Trader Joe’s latest dip is called ROASTED TOMATO LABNEH DIP. Its thick and creamy, tangy, cheesy, and herby from dill and parsley.
It has roasted tomatoes on top. Labneh is made from very thick strained yogurt. Trader Joe’s dip incorporates ingredients like balsamic vinegar, herbs and garlic as well. You can use this as a spread or a dip. This would be great on top of chicken or fish. Try it with Pita chips or your favorite crackers. It worked great when I put this out as a dip along with veggie sticks (celery, carrot, yellow pepper….) T
“Try dunking Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomato Labneh Dip with pita chips, fresh Lavash, or really anything tasty and dunkable…. carrot sticks, pitted olives, French fries, you name it. Try spreading it on a sandwich, a Falafel wrap, or even just a slice of sourdough toast. Try dropping it by the spoonful over salads, hearty grain bowls, or tomato-based soups. Whatever you do, just be sure you try it! It’s a tart, cheesy, herby, phenomenally full-flavored eating experience, and it’s now available at your neighborhood Trader Joe’s.” – Trader Joe’s
I liked this quite a bit. The Labneh dip is good with most anything: vegetables, chicken, meat or fish like grilled salmon, as a dip, as a shmeer on a bagel or sandwich, with falafel, mixed with hummus, or chickpeas. Spread some on TJ’s Lavash. Labneh is especially good with eggs, Turkish style. Try putting an egg, fried or poached egg on top of a spread or bed of the labneh. It’s a little tangy/sour. I liked that taste, however my wife found it a little too tangy. After I finished half of it as-is, I decided to see how it would be mixed with a mashed avocado. It was very good mixed with the avocado. After doing that my wife loved the Avo-Labneh mixture, so you may want to try this hack too. Speaking of which, this would be great as the base of AVOCADO TOAST.
Trader Joe’s Roasted Tomato Labneh Dip $3.49 (8.5 oz) I would buy this again.
“They’re made for us by pretzel experts out of Wisconsin, who know just the right ratio of ingredients needed to get that rich, mahogany color, delightfully chewy consistency, and malty flavor in every bite. We find that their flavor profile and texture make them a real boon to burgers, and many other styles of sandwich, as well” – Trader Joe’s
I saw these Trader Joe’s PRETZEL BUNS in the bakery section about a week ago. They looked just perfect for a hamburger. I wondered if they would be any good for a burger. Here’s my honest review.
Wow, these are So Good. They were as good as I could have hoped for. My wife really like them too. These buns are just perfect for burgers as well as to make sandwiches with. As soon as I saw them I knew I had to try them with a burger. Somewhere between a pretzel and bun, but leaning way more to the bun side. Don’t worry they’re not pretzels. They’re buns with a hint of pretzels. They are soft but not too soft. They have just the right texture, soft but slightly chewy, especially on the dark exterior. They are just a little bit denser than a regular hamburger bun .
I lightly toasted them for my burgers.
PRETZEL BUNS are $2.99 (4 buns) I would buy these again.
LIMITED (AVAILABLE DURING SUMMER / grilling season)
“Made with bold, full-flavored garlic and rich, creamy inimitably Irish butter, that was churned in the green rolling hills of County Cork”
I had read all over the internet about these new Trader Joe’s potato chips. That they are really good. Crazy good.
I was lucky to be at TJ’s when they happened to be giving out samples of these chips. The nice lady giving them out, jokingly warned us “Careful with these, they’re kind of addictive”. I ate a chip. Just one bite in and you realize she was not kidding. These chips are crazy good. They should come with a Warning Label on the package.
Once you start eating these, it will be hard to stop.
The chip are a PRODUCT OF IRELAND, and of course made from Irish potatoes. They have the perfect crunch, being cut just a little bit on the thick side, along with having ruffled edges. That garlic butter seasoning on these is so tasty and so good. The ingredient list even lists mushroom extract, which would supply some more Umami. All which leads to the “addictive” warning label I think these should come with.
