sides, or with a salad and some bread.
When we ate it, there were three of us, myself, my wife and our neighbor. We served and ate about 3/4 of the lasagna to start with. But frankly this was so tasty, when we finished what we had, we all said we wanted a little more! So us three adults ending up finishing the whole thing easily, even with a salad and a side dish. So just FYI, realistically maybe think 3 adults, or 2 adults and 2 kids, especially if you want another bite or two. Kids as well I think will love this too, of course.
COOKING METHOD: Sure the box say you can nuke this but I say: “Fugedabouit! This will taste best baked, period. The box it even says baking is the “preferred method”. Browning greatly adds to the overall taste and get those nice chewy bits, which is done by baking semi-covered with the film which you later remove and bake a bit more at the end (the film is oven safe of course). Microwaving will not give the needed browning. So just plan on baking this, please.
HOW TO BAKETrader Joe’s frozen Lasagna – “Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Put the lasagna on a baking sheet. Lift up the two opposite corners of the plastic film on the top slightly so it can vent (important). Bake for 65 mins, then remove and carefully remove the film so it can brown. Put it back for about 5 minutes to finish browning. For reference, you can check my picture. It looks over baked but it was perfect IMO, with the corners being my favorite part of it. If you want less browning thats your call.
Remove and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
So yes it will take a little over and hour to cook this from frozen, baking in the oven. Perhaps, if this is defrosted maybe it would cut down on baking time to 30-45 minutes? Might be worth trying. Leave it out on the counter for a few hours to defrost….
ADDITIONS? Of course if you want to, you add things just before serving this to ramp up the homemade angle. You could grate on some fresh Parmesan or Pecorino, add fresh basil if you have it, and add a drizzle of EVOO. If you want extra sauce with it you could even open a jar of your favorite one and serve a little on the side for mopping up with some good toasty bread.
A great Trader Joe’s product, and quite the value.
Trader Joe’s FAMILY STYLE MEAT LASAGNA$7.49 (24 oz)
I would buy this again.
(Tip: I saw they also sell a non-frozen lasagna in the refrigerated case; it’s 50 cents more, $7.99. I have not tried that yet)
PRODUCT OF CANADA – I hope the price is not affected by tariffs!!!
I actually really love a good hot dog, however as someone who tries to watch what they eat, hot dogs now are something I will basically only eat once a year – on July 4th! So when I do eat a hot dog, it’s got to be really good, of course, and would prefer it be one that is at least trying to be one of the “healthier” versions. But still really tasty.
For me, Trader Joe’s Organic Uncured Grass Fed All Beef Hot Dogs fits the bill exactly. Most important, these are good and tasty hot dogs, that are made better than many others that have questionable ingredients, something hot dogs are notorious for. These have good ingredients. Made with USDA certified organic beef from grass fed cows. They don’t contain added nitrates or nitrites as preservatives (ie, “uncured”). They use natural ingredients to “cure” them, specifically celery and sea salt. The ingredients are not mysterious. The rest of the ingredients are all organic seasonings, things like garlic puree, minced onion, paprika, and red pepper flakes. “No fillers. No kidding”.
We got these for a July 4th get together this year and these dogs were a big hit. Everyone commented on how good the hot dogs were. Nice and tasty, well seasoned the way I like my dogs with: “Organic black pepper, organic ginger, organic nutmeg, organic red pepper, organic paprika, organic garlic powder, organic onion powder, organic coriander, organic celery powder, organic garlic puree….”
These were so yummy on those good buns with good sauerkraut. I can’t wait for July 4th to roll around year again! You and your kids however may eat them anytime you are in the mood for hot dogs and want them to be as good as possible.
110 calories per hot dog
$5.99 (10 oz package, which has 6 hot dogs)
I would buy these again.
“NO PRESERVATIVES; KEEP REFRIGERATED BELOW 40 F AT ALL TIMES”
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