My wife bought a bag of these. I was lucky to get a few to taste as she held onto the bag with here life. She got very possessive. I had to beg her for a couple of chips which she grudgingly gave me. When I asked for a few more, she told me to buy my own bag. She admitted she could not stop eating them. She was already Addicted. So be warned.
GARLIC BUTTER IRISH POTATO CHIPS, $2.99, 5.5 oz bag. Trust me the bag will go fast.
Better buy two while you are there and save yourself an extra trip.
So as you can see from the Ingredients in this bread, you are getting a lot of variety of whole grains for one thing. You are also getting a good amount of fiber in this 100% Whole Grain High Fiber bread. Each slice has 5 grams of fiber.
That is about 18% of the recommended dietary amount. It’s not hard to eat two slices, perhaps in a sandwich or just as toast. Do that and you are getting 10 grams of fiber, which is about 1/3 or more of the daily recommended fiber amount (daily dietary fiber is recommended at 25-38 grams).
How does this bread taste? I like it. It actually tastes pretty good. Like a 100% whole wheat bread. I find it just the tiniest bit on the dry side, but you have to take all that fiber into account.
This tasted quite good when I toasted it up, and ate with butter and marmalade.
It’s got no preservatives, and no additives. Seems pretty All Natural. I would buy it again.
“…while it is indeed incredibly delicious on some crispy-fried chicken, that’s just the beginning, as far as we’re concerned. We recommend trying it on everything from roasted veggies to grilled short ribs, air-fried salmon, shrimp tacos, and omelettes. Frankly, we’ll even use it as a dip for French fries… or as sauce on a homemade Pizza topped with Pepper Jack Cheese, Spicy Chicken Nuggets, and cilantro or green onions (trust us on this one—it’s delicious.)”
This new sauce is getting a lot of notice all over the internet. I was familiar with this Korean sauce as a family member made a homemade one, so got the new Trader Joe’s one to try out and review.
I like it. It has sugar, soy sauce, red miso, molasses, ginger, rice vinegar, red pepper and sesame oil. Very tasty. While not quite as good as homemade versions of the sauce that I’ve tasted, this commercial version is still quite tasty.
It’s a dark sauce which is a bit thick and it’s just loaded with umami. It had a slight spicy back note but it’s not crazy spicy. This will be great on lots of things. Certainly most any Asian dish, especially noodles. Especially SQUIGGLY NOODLES plus all the things they list: chicken, salmon, and other fish, shrimp, omelettes. I want to try the pizza idea they mention with chicken and pepper jack cheese….!
TJ’s: “Our supplier starts with hearty clusters of rolled oats – the kind of foundation that very important breakfasts are built upon – then sprinkles in bits of dried and sweetened blueberries and dried strawberries, so that every bite has an elegantly balanced blend of crunchy textures and sweet, fruity flavors. In other words: important, fun, and unarguably delicious.”
This is one of the newer granola’s Trader Joe’s introduced. Trader Joe’s VERY BERRY GRANOLA, as it name indicates, has a berry flavors, from dried strawberries and dried blueberries. It is just a wee bit on the sweet side. So rather than snacking out of hand, I think you want to eat this with something… milk, almond, soy milk, yogurt. I think its especially good with plain unsweetened yogurt, or especially Greek yogurt.
I liked it and found it good. Generally I don’t eat a whole bowl full of granola. I’m usually using it as topping, for a nice crunch on top of whatever else is in my breakfast bowl, which might have a mix of things: chia seeds, overnight oats, kefir, yogurt, bananas, blueberries or whatever fruit I have. This granola with it’s crunchy clusters is perfect for a bit of crunchy topping for me.
While I would not say there are a ton of dried strawberries and blueberries in it, as typical with Trader Joe, you get just enough so you don’t feel they gypped you. You taste the strawberry flavor in almost every bite as the dried berries have mostly broken up into small pieces so you will get a bit in almost every bite of it. As far as the dried blueberries, I wish they had more. I add frozen wild blues.
So this is a tasty granola and I would say this is worth trying.
I am still waiting to try the chocolate and coffee granola (huh?) people are talking about and see if that’s actually any good.
“Drizzle on as a finishing oil for salads and roasted vegetables.”
Ingredients: Extra virgin olive oil, fresh Sicilian lemons
This was a new fall product at Trader Joe’s which got a little buzz around it. A nice extra virgin oil with a hint of lemony flavor.
LIMONE PREMUTO – a “cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with whole fresh Sicilian lemons” ($7.99 for about 8 oz)
This is for the real foodies. These types of oils are called “agrumato”.
Agrumato olive oil – “simultaneously crushing olives with fresh herbs or fruits together for exceptional flavor, distinct aromatics.”
It just says “Product of Italy”, so unclear to me if the oil is also from Sicily but I would assume it probably is. Other vendors of this type of (agrumato oil) usually say something like “this distinctive product is made by crushing fresh olives and Sicilian citrus fruits together. This unique process results in an extra virgin olive oil with a vibrant, bright citrus finish. The combination of olives and citrus fruits creates an oil that not only adds a refreshing twist but also brings an authentic taste of Sicily to your kitchen.”
This olive oil has a lovely flavor with that little bit of bitterness that hits the back of your throat, which is a sign of a high quality extra virgin oil that is fresh. There’s no visible lemon pulp or rind, its been filtered out but the oil looks a little cloudy from the pressing with the citrus. The lemon flavoring is subtle, just a hint in the background, its not strong at all. You want to taste this oil and you do.
When I’ve used this I’ve found that if I squeeze on some fresh lemon juice as well, it really improves everything, so suggest trying that. This is good as they say on salads and roasted vegetables, but you could drizzle it on practically anything, such as a pasta, or as a dipping for bread.
Trader Joe’s LIMONE PREMUTO costs $8 for just over 8 oz. In contrast TJ’s sells a 17 oz bottle of excellent SICILIAN EVOO for about $12 (which used to cost $10!) That Sicilian oil is double the size of this bottle. If I add a squeeze of fresh lemon and perhaps even a little lemon zest on my dish and get a similar effect, albeit my lemon is not Sicilian! Therefore though I like this oil, it’s a “specialty oil”, a little splurge. Still, you would be drizzling on just a bit of this. On a budget I would probably buy the bigger bottle of their Sicilian EVOO and add my own lemon, or garlic as desired.
Just for comparison, here’s a similar item on amazon, same size, $20 https://amzn.to/4kXGv8Z
Worth trying if you are into olive oils and can afford it for a small bottle. Otherwise I’d say go for the bigger bottle of the SICILIAN oil at TJ’s.
Trader Joe’s announced the winners of their 16th annual customer choice awards (2024).
Which, out of all the products TJ’s has, do you think customers awarded as the overall top dog pick? Interestingly enough it’s the same one which has been voted first by customers for the 4th Year In A Row as overall favorite ! Drum roll, please, and the winner is….
TJ’s really good snack their Chili & Lime Flavor Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips, were once again voted as as overall favorite. These have been picked 4 years running!
Some time ago I reviewed these and loved them. I gave these delicious, possibly addictive, snacks a big thumbs up. So I am not shocked that these remain to be so popular and got the top Customer’s Choice spot again as these are super.
Though they may not be to everyone’s taste as these pack a punch of pretty intense flavor plus a good leave of heat (like Takis) I find them Spicy Delicious. However my wife for example is someone who doesn’t go for these at all. Even though she likes fairly spicy in general, she doesn’t like these chips. She finds the flavors too strong and too intense, whereas I find them irresistible, and frankly addictive, to the point where once I start eating them at times I have to remeber to stop myself lest I eat the whole bag!
Having said that I do actually sometimes like to counter balance the intense flavor of these chips by pairing them with something which will counter balance them. Knock down the heat a bit. As I mentioned in my review sometimes I actually like to eat these with cottage cheese. I find that a great combination as cottage cheese, something a bit bland, will balance out the flavor. Or sometimes I will enjoy these with some dip which is not too intensely flavored.
OK so the Rolled Tortilla Chips were the #1 Customer Pick. What were the Runners Up in that catagory? Here are the second through fifth place choices, just to give you some ideas of what Trader Joe’s products seem to be most popular with customers:
You are at Trader Joe’s and want hummus. Wow, you will find so many choices to pick from. So which one should you get to start off with?
I would say you can not go wrong with a classic kind, meaning at least for the moment, ignore those where they have added flavors or additions (I’m looking at you tomato/basil hummus, oh crikey… and that dreaded chocolate hummus, don’t even get me started….)
Stick to Basics. Start with a good simple classic hummus. Like this one. This should give you a base line for decent (store bought) hummus. Later perhaps branch out and start exploring the other varieties with things mixed into it. Or add your own additions, as I frequently do*.
With that in mind if you want a very good, classic hummus, I’d say you can’t go wrong with this one. Trader Joe’s ORGANIC HUMMUS.
I like this hummus. I think it may be one of the best ones they sell. Trader Joe’s organic hummus is a tasty, well balanced, hummus with a deep flavor, one reason being this one has a little more tahini than some others. Tahini or sesame paste is a vital component of hummus, to me, at least. Trader Joe’s does sell some hummus that has NO tahini it it.
You can serve hummus in so many ways. As a dip, along with either warm pita bread, or any bread you love, or crackers. Add some to wraps or sandwiches. Use as a dip for fresh or cooked veggies.
Try mixing a dollop of hummus into your salad dressing. That will give it a nice creamy flavor. Or mix in some Tahini for that matter.
While fine as is, I do like to add a little squeeze of fresh lemon to my tub and mix it in well. Serving it, a drizzle of very good EVOO over the top. Serve with with some warm pita or lavash and a salad. Yes.
“SPRING MIX, UNEXPECTED CHEDDAR, APPLE CINNAMON CHIPS AND PECANS WITH AN APPLE VINAIGRETTE” (THIS IS SEASONAL)
Some of Trader Joe’s prepared salads are are bit hit or miss. With this (seasonal) Harvest Apple salad however both of us were impressed. We found it quite good, so I’m going with calling this one a HIT.
Trader Joe’s has this around the Holidays like its a bit special, and we thought it was a bit special due to the included additions. Inside with the lettuce are some little plastic bags with dressing and the additions to add, specifically some apple chips, some unexpected grated cheddar and some pecans, all staying crunchy wrapped up. It’s these 3 additions plus the dressing which really made this into something a bit special. So good I can imagine you might think this came out of a special salad place or restaurant kitchen, where they would easily charge you about three times the price of this one which is four dollars.
I found the dried apple crisps were the special component here. I really loved those. The apple chips added a nice texture and taste to the greens for contrast. The pecans were excellent as well. There aren’t a ton of nuts here but as with most TJ’s stuff, just enough. Not a ton of grated unexpected cheddar either but this cheddar does add a nice taste (Next time I would add more, just grate up a hunk of that yummy Unexpected Cheddar )
Dressing: I liked the included “apple vinaigrette” which matches well with all the other ingredients. Additions you could add? This would be even better with a bit of cut up fresh apple. Maybe some dried cranberries?
TJ’s calls this salad “seasonal” meaning you will see it around the Holidays starting pre-Thanksgiving through Xmas or so. Meaning this would be great for some guests/fancy up a dinner and of course all it requires is putting the stuff in a bowl!
In addition to being “just a salad” this would be good for “beefing it up” into something more substantial by topping it with most any protein. Perhaps slices of chicken or steak, or baked tofu for that matter, or additional cheese, if you wanted to make this into a protein with salad thing.
(packets here, half used)
Trader Joe’s HARVEST APPLE SALAD kit, $3.99. I’d say one bag is about enough for about 2 people as part of a dinner. Or one salad lover. Again, add some sliced chicken on top of this and you could make this a nice balanced lunch or dinner.
TIP: with any of these pre-packed salads I always find these soft lettuces go bad pretty quickly, after 2 or 3 days, so use them asap. I always pierce the bags with a knife when I get home to make a few airs holes which I think adds a little more shelf life. Or open bag and put in a paper towel to absorb moisture and stay fresher longer. Also check for any odd bad leaves. One mushy leaf will make them all go bad fast.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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